User Reviews

All the other reviews apparently completely missed the point of this show. One must assume that they probably never heard of, and certainly never had to deal with, the Nikolai Ceausescu regime. Winslett captures the mercurial insanity of Romania's long-time dictator, with the kow-towing sycophants that surrounded him, the ostentatious palace, the complete and paranoiac disregard for the people and economy of the country. It will be interesting to see if it gets even more absurd in upcoming episodes, mirroring the murderous ego-centric eccentricities of that megalomaniac. In fact, it is about time someone mocked him.

There's a lot to like about this show. The depiction of a geographically vague old dictatorship in Europe is spot on. It reminds of old autocracies like Romania or present-day Belarus , and constantly balances between amusingly farcical and quietly frightful. And Kate Winslet is absolutely at her peak here, as a nutty, narcissistic ruler.

It's a good thing that they've written it as a mini-series too, because the absurdities could have easily become stale after too many episodes. Unfortunately, the energy built up by the first five installments is not matched by what is essentially a cowardly sixth and last chapter. It opts for an unfulfilling ending that refuses to pick sides and leaves plenty of unanswered questions.

Still, it's highly entertaining and deserves to be watched.

This was a series with so much potential. Funny, no - at least I never found anything to laugh at, but satire does not need to be side splittingly hilarious.

I would have loved to see more of Andrea Riseborough. I thought she was one of the more interesting parts of the series, but it was not to be. What happened to the child? Throughout the entire 6th episode Kate Winslett's character does not enquire about him once. Even for a megalomaniac that is quite something.

I seem to be one of the few that did not take to the "butcher". I found her fascination with him quite baffling.

I agree with those who think that Kate Winslett had too much screen time to the detriment of the other characters. Less is more. And this could have been so much more.

Several people have mentioned that the negative reviews are from people too dense or too uneducated to see this series as anything but brilliant. That's an uneducated take in itself. It is possible to both understand the satirical narrative of the series and its winking lambasting of geopolitics, political theatre, and the delicate dance of those who keep the powerful in power, and still find it unpalatable.

It's not a bad series; the acting and cast are fantastic, and there is an interesting story being told. But it's buried beneath so many layers of mismatched cinematic styles, jaunty musical score, and washed out color palettes that the effect was like a confusing mishmash of distinct film styles like Expressionism, Film Noir, and Postmodernism. Each of these styles are great on their own, and perhaps there is a new genre of television being formed in the making of The Regime. It's promising, it's bold, but was ultimately too distracting for me to get lost in the narrative.

I have to say I expected it to be way worse, and after watching 3 episodes I'm pleasantly surprised. Being from a post-communist country, I can definitely sense the satire and sarcasm of this show. They managed to portray the absurdity of dictatorships and its dictators pretty well. It reminds me of Lukashenko's Belarus or Ceausescu's Romania. I liked the subtle references to certain people and events. The "reunification" thing is basically what happened in Crimea, the Corporal practically became Elena's Rasputin for a while, and the whole "rural craze" was a spot on too, as such things really happened in my country during communism, not to mention faking some pseudo-historical theories of one's origin to boost their egos ("The Foundling"). I have to admit I am quite entertained, intrigued and want to watch more. Lastly, I will say that I'm not really surprised at the low rating, as there is many things about this show that your typical western audience simply wouldn't get.

I think anyone who writes negative comments doesn't understand the context, lacks knowledge of geopolitics, basic geopolitical history, or characteristics of authoritarianism. The series is absolutely brilliant. Of course, KW is absolutely amazing, but the series itself is just as great as she is. It's very sad that there are people who didn't get it, but if they didn't, they shouldn't write bad comments, but rather acknowledge that they don't understand. It's perfectly crafted, exceptionally acted, and very visually appealing. It's not even a satire on authoritarianism, but on politicians/rulers in general.

By attempting to merge elements from "The Death of Stalin," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and "Borat" into a single narrative, the show becomes a bewildering concoction rather than a cohesive piece. The 'satire' - if it can be called that - stumbles significantly, as it appears unanchored from any semblance of reality. Instead, it leans heavily on bizarrely synthesized stereotypes of Eastern Europe in the American imagination.

The characters are shallow caricatures, lacking depth and authenticity, which further distances the narrative from delivering any meaningful or resonant messages. The show oscillates between trying to be a biting political satire (of what, though?) and a slapstick comedy, never fully committing to either.

The production values and the performances by the cast are commendable for the most part, yet they are not nearly enough to salvage the show from its fundamental flaws.

Heavy satire, talking about a "democratic" regime in a fictional country, which LOVES freedom and celebrates Love with prisons, opinion monitoring to combat misinformation.

Kate Winslet is perfect on the role, she has charisma, and sound crazy, but you can't hate her. Good cast around her and she is a star.

Hope the next episodes keep the same tone of mockery, love what the writers did

People that agree with the the way the world is heading, won't like this series for sure. Since they don't have that much sense of humor.

Hope the characters get the evolution and deepenest as they deserve, but for the first episode it was actually good.

After watching the first episode I must admit that I don't know what to think of this show yet. I think it has the potential to be good but it all depends on whether or not the writers take the show in the right direction. I think The Regime could end up being a real disaster if they dont do it right. There are some interesting aspects of the story being setup by the writers in episode 1. I'm curious to see where they're going with this series. The first episode was just interesting enough that I will give episode 2 a chance. I think episode 2 will be the deciding factor on whether or not I bail on this show.

The ads I had seen about The Regime seemed to intimate that this was a comedy of sorts. Unfortunately, I didn't laugh or even smile once in the first episode. It seems to wildly veer from a serious story, to a bizarre one, sometimes in the same scene. I don't know what the writers were trying to accomplish here, but they failed miserably. I expected much more from a mini series with Kate Winslet starring in it but so far, I'm a bit befuddled. I'll probably give it one more episode before completely bailing on it but I am not very hopeful. What a disappointment. If you were looking for Mare of Eastown, this ain't it.

My Review- HBO streaming Foxtel The Regime - Streaming on Foxtel My Rating 6/10

The Regime is billed as a Political satire which it certainly is , however for me it's more of a slapstick comedy than clever satire.

It's worth a look just for the brilliance of Oscar winner Kate Winslet's performance as the witless narcissist Chancellor Elena Vernham who rules like a dictator on speed an unnamed Central European principality .

Elena is quite unhinged even seeking instructions from her mummified father when the proverbial "S"hits the fan.

The unnamed kingdom is centred in a vague location between Switzerland and Germany and its deprived citizens mine plutonium while their leader and their corrupt government live in luxury ,an all too familiar story.

Kate Winslet obviously had great fun filming The Regime and has great comedy timing .

I admired the way she kept up Elenas's lisp impediment throughout the series plus her occasional singing on the local television station to entertain her people at Yuletide.

The Regime actually gets quite dark toward the conclusion as Chancellor Elena's empire begins to crumble and the rebels stage a coup.

Matthias Schoenaerts is also very impressive as the Rasputin like villain Corporal Herbert Zubak who mesmerises Elena with his charms and mysterious health remedies after he helps her surrogate son Oskar who suffers from seizures.

The other impressive cast member is Andrea Riseborough who plays Oskar's birth mother Agnes and personal assistant to Elena she is straight faced and dour throughout but adds real substance to a fractured plot.

This 6 part series In my opinion may have worked more effectively as a feature movie at times it reminded me of Wes Anderson's brilliant 2014 movie The Grand Budapest Hotel .

However this series for me was a bit of a drawn out farce lasting far too long .

The team of writers headed by series creator Will Tracy who wrote The Menu and 3 episodes of Succession which I think are both brilliant I thought lost their way a little in this romp comedy.

Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs directed 3 episodes each and I think maybe that's one reason that for me it lost its way for me .

Let's just say I'm glad I watched The Regime for the ensemble performances especially Kate Winslett.

I do not understand why the critics reviews are so high. This show is an absolute mess with absolutely no redeeming qualities. The plot: Sounds reasonable on paper, but it lends itself to a drama more than a comedy. The choice to make it a comedy (not a funny one at that) is baffling. There are so many things that don't make sense and quite frankly, that seem desperate to grasp at something (anything) to make the story more captivating or the characters likeable.

The acting: Kate Winslet is supposed to be better than this. Everyone involved is just so bad in their role. But I also blame the storyline.

My free advice: Do not bother with this one. It is absurd, nonsensical, boring, and not worth anyone's two seconds. I wish I could get my time back.

Reading the poor reviews, it's obvious some just don't get it. European politics and American politics are NOT the same. Or maybe they don't know what satire or dry humor means. Their loss and our gain, yeah?

Kate Winslet is brilliant and Matthias Schoenaerts is handsomely menacing. They work well together to make their partnership/relationship interesting. I want to see where it leads. I will pretty much anything Kate's in because her talent is unmatched. Plus I find Matthia extremely sexy. Their chemistry in "A Little Chaos" had an understated sensuality and I couldnt wait to see them together again.

After watching this first episode, I can't wait for the rest of the series.

As Episode 1 of "The Regime" (2024 release from the UK; 6 episodes ranging from50 to 60 min.) opens, it is "Middle Europe" and Elena has been the chancellor of the unnamed country for 7 years now. In a parallel story, we get to know Herbert, who just has been picked by Elena to be her personal assistant to check the relative humidity around Elena (don't ask...). Herbert was involved in putting down a protest of miners... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the brainchild of Will Tray, and most episodes are directed by Oscar-nominated Stephen Frears ("The Queen"). The overall premise of this series is about an autocrat somewhere in Eastern Europe, let's call it the female version of Hungary's Viktor Orban. This is billed as a political satire. Does that mean it should be funny? Or dramatic? Or both? Based strictly on Episode 1 (the only one released so far), I can tell you that there wasn't anything funny or dramatic. We simply watch and observe. The lead roles are performed by Kate Winslett (as Elena) and Belgian actor Matthias Schoenarts (as Herbert), and they both shine (no surprise there). After seeing episode 1 I have to grade this as a C- for being incomplete and I'm unsure how this will evolve. It might all fall apart, or it might still soar. Only time will tell.

Episode 1 of "The Regime" premiered last night on HBO and started streaming on Max, where I caught it. Future episodes will be released on Sundays. If you have any interest in a political satire or simple are a fan of Kate Winslet or Matthias Schoenaerts, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Ok, this is an odd one. And worthy of your attention. The premise seems imaginative but if you've an ear to world history and current events, the story is too plausible to be disregarded as fiction inspired by unrealistic fantasy. If you can't see the parallels to the insidious culture of indulging the sickest whims of our out-of-touch rulers, then this will probably be more irritating than relevant. Stop trying to compare it to anything else because you will mislead anyone curious about it. It's dark. Don't expect it to be humorous. Ironic, yes. Funny, no. The concept is relevant and the performances are fantastic. If you're looking for lighthearted entertainment, then this will probably not be for you. It requires a thoughtful, critical, and open mind to appreciate the satire. It's uncomfortable. It's disturbing in a very biting and calculated way to provoke thought. I like it.

I cant believe Kate Winslet took this role. It is simply too hard to believe and within twenty minutes of watching this god awful mess I couldn't figure out where it was going or lets say where it was going I had no intentions of being at its arrival. And to think I thought La Brea was a mistake. If this is based on the assassinated former ruler of Romania and his wife then maybe they should have gone with scripts based on her being the hateful old woman that she was instead of being a head of state. Money could not have been an issue for Ms. Winslet or at least you would think along that line.

This series is a stinker, a satire that's not the least bit funny. Blame the script and the direction. It's not really the time for a series about a crazy central European leader and her "unraveling" is simply not funny. Who thought this was a good idea? It goes a long way to confirming my opinion that the Wall Street Journal's television critic, John Anderson, is not reliable. He gave The Regime a favorable review and it looks like he is wrong, again. There is a lot of good shows on TV (not as many as there used to be), but this sadly is not one of them. HBO/Max itself is a pale shadow of itself nowadays.

March 11 I know it's Hokum. But its good Hokum. Kate Winslet looks like she's having a blast. So too Andrea Riseborough, she was brilliant in "Death Of Stalin" and the other English actors involved do farce better than most.

It's political message passed right over me but I'm not some metropolitan sophisticate. God that's a mouthful.

There's some real heavy hitters in the production department. None quite as large as Stephen Frears. He can point fun at almost everyone except his "German Royal Family" Arise Sir Steve!

Some day, some hope Ok. Is it Ukraine that's getting the London leftie once over.

Let's get back to The Chancellor and the Corporal. Hint Hint. I've no idea.

2 episodes in. You begin to feel something is rotten in the state of state of Denmark Our Corporal has some nasty tendencies.

I'll say no more than that.

Ok. Chancellor Elana should not be turning her back on this guy.

The US Diplomatic Corp are cardboard cutout money is the solution to all your problems.

I'm confused and I'm not alone.

Hang in there viewers.

Kate knows what she's doing.