| Genre: | Political satire Comedy |
| Country: | Ukraine |
| Language: | Russian Ukrainian |
| Network: | 1+1 |
| Creator: | Volodymyr Zelenskyy |
| Theme Music Composer: | Dmytro Shurov |
| Location: | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 51 |
| Runtime: | 40—90 minutes |
Servant of the People, sometimes known as Servant of the Nation, is a Ukrainian political satire comedy television series created and produced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stars as Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko, a high-school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine after a viral video filmed by one of his students shows him making a profane rant against government corruption in his country.[1] [2] [3] The series ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019, and a film adaptation was released in 2016.[4]
The series was produced by Kvartal 95, which was founded by Zelenskyy.[5] It would become much more involved in Ukraine's actual politics; in 2018, a political party named after the television series was registered,[6] and Zelenskyy was elected president of Ukraine in 2019.[7]
After being filmed by a student engaged in a profane rant about corruption in Ukraine and the student uploading the footage to YouTube, Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko (Volodymyr Zelenskyy), an absent-minded high-school history teacher who lives with his parents, turns into an Internet sensation overnight. Goloborodko's students launch a crowdfunding campaign for registering his candidacy in Ukraine's presidential race unbeknownst to him, eventually propelling their flabbergasted teacher to political victory as the new president of Ukraine. While in office, Vasily is confused at his newfound responsibilities, but gradually eases into his presidential duties and decides to weed out corruption by the oligarchy in his government.[8] [9]
| Actor / actress | Role(s) | Note | Seasons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (2015) | 2 (2017) | 3 (2019) | ||||
| Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko, Grisha | A high school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine, following a rant against government corruption in his country secretly filmed by one of his students.Zelenskyy also portrays Grisha, a government employee who received plastic surgery to serve as Goloborodko's body double. | Main | |||
| Stanislav Boklan | Yuriy Ivanovich Chuiko | A corrupt politician who serves as the Prime Minister of Ukraine and is later exposed as an ally of the oligarchs. | Main | |||
| Serhiy Viktorovich Mukhin | The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a former actor. | Main | ||||
| Olena Kravets | Olha Yuriyivna Mishchenko | Vasily's ex-wife and the director of the National Bank of Ukraine. She later becomes acting Prime Minister. | Main | |||
| Mikhaylo Ivanovich Sanin | The Minister of Fiscal Affairs of Ukraine. | Main | ||||
| Mikhail Ashotovich Tasunyan | The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) | Main | ||||
| Ivan Andreyevich Skorik | The Minister of Defence of Ukraine and a former navy captain. | Main | ||||
| Petro Vassilyevich Goloborodko | Vasily's father | Main | ||||
| Svetlana Petrovna Sakhno | Vasily's sister and briefly first deputy of the Ukrainian tax service. | Main | ||||
| Nataliya Sumska | Mariya Stefanovna Goloborodko | Vasily's mother | Main | Minor | ||
| Oksana Skovoroda | Mukhin's secretary. | Minor | Main | |||
| Heorhiy Povolotskyy | Tolya | The Chief of Security and a bodyguard who is initially part of Vasily's security detail before he is dismissed after Vasily regards the detail as unnecessary to his work. | Minor | Main | ||
| Dmytro Surzhykov | Dmitry Vasilyevich Surikov | Prime Minister of Ukraine, former chairman of the supervisory board of the National Bank | Minor | Main | ||
| Halyna Bezruk (Season 1) Anastasia Chepelyuk (Season 2) | Anna Mikhailovna | The General Adviser to the President, a former specialist of the Development Department, and Vasily's mistress, who is exposed as an ally of the oligarchs. | ||||
| Natasha Sakhno | The niece of Vasily Goloborodko | |||||
| Valentyna Ishchenko | Bella Rudolfivna | Secretary of Vasily Goloborodko | ||||
| Stepan Kazanin | Speechwriter | Assistant to Vasily Goloborodko | ||||
| Actor / actress | Role | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oleksiy Kiryushchenko | Sergei Pavlovich | Former president | |
| Tetyana Pechonkina | Nina Yegorivna Tretyak | Former teacher of Goloborodko, former head of the SBU | |
| Yuriy Hrebelnyk | Plato | ||
| Oleksiy Vertinsky | Sergey Susseldorf | Designer (Episode 5) / Louis XVI (Episode 20) | |
| Oleh Maslennykov | Oligarch | Oligarch | |
| Olena Bondareva-Repina | Raisa Andriivna | School principal | |
| Oleksiy Smolka | Serhiy Leonidovych Karasyuk | Leader of the faction | |
| Anastasiya Karpenko | Yana Klymenko | Opposition journalist | |
| Mykhailo August | Andriy Volodymyrovych Yakovlev | Minister of Culture | |
| Danilo Oskin | Mykhailo Semenovych | Oligarch | |
| Vitaliy Ivanchenko | Vitaliy Romanchenko | MP from the Dobrobut faction | |
| Rinat Khabibulin | Dima | Vasily's son | |
| Oleksandr Danylchenko | Nikolay Pavlovich Pilipenko | Chief of ZhEK | |
| Alexander Ignatusha | Judge/Monk Sebastian | Judge/Monk | |
| Nazar Zadniprovskyy | |||
| Andriy Romaniy | Host of political talk show | ||
| Dmytro Melenevsky | Karasyuk's bodyguard | ||
| Andriy Danylko | Verka Serduchka | Ukrainian pop singer | |
| Darya Pitsul | Journalist |
| Episode | Original air date | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 16 November 2015 | History teacher Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko is informed by the government that he has been elected president of Ukraine. Flashbacks of how he came to be elected (a profane rant about politics in Ukraine filmed by a student and uploaded to YouTube, followed by a crowdfunded entry into the race) are then interspersed with scenes from his first day in office. | |
| 3 | 17 November 2015 | Waking up as president, Goloborodko notices how all members of his family begin to serve him. But his sister does not know at all that her brother is the new President of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the oligarchs are beginning to provide certificates about Vasily Goloborodko. | |
| 4 | 17 November 2015 | Vasily is preparing for the inauguration. He is assisted by a speechwriter. The ex-boyfriend of the President's niece comes home to the girl with his family. He wants to woo her, because now she is a relative of the President. | |
| 5 | 18 November 2015 | The president's first working day begins with a trip to work in a minibus. The Prime Minister also goes with him. Vasily's father decides to make several expensive purchases. | |
| 6 | 18 November 2015 | Relatives of the President make a chic repair for free in the apartment and dream of moving to Mezhyhirya. Goloborodko meets with officials and visits the Verkhovna Rada. He even imagines the ghost of Che Guevara, who calls for radical measures. | |
| 7 | 19 November 2015 | By order of Vasily, all deputies must unload the center and move to work in buildings on the outskirts of the capital. Also, officials should switch from luxury business cars to bicycles. | |
| 8 | 19 November 2015 | Holding an open competition for ministerial positions turns out to be a big mistake. The old government and the oligarchs decide to spend on the bread places of their people. The president finds out about it by accident. Therefore, he decides to offer positions to trusted people with whom he personally knows. However, it is not known whether the deputies will support their candidacies. | |
| 9 | 23 November 2015 | The first working day of the Goloborodko team was not easy for all ministers without exception. There are a lot of people in the Cabinet who want to frame them. The most affected is the head of the SBU, into whose cup of tea was poured a chemical substance. | |
| 10 | 23 November 2015 | Goloborodko is shocked by what happened to the head of the SBU. He intends to figure it all out. Meanwhile, his team receives eye-catching offers from the "strong people". The oligarchs are trying to bribe the ministers, and the president doesn't know anything about it. | |
| 11 | 24 November 2015 | The ministers still decide to take a bribe. Some of them even ask for more money. At the same time, the Prime Minister feels great collecting profits from farmers. But the state employees get what is left. | |
| 12 | 24 November 2015 | Goloborodko introduces tax reform. It provides for an interest rate cut, as well as a simplified tax payment scheme. In order to explain his intentions to the people, the President wants to use the resources of the Ministry of Culture. He asks to shoot a commercial, which will simply and easily show all the advantages of the reform. | |
| 13 | 25 November 2015 | Goloborodko's tax reform primarily affects his family, namely his father. Meanwhile, the head of the Fiscal Service begins to check officials. He finds out that all their income is registered to husbands, wives, brothers, parents, etc. When their relatives are so tying up, the deputies themselves huddle in small apartments. | |
| 14 | 25 November 2015 | Thanks to the agreements of Anatoliy's wife, the President decides to use the services of a security guard. The Head of the Fiscal Service speaks with the relatives of the wealthiest officials. This leads to a high-profile case and forces the oligarchs to move. | |
| 15 | 26 November 2015 | The President's sister is trying to get into the Cabinet and take a high position. But all the ministers refuse to accept her to their departments. When at least some funds appear in the budget, Goloborodko decides to allow them to repair Kyiv roads. | |
| 16 | 26 November 2015 | All the failures of the President and his team are leaked to the media. One call can cause a storm of dissatisfied people. Specially trained people who do not want to lose their seats begin working on this. | |
| 17 | 30 November 2015 | Having launched several reforms, Goloborodko actually declares war on the oligarchs. The president is beginning to be watched. Subordinates of oligarchs are struggling to find the errors that took place in the life of the President. But, as it turns out, it is not so easy to compromise Goloborodko. | |
| 18 | 1 December 2015 | Finding a decent person for the post of head of Ukravtodor is not so easy. For years it was occupied by people who plundered one of the most important structures in the apparatus of the state. That kind of people does not suit the Goloborodko. | |
| 19 | 2 December 2015 | Goloborodko is trying in every way to eradicate corrupt power. He receives a call from Angela Merkel, who tells him his nation has been accepted into the European Union. She then reveals that this message had actually been meant for the president of Montenegro. | |
| 20 | 3 December 2015 | The president suggests that the "strong ones of this world" file real tax returns with the right number of zeros. Goloborodko continues to press the oligarchs. Of course, this makes them go rabid. The caste of oligarchs is trying to influence Goloborodko in every possible way. But he doesn't give up. | |
| 21 | 7 December 2015 | Goloborodko's reforms are not to the liking of not only the people, but also the "three whales" who are trying to gain control of power. They try to negotiate with the newly minted President, but nothing happens. | |
| 22 | 8 December 2015 | The president needs to repay his debts to the IMF. He resorts to unpopular measures - tough reform. Such a policy of the head of state sows real panic among the people. | |
| 23 | 9 December 2015 | The president is on a political talk show. On the air of the program, he talks about reforming the judicial system of Ukraine. With the submission of Goloborodko, the former head of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of Kyiv conducts an audit right at home. They show what a wonderful life the official leads with his family. | |
| 24 | 9 December 2015 | So came to the end of the first 100 days of the reign of Goloborodko. Finally, his actions lead to progress. Changes in government are becoming noticeable. The President was able to find those buttons, by clicking on which it was easier and easier to carry out reforms. Anatoliy saves the president from an assassination attempt. He and his family, minister friends, and lover Anna Mikhailovna have a family dinner. |
| Episode | Original air date | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 23 October 2017 | Goloborodko wakes up in a cold sweat after dreaming, in which he was betrayed by best friends. After recovering a little, he quickly calms down, as it is just a dream, but in reality the president has a birthday today. But after watching the news, Goloborodko suddenly realizes that there will be no holiday, because there was a coup d'état in the country. This turns out to be a prank by his friends. | |
| 3 | 24 October 2017 | After the unforgettable birthday of the President, all his friends gather for an important meeting in his office. On the agenda: the lack of evidence against Yurii Ivanovich, as banks in all countries in which he withdrew money refuse to cooperate with the investigation. Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by the visit of Yurii Ivanovich himself, who was brought to Goloborodko's office for an investigative experiment. | |
| 4 | 24 October 2017 | Finally, the day comes when Ukraine received a visa-free regime. The president is most pleased with this news, of course. Leaving home in the morning, Vasily Goloborodko does not meet anyone and soon realizes that all Ukrainians have left their homeland in search of a better fate, and only he remained a true patriot of his country (then it turns out to be a dream). | |
| 5 | 25 October 2017 | After the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the President realizes that the time has come for change, and goes to the Department of Development, which has long had a plan "to realize the dream of a successful and self-sufficient Ukraine." At the same time, the trial of Yurii Ivanovich continues, and today an incorruptible judge will announce his verdict. | |
| 6 | 25 October 2017 | Today is an important historic day for the whole country, and parliament must vote for a new prime minister. The situation is such that the oligarchs cannot decide on a single candidate for the post and are launching a series of compromising stories about the president and his entourage on TV so that he does not get ahead of his candidate. | |
| 7 | 26 October 2017 | The global crisis has even affected the IMF, so only one country in Eastern Europe will receive a loan: Ukraine or Greece, but to do so, countries must show their tough stance on corruption. The Greeks decide to imprison their oligarchs. Ukraine needs a bigger figure, so the local oligarchs decide to arrest the main corrupt official, who turned out to be the former president. | |
| 8 | 26 October 2017 | In order to receive a loan from the IMF, Ukraine must fulfill the mandatory conditions and adopt a whole package of anti-corruption laws, for which Verkhovna Rada deputies stubbornly refuse to vote. The president has only 2 days to persuade deputies to vote for the necessary laws for the country. | |
| 9 | 30 October 2017 | After the president's visit to Yurii Ivanovich in "places not so far away", Vasily Goloborodko makes a proposal that the former prime minister cannot refuse and agrees to testify against the oligarchs in court. | |
| 10 | 30 October 2017 | A delegation from the IMF arrives in Lviv to sign a final loan agreement. It would seem that no difficulties should have arisen, as the Rada voted for the necessary laws for the country, and all that is needed is the personal presence of the president, who at such a crucial moment decides not to go to Lviv. | |
| 11 | 31 October 2017 | To quarrel with the oligarchs and get the coveted loan, Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko goes to Kharkiv to meet with the governor for the sole purpose of persuading him to change Roizman's bank to Mamatov's bank. The meeting does not yield the desired result, and the president again goes to Yurii Ivanovich, who has a contingency plan. | |
| 12 | 31 October 2017 | Instead of the promised visit to Sumy, the president goes to Zaporizhzhia and reveals a number of corruption schemes to the press, after which he thanked journalist Serhiy Biryukov, who works for Roizman, for this information in front of many cameras. The oligarchs understand that all these events are not accidental, and promise to arrange a "warm welcome" to Vasily Petrovich in Zaporizhzhia. | |
| 13 | 6 November 2017 | Goloborodko continues to reveal the schemes of the oligarchs, creating new problems for them. They "bite" each other, revoking the license of one of the TV channels and causing the failure of privatized mobile operators and banking systems. Ukraine is falling into a global crisis, but then it turns out to be only a dream of Goloborodko. Titushky incited by Mamatov chase the president and Chuiko all over Zaporizhzhia. During the chase Goloborodko and Chuiko change into the costumes of Verka Serduchka and his group and Goloborodko throws cakes at the pursuers. | |
| 14 | 1 November 2017 | Yurii Ivanovich finds his long-awaited freedom by fulfilling his obligations to the president. Goloborodko meets with the IMF delegation in Lviv to accept its demands, but when he hears that the commission is demanding from Ukraine, the latter is told to "go to hell", causing international controversy. | |
| 15 | 2 November 2017 | The president sending the IMF to hell causes the country to not receive the credit of 15 billion dollars and risks its reputation on the international level. To overcome the crisis, the President proposes his man for the post of prime minister, while slightly blackmailing the main figures of the Verkhovna Rada. | |
| 16 | 2 November 2017 | The oligarchs want to get rid of the unwanted president as soon as possible and with the least losses for themselves, so at the general council they decide to arrange an impeachment for Goloborodko. To do this, they throw all their strength into the search for Yurii Ivanovich, who knows a lot of things. At the same time, the president strikes back and the special services arrest Roizman. | |
| 17 | 6 November 2017 | The president announces that he is resigning, and Dmytro Surikov in the meantime becomes prime minister. The Chairman of the SBU and the Minister of Foreign Affairs also want to resign from office. Goloborodko's family is trying to get him out of depression. The pre-election struggle for the chair of the head of the country begins, even a man dressed up as a bee goes to the presidency. | |
| 18 | 7 November 2017 | The struggle for the presidency is in full swing, and the deputies are shooting election campaign videos. Some of them do not even know Ukrainian. Goloborodko also decides to go to the polls. But there is no money for the campaign, and no bank will give a loan of 2 million hryvnias. | |
| 19 | 8 November 2017 | The new election race has just begun, and the situation for Goloborodko is already quite difficult, because he does not have popular support, as before, and according to the results of the polls, his candidacy takes the last place. Vasily Petrovich understands that he cannot do well without the help of a good political strategist, for whose work it is necessary to allocate at least one million dollars. But where can he get them? | |
| 20 | 9 November 2017 | Nestor Dyachenko is a candidate who believes only in God, and the oligarchs cannot understand who sponsors him. The struggle amongst the candidates also began at a religious level. Meanwhile, Goloborodko shoots another commercial and prepares for the debate. But the money for the campaign suddenly disappears somewhere. | |
| 21 | 13 November 2017 | Goloborodko has invested the money from the election campaign into an innovation – a pedestrian crossing with illumination. It turns out that this act raised him to the first place. Nazar Dobryivecher plans to arrange a fight with Goloborodko, but Vasily does not appear at the debate, and the latter clings to Khodobyak, resulting in a fight. Goloborodko's act only goes to benefit. | |
| 22 | 14 November 2017 | Surikov has found compromising material on the presidential candidates and wants to cooperate with Goloborodko. At the debate, Vasily exposes those who financed the campaigns of Karasyuk, Khudobyak, Dobryivecher and Borisenko. The oligarchs are looking for new ways to lower Goloborodko's ratings. They nominate a new person for the job - a "common man from the people" - Dr. Tyshchenko to go against Goloborodko. Vasily is even accused of being Nemchuk's project (with the help of a plot involving his double Grisha). | |
| 23 | 15 November 2017 | The oligarchs' scam is uncovered. Mamatov is arrested on charges of plotting the murder of Goloborodko. Borisenko withdraws from the election in favor of Karasyuk. Surikov presents Nemchuk with a compromise on the latter, and as a result, Karasyuk also withdraws from the election, casting his votes in favor of Surikov. Surikov resumes negotiations with the IMF on a loan and succeeds, which wins the support of voters. | |
| 24 | 16 November 2017 | Olya tries to find evidence on Surikov, but fails. Suddenly, Nemchuk comes to the rescue in this matter, throwing on the air compromising information about the terms of the deal with the IMF. Two days before the elections, a debate between Goloborodko and Surikov is planned to be held on the TV show "Dialoga". The latter is not at the debate, but his representative comes out - Yurii Ivanovich, who tells the truth about his salvation, thereby exposing Goloborodko as a criminal in the eyes of the public. A little later, he admits that the former president was sympathetic to him, and explains to the audience the truth about what prompted Goloborodko to commit an official crime. According to the results of the elections, Surikov is leading with a result almost twice as high as the result of Goloborodko. But the people do not believe the results of the elections... |
| Episode | Original air date | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 March 2019 | The season begins 30 years in the future in a history lesson, where a young teacher tells his students how Goloborodko saved Ukraine from oligarchs and led it to prosperity. Vasyl Goloborodko is in prison, at the same time Dmytro Surikov is in power. The new president is organizing a grandiose scam to buy coal from South Africa and flies to the Maldives. People, having learned about this, go to protests, but they are dispersed. Surikov's colleagues betray him. The "Milk Revolution" begins. Meanwhile, Goloborodko's friends and previous ministers are appealing to the EU to free Goloborodko. | |
| 2 | 27 March 2019 | After the "Milk Revolution", Zhanna Borysenko becomes president of Ukraine, but her promises to both oligarchs and ordinary Ukrainians turn out to be false. This leads to a total of six "Maidans", the authorities eventually move to the "Military-Nationalist State" headed by Boryslav Kostyuk, but this also ends in failure. Each region of Ukraine becomes a separate quasi-states. | |
| 3 | 28 March 2019 | Vasyl Goloborodko remains the only person who has proved the possibility of positive changes. He is elected president again and must meet the expectations of the people. Goloborodko finds himself on the imaginary "court" of the former rulers of Ukraine, where he understands what he should do. But to do this, he would have to talk to the rulers of all 28 Ukrainian quasi-states. Ukraine eventually becomes a utopia: oligarchs are curbed by the sale of criminal cases against them at auctions; the language issue is resolved by simultaneous interpreters; regions are connected with "eternal" concrete roads. All Ukrainians share savings, making a huge pile of gold on Independence Square, which goes to realize the dream of Ukraine, which will never again be a third-world country. |
Servant of the People aired on the 1+1 channel in Ukraine.[1] The studio also posted all episodes for free on YouTube.[2] The first season of the show was added to Netflix in select countries in 2017.[2] Sometime in 2021 Netflix lost licensing rights. In March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Netflix re-licensed the first season, and in May 2022 added the second and third seasons for 33+ countries.[10] [11] The Netflix release combines the first two episodes into one in both season one and two, resulting in 23 episodes instead of 24 for both seasons.[12]
Belarusian TV channel Belarus-1 started broadcasting the show in evening prime time on 11 November 2019.[13]
The Russian channel TNT aired the pilot episode of the show's first series on 11 December 2019, claiming it did so as "a marketing move to raise awareness of the platform".[13] TNT cut a scene from the episode in which president-elect Goloborodko asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin wore a Hublot watch, a joke referring to a well-known anti-Putin chant in Ukraine.[14]
In the United States, HITN presents the series in a Spanish language version.[15] Jewish Life Television carries the series in its original Russian and Ukrainian languages, with English subtitles.[16]
See main article: Servant of the People 2.
A film adaptation of the series, Servant of the People 2, was released in 2016. The second season used footage from the film to expand on its plot and was released in 2017, bringing the film into the series' main continuity.[17]
Zelenskyy would later mirror his character's rise to political power in being elected President of Ukraine in 2019. After his victory was announced, Zelenskyy walked onto the stage at his campaign headquarters with the show's theme playing.[18]
In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskyy's wartime leadership, the show's popularity received a notable boost. Broadcasting rights have been requested by various foreign companies.[19] On March 16, Netflix announced that season 1 of the series would be available to US streamers again due to popular demand.[20] [21] [22] On May 16, Netflix added seasons 2 and 3.
During 2022, Zelenskyy won widespread admiration as a resistance figure against Russia and Putin, leading to the series becoming more popular in turn. Foreign broadcasting companies have sought to air Servant of the People on their own channels.
An American remake was ordered by Hulu, with British writer Simon Farnaby involved in its development, though the show was scrapped when Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States.[23]
After the premiere of the original show, the rights to make Poland-based remake were bought by Okil Khamidov, however no studio wanted to pick it up. In 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskyy's wartime leadership, the original show's popularity received a notable boost internationally. Considering that Polsat had picked up the remake. The show, titled Servant of the People, was premiered on 4 March 2023. It was created by Okil Khamidov, and directed by Khamidov and Maciej Bieliński. It was made by Polot Media, and distributed by Polsat. Currently it has one season of 24 episodes, and a second season is in production.[24] [25] The first episode of the series was sent by Khamidov to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who reportedly liked it, and was glad that the series was finally made, after years of attempts.[26]