Between The Regime’s star-studded cast, HBO-backed budget, gorgeous Vienna backdrops, and well-known producers and writers (some of the same people behind The Menu and The Crown), The Regime seems like a show that couldn’t fail. And yet, there’s something shallow about the series’ attempts at parody. It’s not as smartly observed as Succession, or as immediately funny as Veep. It’s a reflection of dictators, sure, but it says nothing more about them other than the obvious: that they’re awful. Bizarrely, they’re even painted as sympathetic at times. For those of us outside the confines of democracies like the US, the real world is bad enough without shows like The Regime making light of our dire situation. This isn’t to say that satires are inherently bad, just that they’re expected to be sharper and bolder if they truly want to pierce the privileged bubbles of their viewers and mean something.
"Where Mare [of Easttown] called for the kind of ostentatiously unglamorous performance that gets movie stars acclaim for dimming their wattage, The Regime makes full use of Winslet’s commanding charisma."
— Alison Herman
The story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel.
In a fictional Central European country, a delusional chancellor and a violent soldier form a dysfunctional relationship and rule the nation with an iron fist.
The cast, led by a commanding Kate Winslet. The show is watchable because of their funny performances, but still, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that they could be working with better material.
If you love transformative performances go for it; if you love smart satires about powerful people, put on HBO’s other black comedies instead.
