Helen Mirren is Catherine the Great on Sky Atlantic

Since the wait for The Crown has become unbearable, we need something to quench our historical thirst. Thankfully, Sky Atlantic is providing us with a brand new royal drama - focusing on the reign of Catherine II of Russia.

Eye in the Sky actress Helen Mirren will star as Catherine the Great in a hot new drama that examines the extreme power of the monarch throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century.

It's easy to see why Mirren, who has been outspoken for many years about limited portrayal of women on screen, would be tempted to play a character like this. Catherine, Sky said, was 'strong-minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated, she was the definition of the modern woman'.

Jason Clarke and Helen Mirren as Grigory Potemkin and Catherine II

The four-part limited series will follow Catherine through her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke) to the end of her reign amid scandal, conflict and 'obsessive love'. Expect to see lavish palaces, bursting corsets (Catherine was, we're told, 'famously promiscuous') and the origins of Russia as we know it.

Helen Mirren said: 'I am very excited by the possibility of embodying a woman from history who grabbed and then wielded great power. She rewrote the rules of governance by a woman, and succeeded to the extent of having the word Great attached to her name, Catherine the Great. I am very grateful to have HBO and Sky as partners in this endeavour. There are no other homes on television that bring the support and understanding needed for this kind of project.'

Watch the trailer below.

Catherine the Great airs on Thursday 3rd October at 9pm on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV