The mystery of Godunovs rise to power, deceitful conspiracies, and destruction of his family are unveiled in this major saga.

The envoy of the Golden Horde - Mengu-Temir, a handsome and connoisseur of female beauty arrives in the capital of Russia.

The story is centered on the Morozov family - Aleksey, Stepan, Aliona and Varvara - two brothers.

No this is not some historical masterpiece but it is an enjoyable historical drama nonetheless with great costumes and scenery and the show portrays the characters with shades of light and dark so that they are not all good or all bad.

I disagree with a previous reviewer who says the show portrays Peter III as only incompetent.

Ekaterina Velika Serial Full First Series

If the reviewer had bothered to watch the full first series they would see that Peter is shown as trying to be a good emperor eventhough his judgement was misguided in some fatal aspects.

Apart from the first episode where the narrator is giving a historical overview of Russia at the time and says that Russia is feared by its weak neighbours, this show much less state propaganda than say a show like Madame Secretary (which I also enjoy) where America always saves the day and seems to have only a wholly altruistic foreign policy, which we all know not to be true.

Ekaterina Velika Serial Tv Program Tells

But as its a tv show, and we should be discerning enough not to believe everything a tv program tells us, one can take it with a grain of salt and an eye roll.

The period of Catherine the great and her rise is very interesting and it is incredible how she managed to survive the odds against her and rise to be an empress, so I would definitely recommend this show.

Oh and I am neither Russian or American so this is review is coming from a neutral territory.