Netflix announced that “Servant of the People,” the satirical series that starred the Ukrainian president as a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after his rant against corruption goes viral, is back on the platform. The three-season series launched Zelensky’s real-life political career and concluded after Zelensky decided to run for president in 2019 under the new political party known as Servant of the People. The Ukrainian production was originally available to watch on Netflix from 2017 to 2021, though the series officially launched in 2015 in Ukraine. Swedish television group Eccho Rights has been internationally licensing the series and its subsequent film, partnering with the U.K.’s Channel 4, MBC in the Middle East, ANT 1 in Greece, and PRO TV. Zelensky’s acting career also includes voicing Paddington the Bear in the Ukrainian releases of the “Paddington” films, which became a meme back in February.
A film adaptation was released in 2016, with the second season borrowing footage from the movie to bring the film into the series’ timeline. During the Ukrainian president’s address to a joint session of Congress, Zelensky likened the invasion of Ukraine by Russian president Vladimir Putin to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor in America. “Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories on battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, yes, just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it,” Zelensky said. “Our country experiences the same thing every day, right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now various Ukrainian cities, Mariupol and Kharkiv, Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people.” Zelensky asked for a no-fly zone over Ukraine or assistance in implementing a missile system. The Ukrainian president also spoke directly to U.S. President Joe Biden: “You are the leader of the nation, of your brave nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
