With Russia continuously in the news in the United States and around the world, this entertainment-related Russian news isn’t #fakenews. Instead, it’s real news about #fakeRussians…well, kind of.
Amazon is working with Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, on a new series entitled The Romanoffs. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it will be an anthology series that features eight standalone episodes. The anthology style TV series has recently gained traction and popularity, with True Detective, Fargo, and American Horror Story all finding sizable audiences.
The series itself is considered a Mad Men follow-up from Weiner, and Amazon bid a fair amount of money to secure the rights. While it won’t include the same cast, Weiner told THR there will be Mad Men alums included in the production and acting sides of the new show.
Weiner went on to say that because the eight episode season will use an anthology style, all eight episodes will feature a different cast, story, and location. That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. It’s also incredibly complex system for Weiner and company because of all the different people and places involved.
However, there is one single stylistic and storyline thread that will link every episode together at its core: the Russian family the series is based around.
“The thing that holds them together is that all of the stories involve people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Romanov [family, the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia. The mystery surrounding the family dates back to 1918, when revolutionaries brutally murdered the czar and several members of his family. The remains of one of his daughters and his only son were never found, and in the years since people around the world have claimed to be a Romanov survivor.] And that’s the title of the show, The Romanoffs. [Weiner’s spelling choice reflects the pronunciation as well as the way the family name was commonly spelled until recently.],” Weiner told THR.
That’s both brilliant and extremely interesting. By doing that, Weiner can have one episode based in Russia in the 1930s and then the next could take place in England in the 1950s followed by an episode in the United States in the early 2000s.
Weiner also explained why he chose the anthology style for this series:
“I loved the idea both as a viewer and as a writer of being able to tell a story that really commits,” Weiner said. “I don’t mean that we didn’t do that on Mad Men or that you don’t do that on continuing series but when the characters are not coming back the next week you have a chance to tell it in a different way — to resolve it.”
Right now, a second season has not been confirmed or ordered by Amazon, but Weiner said if people like the series and Amazon is onboard for a season two, he would be too.
There is no release date set for the show, which is slated to have a budget of $50 million.
