#russian tv shows

[knopartt]

mila from the russian series "vampires of the midland" inspired by shortparis' music video of the choir version of the song яблонный сад (apple orchard) :)

[i-call-me-clarence]

Anyone got any Russian TV shows they can rec me that I can find online? Soap operas are preferable but not necessary. A friend of mine is learning Russian and Duo just isn't cutting it. 

[yeet-wolf-in-the-stars]

Don't mind me my brain focused on (not) gay vampire doctor and punk dude from russian show

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

Original title: Nu, pogodi! | Ну, погоди!.

[sherlock-is-ace]

every adaptation of Sherlock Holmes tried to link Moriarty to another story somehow, just so that his entire character won't feel like a stupid plot device to kill Holmes lol

Soviet Holmes connected him to Milverton and Granada Holmes to The Red Headed League. Everyone's so desperate to make Moriarty into an actual character, bless them

[wanderinginksplot]

What to watch during the writer's strike:

Don't pay attention to companies who blame writers for delayed movies and television shows! The WGA strike comes from people who are trying to make things better - not only for themselves and other writers, but the films and tv shows we all love.

While we wait for a resolution, I thought I would share some existing television shows that I enjoy. I didn't bother with too much well-known stuff. Instead, I focused on shows I feel many people missed because of the glut of content that all premiered at once over the last few years. (I may make another one of these for movies later on, but this one is about tv.)

[Update: Movie version here]

Feel free to add on! Just try to give a quick, spoiler-free synopsis for the show and the streaming service where it can be found.

List under the cut!

Netflix:

The Good Place (2016-2020) - A 'bad' woman is accidentally sent to heaven. She and her moral philosophy professor of a soulmate try to save her soul by making her a better person. Genre: Comedy with deeper implications and one of the best endings in television history.

Russian Doll (2019-2022) - When Nadia dies at her birthday party, she's more than a little confused to come back. Especially when it keeps happening. Genre: Time loop drama with a wicked sense of humor and a dash of theoretical physics. Potentially not ended?

Narcos (2015-2017) - The fight of the American DEA and the Colombian army against cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar and his reign of terror. Genre: Drama with thrilling elements. Lots of violence, some sex and language. Lots of subtitles. Features Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook, if you need some extra incentive.

Derry Girls (2018-2022) - Five teens grow up in Derry, Ireland in the 1990s, amid the final years of the Troubles, a low-level war that lasted roughly 30 years. Genre: Comedy. Some sexual content, some religious content, less violence than you would expect, and the best nun ever to appear on film.

Arcane (2021-?) - Two sisters are alienated when one accidentally kills their adoptive father. Their different paths threaten the fragile peace of a city already on the breaking point. Genre: Drama with elements of action-adventure. Though it's animated, Arcane's animation is beautifully done with tantalizing steampunk elements that will keep you invested.

Disney+:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020) - If you haven't seen any of the Star Wars animated series, this is a good place to start. Set in the time gap between Episode II and Episode III, this series helps flesh out Anakin Skywalker and the Jedi. It is also a great introduction to some of the characters and plots of The Mandalorian. (Star Wars: Rebels is another good choice.) Genre: Adventure with some drama. Violence and death are a large part of The Clone Wars, but it's usually appropriate for children. The clone troopers will steal your heart!

Gravity Falls (2012-2016) - Dipper Pines and his sister Mabel are sent to Gravity Falls, Oregon to live with their great-uncle for their summer break. But when Dipper finds a mysterious book in the woods, the pair find that Gravity Falls is far more mysterious than it seems... Genre: Adventure with a lot of comedy. Though it's billed as a children's cartoon, Gravity Falls is an intriguing watch with mystery subplots that will keep anyone guessing. It also features a famously strong and cohesive series ending. I was in my late 20s when I first watched this and I was still invested!

Daredevil (2015-2018) - After being blinded as a young boy, Matthew Murdock trained his other senses to replace the sight that he lost. He uses his skills to protect the helpless in the New York City neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen. Genre: Action and superhero. Features a lot of incredibly choreographed violence. (Jessica Jones is also an excellent show to watch, especially if you think of David Tennant as the consummate 'good guy'. He's got range!)

HBO Max (Just 'Max' now, I guess):

Ghosts (2019-2023) - Petty roommate squabbles don't stop just because you're dead! Alison and her husband Mike inherit a house, then a near-death experience allows Alison to see its ghostly inhabitants. Chaos and humor ensue as the ghosts try to adjust to the house's new owners. Genre: Humor. Ghosts is a British sitcom, but since the writers are comedians (writing and performing in Horrible Histories), the show is done in a style that feels more natural to American viewers. Hint: watch the BBC version, not the American one. They're fairly similar, but definitely not the same!

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009) - A pie-maker with the ability to bring back the dead helps to solve murders. He's helped by his once-dead childhood sweetheart. Genre: Comedy with some dramatic elements. Some of the CGI-heavy moments haven't aged particularly well, but the show has a unique premise and an incredibly talented cast!

Hulu:

Abbott Elementary (2021-?) - This mockumentary series showcases an inner-city elementary school in Philadelphia. The teachers and administration do their best for the kids, but they're constrained by budgets and the limitations of the educational system itself. Genre: Comedy mockumentary. Though Abbott Elementary is fictional, some of the issues brought up are all too real. This is a funny and incisive look at the American public school system.

Amazon Prime:

Fleabag (2016-2019) - The unnamed protagonist of the show struggles through life on her own with limited support from her alienated family and the memories of her recently deceased best friend. Genre: Comedy with lots of dramatic elements. Lots of sexual content and references, some language, breaking the fourth-wall, and several characters you just long to hit. I watched the second season in a single day, that's how good this was.

Unknown Streaming Service:

Black Sails (2014-2017) - This prequel to Treasure Island features elements from the book, original characters, and real pirates from history in a setting that emphasizes realism. Captain Flint and his crew search for a legendary prize... one that might allow them to claim Nassau for their own. Genre: Action and adventure. Think Game of Thrones, but with pirates. Incredibly well-written and well-acted with gorgeous scenery, LGBTQ representation, and just enough historical accuracy to keep things grounded. Black Sails also boasts one of the best endings ever given for a television show.

Like I said, please feel free to reblog and add your own television show recommendations onto this list! There are plenty of things to watch and plenty of ways to support the WGA strike that don't involve giving in to big studios.

[truly-sincerely]

Alright here we go, Alex Rider, season 1

IMO Yassen out here like yeah, this is my circus but these aren't my monkeys and I don't really give a shit if the circus burns down cuz we've got Cray's thing teed up already for like six months from now.

Yassen: I don't choose the jobs, Julia chooses the jobs. I just make sure the jobs don't blow up in our (Scorpia's) face.

Yassen: (...but this is a stupid job)

That scene where Yassen tells Martin Wilby that he did a good job and they're going to take care of him, where it reads like "oh god, take care of or take care of" and Yassen's little mona lisa smile and it's like Yassen's clearly thinking "so far so good, but we'll see how long that lasts, idiots"

And he's just so fucking cavalier when Greif walks in and sees him sitting in his desk, like, Yassen could not give less of a shit that it's falling apart and is enjoying Greif being (correctly) afraid of him.

"Check out this kid that the agency might've snuck into your school," he says helpfully, knowing that if that kid is who he thinks he is, and if he's anything like his father, this shit is gonna be over by tomorrow.

He is mildly surprised when he accidentally comes face to face with the kid and realizes that the guy they're gonna cast to play his dad has the exact same eyes, but he recovers quickly enough and catches a train back to London, where he will be cleaning his guns and mapping out the most likely route MI6 will use to transport Dr. Greif when they catch him.

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

reason: They have a storyline starting from animosity and evolving into a friendship and eventually beyond that. In one episode in particular, Talia turns in Susan's bed at night to find it empty, showing that she and Susan slept in the same bed. In a different episode, much later, Susan confesses to somebody that she thought she loved Talia.

[cinematic-literature]

L'amica geniale S03E07 (Ancora tu)

Book title

Madame Bovary (1856) by Gustave Flaubert

Anna Karenina (1877) by Lev Tolstoj

Moll Flanders (1722) by Daniel Defoe

[soupy-sez]

Russian Doll, S1E8 "Ariadne"

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

My top Russian Tv-Shows

Despite this being mainly a mandarinblr, I still try to practise my other languages so here are some of the most interesting tv-shows in russian for my fellow russian-learners and speakers and anyone interested.

Kitchen - Кухня This show has several spin-offs including Hotel Eleon and Grand which I will not mention as by the end of the last spin-off there are literally no characters from the original cast and the plot slightly goes of the rails. The actual show is set a french restaurant in Moscow where Max Lavrov, who just finished his military service decided to work at. The show follows the various challenges that Max faces at his new workplace, including the foul-tempered but very talented Chef Viktor Barinov who has a drinking problem and other interesting characters. It's quite funny and heart-warming, and it's a must-watch imo.

Youth - Молодёжка A pretty standard sports series tv plot. The hockey-team "Bears" are a meh team at best, but that all changes when a former National Hockey League player turned coach shows up to make a proper team out of them. I only watched the first season because after that the plot got a tad boring for me, but as far as sports series go, pretty good.

Law of the Lawless (Not the 1964 film!) - Бригада A cult-classic staple of only 15 episodes. The plot is a bit over the place at the beginning, as opening episodes sequence is a flashback to the start of the final episode but after that it's chronological, with the first episode w english subtitles here. 4 best friends start out as youths from early 1990s to 2000s, with one returning home after finishing his army service with plans for uni and the others just starting their lives. However, the Perestroika had significantly changed their lives, so eventually the gang turns from racketeering and petty crime to slowly becoming the mafia. The opening theme is worth watching alone, but then again I'm biased.

How I became Russian - Как я стал русским This comedy show is quite dear to me, as it follows an American journalist with russian and slavic roots navigating life and work in Russia as he works on a story about life in Russia for a major newspaper back home. He's back in his homeland but as a foreigner who finds his heritage utterly confusing. This series resonates with me, as despite having a good grasp of my cultures languages and customs, I still feel disconnected from my heritage at times, and this show has been a reassuring reminder that not being 100% attuned with your heritage is okay, and that there are many different ways of re-connecting with your culture.

Closed school - Закрытая Школа I was slightly tramuatized by this show when I first watched it 4ish years ago, in part due to how unhinged and off the rails the plot slowly but surely becomes. A descent into madness. Andrei and his sister are sent to study at the Logos boarding school, but are then informed that their parents have perished. Andrei doesn't believe this, so he sets off to investigate with his new friends and investigate he does. There are also some other background shenanigans going on, but the unraveling of the schools mystery remains the main interest, including its odd passageways and deeply disturbing history. As a thriller series, it honestly deserves that title.

Here are some shows that came out more recently that I think deserve a mention.

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt- Слова пацана кровь на осфальте I've only seen a few episodes out of the 8, but it's very Brigada-esque so far. During the mid-late 1980s when Perestroika is going on and the USSR is soon to be no more, 14 year old Andrei is trying to survive as he's constantly bullied at school and by gang-members. He makes friends with one of said gang members Marat, as he slowly descends into the world of street life. I'll finish watching this series sometime probably.

The new guy - Новенький 16-year old Max moves from his glamorous life in Moscow to a small-town Yurovsk due to his parents constant arguing, where he immediately doesn't get along with his clasmmates who think him stuck-up and start bullying him. One day Max goes missing and his classmates are the obvious suspects, as slowly but surely secrets start to emerge revealing everyone's lies. A pretty good suspense/thriller show, which covers the topics of bullying, coming of age and what it means to be an adult pretty well, despite the 4th and final season being kind of lackluster.

Central Russia's Vampires - Вампиры средней полосы Where to even begin with this show. I don't know whether I should introduce the trailer or the opening theme song mv. Basically the life of a small and unconventional vampire family living in Smolensk, presumably in central Russia, who get disturbed when bodies with distinct bite marks are found nearby. This results in the Guardians (aka the guys keeping vampires a secret and ensuring that no one acts out) taking over and investigating with the vampire leader Svyatoslav Vernidubovich given a week to find and punish the culprit. My odd plot description aside, the cast is why I adore this show. The recently turned Gen-Z wannabe blogger Zhenyok, the thousand year old grandpa Svyatoslav, the constantly annoyed Dr. Zhan Ivanovich (who is actually french and decided to hang around after Napoleon was defeated) and his ex-wife The Countess who honestly should have a spin-off show and many more characters.

Doomsday - Конец Света Satan decides to come back to Earth and start the apocalypse, for which he needs his son Dimyan who should become the Antichrist but to his dismay, Dimyan doesn't really care about world domination and money, he just wants to get married to his fiancee Galya and live happily ever after. Chaos ensues as satan tries to persuade Dimyan to join him, whilst Angel vs Demon shenanigans occur in the background. I honestly had no idea that this type of show could even be produced due to the censors and yet it was. It's kind of slightly similar to Good Omens with all the apocalypse stuff and the Angels and Demons eventually teaming up? Good Omens adjacent. Except more gritty with much darker humour. The actor who plays satan is Yuri Kolokolnikov who actually starred in game of thrones so if you're a fan of his acting, do try this show.

Alisa can't wait - Алиса н�� может ждать Alisa is a 15-16 (don't remember her exact age) year old girl who is going blind and she decides to do something really drastic to ensure that her life will be comfortable after she loses all sight. There's a noticeable build-up to what she's actually planning during the episodes, as her homelife is less than ideal, with her older sister stuck in an unhappy marriage and a turbulent relationship with her parents. This is one of the few shows that really left a deep impression on me but it deals with some very sensitive and potentially upsetting topics so be aware if you're giving it a go.

This list may be updated in the future, so if there are any other shows that I may have missed do share them!

[anhttydbookfan]

the httyd books could totally have a Servant of the People AU. Tailoring it to the US system because that's the one i know best.

Hiccup is a tired scottish-american middle/high school biology teacher who got into a rant against the president's environmental policy, which eventually turned into a rant against his everything policy, the entirety of which has severe criminal allegations against "President Alvin" (one of the kids audibly whispers "he's on First Name Basis with the President?!" Another kid responds "he's on a First Name Basis with a Republican?" in the background) peppered throughout it. Youtube-user-with-delusions-of-grandeur-and-biology-teacher's-son XxX_ToothlessDaydream_XxX surreptitiously films and uploads this rant onto youtube, where it immediately goes viral and starts multiple online campaigns to write his name in the Republican Primaries "for the memes", and multiple parallel campaigns to write his name in the Democratic Primaries "to force the Democratic party to stop shooting themselves in the foot and actually nominate someone the People want."

The Iowa caucus happens, and it's about what you'd expect. Then the results for the New Hampshire Primaries come out and...

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third wins both of them. Super Tuesday comes along. Hiccup wins in every state. Both parties. Same in California, Same in Louisiana. Same in Alvin's home state of Florida. It's the highest turnout for presidential primaries in the nation's history it's the highest turnout for any election in the nation's history. All for this biology teacher brimming with righteous anger.

Hiccup doesn't know any of this. He was wrangling children all throughout Winter and Spring. He spent his summer on the bottom of the Pacific ocean discovering eight new kinds of sea snake, two new kinds of giant anglerfish, and a new species of whale. When he emerges, he finds that the school has put him on Paid Administrative Leave until the second monday in november. He uses this time to discover three new species of bird in the Darien Gap.

By the time he returns to the States, he's already the President-elect.

[major-mads]

Nate Mann as Major Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal in the opening title sequence for Masters of the Air (2024) on Apple TV+

Coming January 26th!

[forever70s]

Rudolf Nureyev on "The Dick Cavett Show" (July 25, 1974)

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[anotherrussian]

Майор Гром. Игра / Major Grom. The Game