The Regime (miniseries)

The Regime is an American political satire television miniseries from HBO starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, and Hugh Grant. Will Tracy is writer and executive producer on the series with Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs directing episodes and executive producing. Winslet, Frank Rich, and Tracey Seaward are also executive producers. Winslet plays Elena Vernham, a dictator ruling precariously over a fictional Central European country.

The Regime premiered on March 3, 2024, with all six episodes debuting in the US on HBO and Max and in the UK exclusively on Sky Atlantic and Now from 8 April 2024.

Though the miniseries received mixed reviews, Kate Winslet’s performance has been singled out for praise from critics.

Synopsis
The series depicts a year within the palace of a crumbling authoritarian regime. After not leaving the palace for quite some time, Chancellor Elena Vernham becomes increasingly paranoid and unstable and turns to a volatile soldier, Herbert Zubak, as an unlikely confidant. As Zubak's influence over the chancellor grows, Elena's attempts to expand her power eventually result in the palace and the country fracturing around her.

Main

 * Kate Winslet as Elena Vernham, the chancellor of a Central European autocracy who gradually finds her position threatened by domestic turmoil.
 * Matthias Schoenaerts as Herbert Zubak, a recently disgraced soldier appointed as Elena's "personal water diviner" who quickly becomes her most trusted advisor.
 * Guillaume Gallienne as Nicholas Vernham, Elena's French, poetry-loving husband who becomes suspicious of her relationship with Zubak and his influence over her.
 * Andrea Riseborough as Agnes, the Palace Manager and Elena's right-hand woman.
 * Danny Webb as Mr. Laskin, the head of the country's security service.
 * Henry Goodman as Mr. Singer, one of Elena's ministers.
 * David Bamber as Victor Schiff, one of Elena's ministers.
 * Rory Keenan as Peter
 * Stanley Townsend as Emil Bartos, the country's leading businessman and director of its cobalt mines.

Guest

 * Martha Plimpton as Judith Holt, a United States senator and the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who seeks to protect American interests in the country's cobalt resources.
 * Hugh Grant as Edward Keplinger, the former chancellor who was ousted seven years earlier and has since been held prisoner in a cell located beneath the palace.
 * Pippa Haywood as Susan Goin, the former Minister of Finance who is imprisoned after being falsely accused of conspiring to assassinate Elena.
 * Jessica Frances Dukes as Deborah Kaiser, wife of the American CEO seeking to access the country's cobalt resources.
 * Karl Markovics as Tomas.
 * Julia Davis as Marina, a dream interpreter.
 * Kenneth Collard as Dr. Kershaw, Elena's former personal physician who is imprisoned after being falsely accused of conspiring to assassinate her.
 * Louie Mynett as Oskar, Agnes' epileptic son whom Elena dotes upon.
 * Kasia Madera as herself, state news anchor

Production
The project was announced by HBO in July 2022 with Will Tracy serving as showrunner, with Stephen Frears directing and Kate Winslet, Frank Rich and Tracey Seaward acting as executive producers. The writing team includes Seth Reiss, Juli Weiner, Jen Spyra, Gary Shteyngart, and Sarah DeLappe. The miniseries will mark Winslet's third lead role in an HBO drama series after Mildred Pierce, and Mare of Easttown. In April 2023, the title of the project was officially revealed to have changed from the working title The Palace to The Regime.

Casting
In October 2022, Matthias Schoenaerts was added to the cast. In December 2022, it was confirmed that Andrea Riseborough was joining the cast, and that Hugh Grant would appear in a guest role. In January 2023 the series added Martha Plimpton to the cast and Jessica Hobbs behind the camera as co-executive producer and director. That same month, Guillaume Gallienne was cast as Winslet's husband. In April 2023, it was announced Danny Webb, David Bamber, Henry Goodman, Stanley Townsend, Louie Mynett, Rory Keenan, Karl Markovics, and Pippa Haywood had joined the cast of the series.

Filming
Filming in Austria took place in January 2023 at the Schönbrunn Palace and at the Liechtenstein Garden Palace, part of the Liechtenstein Museum, on the Fürstengasse, in the 9th district of Vienna. A first look image released in February 2023 showed Winslet filming on set in Austria, with principal photography also taking place in the United Kingdom at Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Critical reception
On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".