The Romanoffs

''The Romanoffs'' is an American anthology drama streaming television series created, written, produced, and directed by Matthew Weiner. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video October 12, 2018 and features an ensemble cast that differs from episode to episode, with John Slattery, JJ Feild, Louise Bourgoin, Aaron Eckhart, and Diane Lane appearing across multiple episodes. In July 2019, Amazon announced they have no plans for a second season.

Premise

''The Romanoffs'' is a contemporary series "set around the globe, centering on separate stories about people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Russian royal family."

Cast and characters

"The Violet Hour"

*Aaron Eckhart as Greg
*Marthe Keller as Anushka
*Louise Bourgoin as Sophie
*Inès Melab as Hajar
*Darina Al Joundi as Raha Azim
*Mouss Zouheyri as Mohammed Azim
*Mounir Amamra as Amir Azim
*Franc Bruneau as JP
*Vernon Dobtcheff as M. Audran
*Evelyne Dandry as Mme. Audran
*Xavier Thiam as Dr. Shrom
*Salomé Diénis Meulien as Sonya
*Laurent Bateau as Denis

"The Royal We"

*Corey Stoll as Michael Romanoff
*Kerry Bishé as Shelly Romanoff
*Janet Montgomery as Michelle Westbrook
*Noah Wyle as Ivan Novak
*Jonathan Ho as Jesse
* Braeden Lemasters as Andrew
*Larry Bates as Daryl
*Brian Bisson as Scott
*Nora Sheehan as Mona
*Arlene Duncan as Prosecutor Dion
*James Naughton as Dmitri
*Elva Mai Hoover as June
*John Slattery as Daniel Reese
* Shannon Wilcox as Natalie

"House of Special Purpose"

*Christina Hendricks as Olivia Rogers
*Jack Huston as Samuel Ryan
*Paul Reiser as Bob Isaacson
*Isabelle Huppert as Jacqueline Gerard
*Mike Doyle as Brian Norris
*JJ Feild as Jack
*Mark Valley as Steve Lewis
* Evgenia Brik as Katrina
*Morten Suurballe as Max Gruber
*Ivan G'Vera as Lalzo Barta
* Goran Navojec as Karl
*Thomas Nash as Hans

"Expectation"

*Amanda Peet as Julia Wells
*Jon Tenney as Eric Ford
*Emily Rudd as Ella Hopkins
*Mary Kay Place as Marilyn Hopkins
* Michael O’Neill as Ron Hopkins
*John Slattery as Daniel Reese
*Diane Lane as Katherine Ford
*Janne Mortil as Gloria
* David Ferry as Gary Beethoven

"Bright and High Circle"

*Diane Lane as Katherine Ford
*Andrew Rannells as David Patton
*Cara Buono as Debbie Newman
*Nicole Ari Parker as Cheryl Gowans
*Ron Livingston as Alex Myers
*Thaddeaus Ek as Benji Myers
*Joshua Carlon as Henry Myers
*Uriah Shelton as Julian Myers
*Alexandra Barreto as Detective Gutierrez

"Panorama"

* Radha Mitchell as Victoria Hayward
*Juan Pablo Castañeda as Abel
*Griffin Dunne as Frank Shefflied
*Paul Luke Bonenfant as Nick Hayward
*David Sutcliffe as Phillip Hayward
*Roberto Medina as Dr. Eduardo Siquieros
*Maria Evoli as Lourdes Gonzalez
*Scarlet Dergal as The Receptionist
*Sandra Quiroz as Nurse Ortega
*Paul Gregory as Rupert Stanley

"End of the Line"

* Kathryn Hahn as Anka Garner
*Jay R. Ferguson as Joe Garner
*Annet Mahendru as Elena Evanovich
*Clea DuVall as Patricia Callahan
*Stephanie McVay as Barb Callahan
*Marina Weis as Mrs. Fedunov
*Anastasija Marcenkaité as Vera
*Zofia Wichłacz as Nadya
*Dalina Costin as Dalina Costin
*Sophia Chitu as Zoya

"The One That Holds Everything"

*Hugh Skinner as Simon Burrows
*Hera Hilmar as Ondine
*Ben Miles as George Burrows
*JJ Feild as Jack
* Jing Lusi as Kiera Ming
*Adèle Anderson as Candace
*Oliver Zetterström as Young Simon
*Deirdre Mullins as Natalie Burrows
*Rebecca Root as Dana
*Jane Perry as Belinda
*Christopher Goh as Christopher Ming

Episodes

Production

Development

On October 26, 2016, multiple news outlets reported that Amazon had won a bidding war among six entities and committed to a straight-to-series order with a $70 million budget for an eight episode first season. The series was to be written, directed, and produced by ''Mad Men'' creator Matthew Weiner in cooperation with The Weinstein Company.

On August 29, 2017, the series' creative team was announced. The series’ collaborators include executive producer/writer Semi Chellas, co-executive producers Kriss Turner Towner, Blake McCormick, and Kathy Ciric, along with consulting producers/writers Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton. The series behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Christopher Manley, costume designers Janie Bryant and Wendy Chuck, production designers Henry Dunn and Christopher Brown, and hair and makeup designers Theraesa Rivers and Lana Horochowski. The casting team includes Carrie Audino, Laura Schiff, and Kendra Clark. On October 11, 2017, following reports of sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, Amazon announced that they were "reviewing their options" in regard to their relationship with The Weinstein Company. They subsequently severed ties with the production company. On July 28, 2018, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour that the series would premiere on October 12, 2018.

Casting

From August to October 2017, a series of announcements revealed that Isabelle Huppert, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jack Huston, Amanda Peet, Marthe Keller, Aaron Eckhart, Corey Stoll, Andrew Rannells, Mike Doyle, JJ Feild, Janet Montgomery, Paul Reiser, and Diane Lane had been cast in the series.

From March to August 2018, numerous guest cast members were announced. These actors included Noah Wyle, Hera Hilmar, Kathryn Hahn, Kerry Bishé, Jay R. Ferguson, Ben Miles, Mary Kay Place, Griffin Dunne, Cara Buono, Ron Livingston, Jon Tenney, Clea DuVall, Radha Mitchell, Hugh Skinner, Juan Pablo Castañeda, Emily Rudd, Adele Anderson, Annet Mahendru, Louise Bourgoin, Inès Melab, Michael O'Neill, and David Sutcliffe.

Filming

Filming took place in Constanța, Romania from March 14 to March 18, 2018.

Release

Marketing

On July 28, 2018, the first teaser trailer for the series was released. On August 14, 2018, a second teaser trailer was released. On August 29, 2018, a series of "first look" promotional photographs from the series was released alongside a full episode lineup of the series featuring episode titles, synopsis, airdates, and a list of actors that would appear in each episode. On September 12, 2018, the trailer for the series was released.

Premiere

On November 15, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California featuring a screening of the series. A red carpet arrival was originally scheduled to take place before the screening but was canceled out of respect for the victims of the Woolsey Fire, which was still burning in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Reception

Critical response

The series was met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 48% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10 based on 64 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Matthew Weiner's return to television is as handsomely made as it is ambitious and sprawling—unfortunately, it's also fatally indulgent, asking for the utmost patience from audiences without a compelling incentive." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 56 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Despite the polarizing reception to the series overall, it went on to be nominated for awards for its work in the production, audio engineering and costume design for the series.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanoffs, The
2010s American anthology television series
2010s American drama television series
2018 American television series debuts
2018 American television series endings
Amazon Prime Video original programming
English-language television shows
Television series by Amazon Studios