Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo / AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo / AP
Countries are snapping up the rights to Servant of the People — a comedy series starring the Ukrainian President, as the Ukrainian President.
In 2015, former actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy played Vasiliy Petrovich Goloborodko, a high school teacher propelled to the presidency after a student's video of him denouncing official corruption in Ukraine goes viral.
Goloborodko sets about running the country while eschewing the perks of being leader by keeping hold of his normal life.
A hit in Ukraine, where it ran for three seasons and inspired a spin-off movie, interest in the show has peaked since Zelenskyy became the face of the nation as it endures attacks from Russia.
Eccho Rights has distributed the programme, made by Zelenskyy's Studio Kvartel 95, since it launched. The company's managing partner, Nicola Soderlund, said sales have increased dramatically in the past few days, calling interest in the programme "remarkable".
"It's quite an old show already," he explains. "But, of course, given the circumstances, it's become very, very, very interesting for everybody."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes a selfie at the first congress of his party called Servant of the People in the city Botanical Garden, Kiev, in 2019. Photo / AP
Channel 4 has announced it has the rights to Servant of the People in the UK and plans to broadcast an episode on Sunday, alongside a current affairs show about Zelenskyy. Eccho Rights also reported deals with MBC in the Middle East, Greece's ANT 1 and PRO TV in Romania, as well as broadcasters in Bulgaria, Moldova, Estonia, France, Finland and Georgia. It was not immediately clear who, if anyone, had US rights or New Zealand rights.
"People get surprised that a comedian can be a politician, but he was," says Soderlund. "His skills in getting compelling messages to the people, which is what to do if you're a TV host, has helped him a lot becoming a politician."
Zelenskyy's profile has skyrocketed during the invasion as he tirelessly advocates for Ukraine, appearing with countrymen and on near-constant video addresses. Turning down an offer to escape the country and instead pleading for help made him a hero to many watching.
Eccho Rights has donated €50,000 ($82,000) to the Ukrainian Red Cross, which Soderlund says should offset the money they've made from selling the show. The company has also removed any Russian or Russian produced TV shows from its catalogue.
so apparently Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars in 2006 and the tape is even better than whatever you're imagining pic.twitter.com/L1gnKD2ISr
Soderlund met Zelenskyy in 2012 when they distributed one of his comedy shows called Crack Them Up, where ordinary people have to make comedians laugh. The premise of Servant of the People appealed to him right away.
Zelenskyy mined the humour of an ordinary man in a corrupt society riding his bike to the presidential palace, forgoing a pay raise and living at home with his mother. "That was kind of the idea," Soderlund said, "and I loved it."
Servant of the People won the best feature series award at the Teletriumph Awards in Ukraine and also the Gold Remi Award for Television Comedy at the 2016 WorldFest in Houston.
