Kate Winslet has leant her talents to a surprising, yet intriguing, role in upcoming TV series The Regime. Playing an authoritarian leader in a fictional country certainly isn't what we expected for her.
And yet, we can't wait to watch. The TV series was written and ran by Will Tracy, best known for his work in Succession. He has described the show as “Downton Abbey, but in an autocrat's palace”.
Louder for the people in the back!
We can expect fraught politics, power grabbing and a rather anti-feminist love interest trying to corrupt our noble (but nonetheless dictatorial) leader.
Here's everything we know so far about The Regime.
What is The Regime about?
The official plot synopsis for the TV series reads: “The Regime tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel.”
We see Winslet's autocrat leader of a fictional regime – Chancellor Elena Vernham – unravel as she succumbs to power, pressure and paranoia. She establishes a strange, close relationship with a violent anti-feminist solider, who soon contributes to the regime's deterioration into international catastrophe.
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The actor has spoken out about the appeal she felt about playing a female dictator and portraying “feminine fragility” in The Regime.
“I had never read a script like it, I had never come across the character quite like her. And I knew that as a role for me, I had never played anything like her before and I wanted to do comedy,” she said. “I love the fact that, yes, it's about a dictator, but she's also a female dictator. It's not a male dictator. And I knew the nuances and the feminine fragility that I could explore behind that mask.”
Who has been cast in The Regime?
Hugh Grant will star alongside Winslet as the former chancellor who was ousted years earlier, while Matthias Schoenaerts will play the troublemaking soldier.
Andrea Riseborough (Alice & Jack), Martha Plimpton, Guillaume Gallienne, Pippa Haywood and Jessica Frances Dukes will also star.
Where and when can I watch The Regime?
All six episodes of the series will drop on Sky and NOW TV on 8 April.
Is there a trailer for The Regime?
There is indeed. Watch below for a taste.
