Reviews of The Regime on Rotten Tomatoes Suggest That Kate Winslet is The Best Part of This Clumsy Comedy About Authoritarianism
A new satirical series, The Regime, has debuted on HBO Max. How does the TV show, in which we will see Kate Winslet in the lead role, rated?
The Regime is a 6-episode new TV show from HBO. The miniseries is a political satire that brings together a truly stellar cast. It features Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Matthias Schoenaerts, Andrea Riseborough and Guillaume Gallienne, among others. The creator, meanwhile, is Will Tracy, who worked on Succession and Menu, so it seemed we could expect a solid production that we'd have fun with over the coming weeks. After the release, it turned out that it might not be so perfect after all.
On Rotten Tomatoes there are 40 reviews from critics who have already watched 6-episodes of The Regime, and 58% of them spoke positively about the series. As for viewers who have watched the first episode, 55% of them liked the miniseries from HBO. Some of them admit that it is an interesting production, although it takes a while for it to click, while others say that The Regime is simply an unfunny comedy. Viewers on IMDb express themselves in a similar vein.
Below you can read excerpts from critics' reviews.
Ms. Winslet earns our undivided attention, making the profoundly mad and unquestionably despicable Elena one of the esteemed actor’s major achievements – The Wall Street Journal’s John Anderson.
If characters were properly fleshed out, their words would reveal their backstories, inner workings, motivations; but when they’re written as flatly as those on HBO’s newest limited series, The Regime, even decent acting and intelligent costume, hair, and makeup design can’t save the show – RogerEbert.com’s Nandini Balial.
Kate Winslet can do anything! But even this acting dynamo, giving her all to the role of a fictional European dictator who’s basically Putin in skirts, can’t save this fractured political farce from drifting clumsily and calamitously into incoherence – ABC News’ Peter Travers.
From start to finish, The Regime's view of real-life politics and the state of the world is deeply cynical, but it's not hard to believe – BBC.com’s Caryn James.
I wasn’t always sure what The Regime was doing, or why, but Winslet’s work, a complex blending of physical and psychological choices, kept the series somewhere between watchable and fascinating – The Hollywood Reporter’s Dan Fienberg.
A bleak, superficial exploration of the dangers of authoritarianism and the grim reality of America’s role in the oppression of people around the globe, 'The Regime' may be timely, but it’s not particularly funny, edifying, or insightful – Entertainment Weekly’s Kristen Baldwin.
Opinions are divided, both on the side of reviewers and viewers. In such a situation, the best choice will be to judge the production starring Kate Winslet yourself. You can watch the first episode of The Regime on Max.
And what is The Regime actually about? Through the series we will experience a year in the palace of a failing authoritarian regime. Chancellor Elena Vernham hasn’t left the place for a long time, which is associated with her growing paranoia and mental instability. The woman reaches out for help from soldier Herbert Zubak, who is supposed to be her unusual confidant. As Zubak's influence over Chancellor Elena grows, her attempts to increase her own power eventually lead to her own downfall and that of the entire country.
Below is the trailer for the miniseries.
