The Last Minister (TV series)

The Last Minister (in Russian: Последний Министр) is a Russian television series produced by Sreda for KinoPoisk HD streaming service.[3]

Last Minister
Genre
Created by
  • Roman Volobuev
Written by
  • Roman Volobuev
  • Elena Vanina
Directed by
  • Roman Volobuev
Starring
Country of originRussia
Original language(s)Russian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16[1]
Production
Producer(s)
Production location(s)
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time46–84 minutes
Production company(s)
DistributorSreda
Release
Original networkKinoPoisk HD
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Original releaseMarch 26 (2020-03-26)[2] –
May 23, 2020 (2020-05-23)

Premise

Tikhomirov, a well-meaning but hapless functionary in grips of mid-life crisis is appointed to run Russia's Ministry of Long-term planning - a small, underfunded, understaffed and generally ignored state agency. With a team consisting of sycophants and corrupt cynics he embarks on an idiotic quest to make Russia great again.

Production

Background

Producer Aleksandr Tsekalo started developing a black comedy about corrupt bureaucrats originally known as The Ministry[4] in 2015[5]. The pilot was written by Pavel Bardin[6] with Maksim Pezhemsky slated to direct[7]. Due to high level of political censorship on Russian broadcast TV Tsekalo was unable to find a network willing to commission the show[8][6], but  the emergence of streaming services eventually allowed him to sidestep the obstacle. Roman Volobuev has signed to write and direct the 16-episode first season in 2018[5].  

Writing

Volobuev described The Last Minister as "an Aaron Sorkin show were everyone has irrevocably lost their conscience"[9]. Some of the show's characters and ideas were borrowed[7] from Volobuev’s aborted miniseries Zavtra about Russia’s liberal opposition unexpectedly winning presidential elections in 2018[10].

Filming

The show was filmed in 2019 over period of 3 months mostly on soundstage in Moscow[11].

Cast

Main
  • Yan Tsapnik as Tikhomirov, Minister of Long-term planning
  • Olga Sutulova as Nechaeva, a corrupt 1st Deputy Minister
  • Sergey Epishev as Vikentyev, an insane 2nd Deputy Minister
  • Sofia Lebedeva as Sonya, a naive intern who's rapidly rising through the Ministry's ranks
  • Anna Shepeleva as Ingeborge, a permanently pregnant Minister's personal assistant
  • Darya and Ekaterina Nosik as Lutch and Skotch, diabolical twins who run Ministry's Analytical Department

Recurring
  • Nelli Uvarova as Raisa, Minister's wife
  • Olga Dibtseva as Larisa, Minister's mistress
  • Polina Fedina as Kira, Minister's teenage daughter
  • Fyodor Lavrov as Plotnikov, a functionary from the Prime Minister's Office
  • Ekaterina Gorina as Oksana, an investigative journalist

Guests

Reception

Critical response

The show's first season won acclaim from Russian critics for its absurdist setting[12][13], writing[14] and visual stile[15]. Mikhail Trofimenkov of Kommersant called it “the one comedy to capture and preserve the spirit of ‘era of stability’ (an ironic Russian moniker for Putin's years in power)[16]”. It was also praised for breaking an unofficial ban on LGBTQ characters on Russian TV by making one of its main protagonists — Nechaeva — a closeted lesbian[17].  Some outlets criticised the series for relying too heavily on inside jokes[18] and playing safe with it’s political subject matter[19]. Ogoniok’s Andrey Archangelsky called out show’s writing team for “falling too much in love with their own characters, effectively becoming their hostages” and eventually “drifting away from the subjects of big politicts, greed and power-lust towards much safer and well-trodden melodramatic story[20]”.

References
  1. Новый сезон на КиноПоиск HD: «Фея» Меликян, сериал Романа Волобуева и другие эксклюзивы
  2. Official Trailer on YouTube (In Russian)
  3. "The Last Minister", on Vokrug.tv
  4. "«Ведомости» узнали о планах «Яндекса» по созданию собственных сериалов". Rusbase (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  5. "«Злость, вранье, перекладывание ответственности — в режиссерской профессии»: Роман Волобуев о сериале «Последний министр»". Meduza. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. "Александр Цекало: «Актеры снимаются у нас практически бесплатно»". Mir Novostei (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. "Роман Волобуев: «Я хотел, чтобы „Последний министр" был эпической ампирной комедией» — Статьи на КиноПоиске". КиноПоиск (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  8. "«Последний министр»: Роман Волобуев — о том, как сделать политический сериал в стране без политики". The Village. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  9. "8 российских сценаристов — о своих фильмах и профессии — Статьи на КиноПоиске". КиноПоиск (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. Walker, Shaun (2015-03-06). "Satirists seek crowdfunding to kickstart political comedy in Putin's Russia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  11. Идиот, кипяток, Россия: Репортаж со съемок сериала Романа Волобуева «Последний министр», КиноПоиск HD
  12. "Деятельный идиот. Как «Последний министр» Романа Волобуева высмеивает российских чиновников | ForbesLife". Forbes.ru. 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  13. "Первый взгляд на сериал «Последний министр»". kanobu.ru. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  14. "Какие российские сериалы стоит смотреть". Meduza. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  15. "«Последний министр»: посмотрите, что происходит с Россией в сериале Романа Волобуева". BURO. (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  16. "Чин чина потешай". Коммерсантъ. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  17. Kuvshinova, Maria (2020-06-11). "Ирина Горбачева, Ольга Сутулова и lesbian vibes в российском кино". kimkibabaduk (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  18. "«Последний министр»: Страна победившего сканворда". Кино-Театр.РУ. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  19. ""Последний министр": офисный ситком про законодательные инициативы". Российская газета. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  20. "Карточный домик районного масштаба". Огонёк. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
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