‘The Romanoffs’ Trailer: Matthew Weiner’s Anthology Drama For Amazon Looks Tantalizing

Series Name: The Romanoffs

Release Date: October 12, 2018

Platform: Prime Video

The Romanoffs Cast: John Slattery, Aaron Eckhart, Christina Hendricks, Diane Lane, Isabelle Huppert, Kathryn Hahn, Amanda Peet, Corey Stoll, Noah Wyle, Paul Reiser, Andrew Rannells, and more

Creator: Matthew Weiner

The Pitch: This anthology series features eight separate stories about people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Romanoffs, the family who ruled Russia from the 17th century to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Each episode, viewers will be introduced to a new group of descendants who attempt to understand the implications of their potentially-royal lineage.

Why We’re Excited: Diane Lane! Aaron Eckhart! A Mad Men reunion!

The Romanoffs marks Matthew Weiner’s first project since Mad Men ended in 2015, and he’ll be reuniting with a few of the drama’s most recognizable faces in the Prime Video anthology. John Slattery and Christina Hendricks, two Mad Men leads, will be appearing in the series, as well as supporting actors Cara Buono and Jay R. Ferguson. As such, expectations are sky-high for The Romanoffs, but if there’s anyone who can meet (or even exceed) expectations, it’s the ultra-talented Weiner.

Additionally, fans will meet the anthology’s massive ensemble cast all around the globe. Not all of the Romanoffs’ descendants have stayed in Russia over the last century; they’re living in seven different countries on three different continents. The Romanoffs filmed on-location all around the world (and Amazon used crews native to each locale, too), which will likely lend a stylized-yet-authentic look to the series.

Unlike other Prime Video series, The Romanoffs will air new episodes weekly. The show’s first two episodes (titled “The Violet Hour” and “The Royal We”) will premiere on October 12, but after that, Prime Video will release just one per week. This will be the first time that Prime Video has released an anthology series week by week — generally, they prefer the drop-it-all-at-once model — but it’s not surprising that Weiner was the one to convince a major corporation to change its ways. Even though we’d love to binge-watch The Romanoffs, we’re excited to see how the more traditional roll-out complements the series’ imperial subject matter.