Hollywood Q&A

Q: When is “The Great” coming back?

A: All screen biographies have to struggle with how (and whether) to age their heroes. Catherine the Great ruled Russia for decades, into her late 60s. But Hulu’s “The Great” has seemed determined to only tell the story of a young Catherine (played by Elle Fanning, “The Beguiled,” 2017), and so it has decided now is as good a time as any to end.

Of course, it likely wasn’t just a storytelling decision. The show has played fast and loose with historical facts so far, so it could have carried on as long as it wanted. And so Hulu’s decision seems certainly to have been at least partly business-driven.

We don’t really know how popular it was (the streamers don’t often release viewership data), but we do know it remained beloved by critics.

The show’s third season (now its last) earned great reviews, some saying it was even better than the first two — L.A. Weekly’s Erin Maxwell said it took the show to “new heights.” And that’s saying something, as the first two seasons brought the show a stack of Emmys and other awards.

But it was a good time in another way: Though the writers didn’t know “The Great” was being canceled ahead of this most recent season, they nonetheless ended it with a bit of closure. It ended with Catherine showing some growth, with a new haircut to reflect it, and with no kind of cliffhanger to keep viewers on the hook.

Q: Is Mariska Hargitay doing anything besides “Law & Order: SVU”? Some actors take other roles in the off-season.

A: Det. Olivia Benson keeps Mariska Hargitay busy enough as it is.

Hargitay has played Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since all the way back in 1999, but she also plays her on the various spinoffs, related shows and even a few comedy shows that bring her in for a gag.

She’s appeared on three of the “Law & Order” spinoffs — most recently doing 13 episodes of “Organized Crime,” which features

Benson’s old partner, Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). She’s also done two of the “One Chicago” shows, “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Fire,” thereby merging the two televised universes created by mega-producer Dick Wolf.

Her character is, of course, deadly serious, but Hargitay has been able to have fun with it a few times. She appeared in character on the short-lived Pop TV comedy series “Nightcap” in 2017, and then in 2019 on the more venerable “Saturday Night Live.”

It’s possible Hargitay feels like she already showed her range before joining “SVU.” She appeared in dozens of TV shows and a few movies before landing the role.

Q: Why haven’t I seen Michael Fassbender in anything lately?

A: Because you haven’t been keeping up on your American Samoa soccer history, apparently. And also because he’s been taking a bit of a break.

Michael Fassbender’s (“Steve Jobs,” 2015) only on-screen role in the past four years has been in the independently produced sports comedy “Next Goal Wins,” about the American Samoan soccer team.

But in his defense, that came after a lengthy run of mega-budget movies, which included being part of three huge franchises. He was young Magneto in the X-Men universe starting with “First Class” (2011), he became part of the Alien franchise via its prequel, 2012’s “Prometheus,” and he starred in 2016’s “Assassin’s Creed,” based on the smash-hit video game.

After all that, it seems he wanted to take a breather. But now, having caught his breath, he’s about to be very high-profile again.

In just a few weeks, Netflix will release “The Killer,” an assassin drama directed by action auteur David Fincher (“Se7en,” 1995), with Fassbender as the titular assassin.

And he’s also reportedly going to appear in the next film by rom-com queen Nancy Meyers (“Something’s Gotta Give,” 2003), currently in pre-production with no release date projected.