The Romanoffs

The Romanoffs is an American anthology drama streaming television series created, written, produced, and directed by Matthew Weiner. It premiered on Prime Video October 12, 2018 and features an ensemble cast that differs from episode to episode, with John Slattery, JJ Feild, Louise Bourgoin, Aaron Eckhart, and Diane Lane appearing across multiple episodes. In July 2019, Amazon announced they have no plans for a second season.
Premise.
"The Romanoffs" is a contemporary series "set around the globe, centering on separate stories about people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Russian royal family."
Production.
Development.
On October 26, 2016, multiple news outlets reported that Amazon had won a bidding war among six entities and committed to a straight-to-series order with a $70 million budget for an eight episode first season. The series was to be written, directed, and produced by "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner in cooperation with The Weinstein Company.
On August 29, 2017, the series' creative team was announced. The series’ collaborators include executive producer/writer Semi Chellas, co-executive producers Kriss Turner Towner, Blake McCormick, and Kathy Ciric, along with consulting producers/writers Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton. The series behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Christopher Manley, costume designers Janie Bryant and Wendy Chuck, production designers Henry Dunn and Christopher Brown, and hair and makeup designers Theraesa Rivers and Lana Horochowski. The casting team includes Carrie Audino, Laura Schiff, and Kendra Clark. On October 11, 2017, following reports of sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, Amazon announced that they were "reviewing their options" in regard to their relationship with The Weinstein Company. They subsequently severed ties with the production company. On July 28, 2018, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour that the series would premiere on October 12, 2018.
Casting.
From August to October 2017, a series of announcements revealed that Isabelle Huppert, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jack Huston, Amanda Peet, Marthe Keller, Aaron Eckhart, Corey Stoll, Andrew Rannells, Mike Doyle, JJ Feild, Janet Montgomery, Paul Reiser, and Diane Lane had been cast in the series.
From March to August 2018, numerous guest cast members were announced. These actors included Noah Wyle, Hera Hilmar, Kathryn Hahn, Kerry Bishé, Jay R. Ferguson, Ben Miles, Mary Kay Place, Griffin Dunne, Cara Buono, Ron Livingston, Jon Tenney, Clea DuVall, Radha Mitchell, Hugh Skinner, Juan Pablo Castañeda, Emily Rudd, Adele Anderson, Annet Mahendru, Louise Bourgoin, Inès Melab, Michael O'Neill, and David Sutcliffe.
Filming.
Filming took place in Constanța, Romania from March 14 to March 18, 2018.
Release.
Marketing.
On July 28, 2018, the first teaser trailer for the series was released. On August 14, 2018, a second teaser trailer was released. On August 29, 2018, a series of "first look" promotional photographs from the series was released alongside a full episode lineup of the series featuring episode titles, synopsis, airdates, and a list of actors that would appear in each episode. On September 12, 2018, the trailer for the series was released.
Premiere.
On November 15, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California featuring a screening of the series. A red carpet arrival was originally scheduled to take place before the screening but was canceled out of respect for the victims of the Woolsey Fire, which was still burning in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Reception.
Critical response.
The series was met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 50% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.77 out of 10 based on 62 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Matthew Weiner's return to television is as handsomely made as it is ambitious and sprawling—unfortunately, it's also fatally indulgent, asking for the utmost patience from audiences without a compelling incentive." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 56 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Despite the polarizing reception to the series overall, it went on to be nominated for awards for its work in the production, audio engineering and costume design for the series.