After finishing up their acclaimed satires Veep and Succession, HBO has a deep hole in their pockets. Thankfully, the executive producers behind these shows have returned to fill the political and satirical void left in the premium cable channel’s programming. The Regime is an irrelevant and snappy limited series – whose ire is steered right toward the hypocrisy and damage of current political leaders with too much solitary power.
Co-directed by Stephen Freers and Jessica Hobbs, the show charts a year in the palace as it chaotically unfolds across the six-part miniseries. Freers is no stranger to pointing the camera at people with power, most notably having directed 2011’s The Queen and the 2018 miniseries A Very English Scandal. Hobbs’ work also includes multiple episodes on Netflix’s The Crown, so it is no surprise that they both understand how to aggrandise and make visually arresting spectacle of such contemptible palace shenanigans.
Kate Winslet returns to the HBO stage after acclaimed performances in Mildred Pierce and Mare of Easttown. The Regime is no outlier for Winslet in delivering many captivating television performances. She provides a tour-de-force in playing a love-to-hate tyrannical leader. Another Emmy nomination is undoubtedly coming her way.
Set in a fictional and unnamed Central-European country, this leader is Chancellor Elena Vernham, an autocratic dictator who bumbles around a crumbling authoritarian regime. When the audience first meets her, she is a hermit of the palace. A woman with deep ‘mycophobia’ – meaning an irrational fear of fungus and mould, she is continually paranoid. To enter a room, someone must scan moisture levels in the air. She enlists the help of a ‘nobody’, Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a corporal with scandal shadowing him, to help with her everyday struggles. A twisted relationship between the two develops, testing the boundaries for Elena, Herbert, and the state.
Written and created by Will Tracy, most recently known for writing 2022’s The Menu and specific episodes of Succession, his pithy and expletive script work is on full display once again. The show throws insults in ways that delight the ear. Reactions are explosive and intently farcical – his characters are full of contradiction yet humorous intensity. The only pathos comes from Andrea Riseborough’s ‘Palace Manager’, the only one trying to do the right thing. Everyone else is merely a plaything for Tracy to satirise.
The more we follow Elena, the more this woman embodies a despot with hilarious inadequacy. International trade negotiations change on the dime of her mood. Government meetings are disrupted by Elena sitting in an ice bath and calling in on video calls. The imprisoned opposition leader (Hugh Grant) remains underground in the palace. A meeting with a U.S. emissary (Martha Plimpton) is cut short by her getting intimated and lost in the establishment’s maze. Elena doesn’t consider her role as head of state to be serious. Everything she does inspires a chuckle. She decides, we laugh, and her people suffer. It’s telling that her most significant support is that of her dead father. She still visits him in an open casket – she has his rotting corpse refreshed regularly.
Winslet knows what she is doing. Every upper lip quiver, every fickle attempt at emotion, every overt and faux-superior tone in her speech – she makes for someone utterly detestable but an absolute riot to watch. The playful tone also helps her act the more slapstick moments with hilarious believability, making even the less impactful scenes stick. Her chemistry with Schoenaerts is infectious, each completely exposing the desires of the other. She believes that because Herbert isn’t ‘anybody’, she can trust him. They bring out the worst in each other’s Id, and that means riveting television for the audience.
The satire Tracy is digging into here will not be complex to piece together. Annexation of neighbouring land avoids the term invasion and poorly handled agricultural reform results in a food crisis. Deftly handled trade negotiations for raw materials fluctuate between nations, and specific political figures are assassinated without a word. It’s hard not to open the newspaper of the current day and see the comparisons. While laughter may not solve the world’s problems, this intelligent show begs contemporary reflection. How can a government be practical if an autocrat rules not with an iron fist but with wavering fingers so easily distracted?
While the show loses a bit of its bite in the last couple of episodes, notably some detours that raise a few eyebrows, which won’t be spoiled here, the pace primarily works to keep the viewer engaged across every episode. Every hour is a step closer toward the insane asylum that is Elena’s political rule slowly cracking. Herbert is her loyal soldier, but Elena’s loyalty barely extends to the state she presides over.
The Regime is another successful addition to HBO’s library of limited series. Bolstered by solid direction, a quirky score, mocking satire, and enthralling central performances – this is a funny series that’s not afraid to point fingers at the now. Kate Winslet’s time with HBO keeps getting stronger.
The Regime premieres on Binge on March 4th with new episodes dropping every Monday.
