Thinking of what to see during the November holidays? The Movix online platform has compiled a list of the most popular TV shows among Russians. Perhaps something from the rating will appeal to you.
1. “Game of Thrones” (USA, 128,389 hours)
The series, based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series by George R.R. Martin, ran for 8 years, from 2011 to 2019. The most expensive project in the fantasy genre received numerous Emmy awards, one Golden Globe, British Academy Television Awards and other prizes. “Winter is coming”, “You don’t know anything, Jon Snow”, “Drakaris” – these phrases have become iconic. As well as the images of the main characters: Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Khal Drogo and other significant characters.
The show became so popular that HBO announced the creation of four spin-offs: “Snow”, “10 thousand ships”, “Sea Serpent”, “The Tale of Dunk and Egg”.
2. House of the Dragon (USA, 88,089 hours)
An independent prequel to Game of Thrones and the second series in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. It was created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Kondal. The premiere was watched by more than 10 million viewers, the most in HBO history.
The plot tells about life in Westeros about 200 years before the events in the “Game of Thrones”: the beginning of the end of House Targaryen, the situations that led to the Targaryen civil war for succession.
3. “Container” (Russia, 61,614 hours)
Domestic series about the problems of surrogate motherhood and social inequality. A sort of response to Latin American dramas from our childhood: “Slave Isaura”, “The rich also cry.” Starring Oksana Akinshina and Philip Yankovsky.
The audience liked the first season so much that the show was renewed for a second. The plot revolves around a 29-year-old girl who plans to become a surrogate mother for a wealthy family. At the request of the couple, she moves into their country house. As a result, the idea becomes a disaster for each participant in the events.
4. IP Pirogova (Russia, 50,374 hours)
Another show of domestic production. This time – comedy-inspiring. The main character, after 15 years of marriage, learns about her husband’s infidelity and is disappointed in family life. But instead of grieving, the woman decides to go into business. And he opens an individual entrepreneur for baking cakes, trying to monetize his hobby.
The project received the TEFI award in the Best Daytime TV Series nomination.
5. “Kept Women” (Russia, 46,888 hours)
One of the most talked about series in the country. Konstantin Bogomolov acted as showrunner and co-author of the script at the same time, and Daria Moroz played one of the main roles and became the creative producer of the project.
As the name suggests, events revolve around a phenomenon balancing between escort and entrepreneurship. Arriving in Moscow from the provinces, art critic Dasha is trying to make her way to a better life. Thanks to her friend, she manages to get into the world of glamor, expensive jewelry and dangerous entertainment, where ladies live at the expense of gentlemen, and they do not deny themselves anything. In parallel, other storylines develop. For example, Alice – a conditional fairy who helps girls find sponsors, and Lena – an investigator who accidentally opened the doors to the forbidden world for herself.
6. “Real boys” (Russia, 45,301 hours)
Russian comedy television series about the life of an ordinary Perm guy Kolyan and his friends Antokha and Vovan. It started back in 2010 and became so popular that it is still being filmed.
The guys fight for a place in the sun, or rather, the position of a senior consultant in the office, escape from a virus that turns residents into zombies, move to Moscow, participate in a reality show. In general, life is not boring. Despite the fact that many residents of the Perm Territory did not appreciate the humor of the project, it is officially recognized as the cultural heritage of the region.
7. “Knock on my door” (Turkey, 41,325 hours)
Two seasons, 161 episodes and hundreds of handkerchiefs. Turkish love stories of Serkan Bolat and Eda, whose names have already become household names. Some consider this story an illustration of an abusive relationship, and some dream of the same passions.
Eda is an orphan who is being raised by her aunt, who is studying to be a landscape architect. Due to the loss of her scholarship, she becomes angry at the owner of the company, Serkan, and handcuffs herself to him in anger. They are forced to go together to a business meeting, where they meet Bolat’s ex-passion. She is marrying someone else. To get revenge, the man offers Eda a deal: she pretends to be his girlfriend, and he returns her scholarship.
For many experts, the predominance of Russian TV series in the ranking was unexpected. However, they speculated that this was due to viewer associations. The plots of domestic shows, characters, realities resemble real life. And watching someone who looks like you or your friends is much more interesting. There are also Korean and Turkish series in the top, but they are not watched as massively as ours yet.
It is interesting that most of the time is spent on the show in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Perm. As for the increased time spent on series, then, according to experts, this is how people try to escape from stress and distract from heavy thoughts.