The Romanoffs: Why the Russian royal family makes such good TV

With the news that 'Mad Men' creator Matthew Weiner is making a new drama series about the descendants of the Romanov dynasty, we look at other TV shows and films that have dealt with the doomed Russian family

The doomed Romanoff dynasty including Tsar Nicholas II with his children is the subject of a new TV series by 'Mad Men's' Matthew Weiner (Alamy)

It has been 99 years since the execution of the Russian Royal Family in Ekaterinburg.

Now Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is creating a new drama series based on people who believe that they’re descendants of the doomed Romanov dynasty – with newly announced cast members including Mad Men alumni Christina Hendricks and John Slattery.

Since the ad agency drama's conclusion in 2015, Weiner has penned a novel, the forthcoming Heather, The Totality (said to be the bleak story of a protective Manhattan socialite couple and their daughter), but it would be fair to say that fans are most excited about the prospect of more television from the man who also served as a writer/producer on The Sopranos.

In production at Amazon Studios, Weiner's phonetically-titled series The Romanoffs will centre around people who believe themselves present day descendants of Russia’s doomed Romanov dynasty, ousted by revolution nearly one hundred years ago.

Weiner (right) on the set of 'Mad Men'

In interviews, Weiner has linked the $50m eight-episode anthology series to the current zeitgeist for people exploring their roots, commenting: "I love that it’s the chance to talk about nature versus nurture, what they have in common and what is left of a grand heritage. I love this idea that these characters believe themselves to be, whether they are or not, descendants of this last autocratic family who are part of one of the great true crime stories of all time."

Although linked by the Romanov theme, each episode will have a separate story, cast and location, with four due to be shot in the US, and the rest elsewhere.

Given the increased fascination with DNA ancestry and descendants from famous forebears – be it Genghis Khan (apparently 0.5 per cent of the male population of the world), Edward III (Danny Dyer) or William IV (David Cameron) and the success of novels such as David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, it does seem an opportune time for Weiner’s concept.

For Mad Men devotees, the good news is that The Romanoffs will reunite Weiner with Mad Men producer Blake McCormick as well as writers Semi Chellas, and Marie and Andre Jacquemetton.

Christina Hendricks, Joan in 'Mad Men', will star in Weiner's new TV series (Getty) (Getty Images)

Back in March, Weiner hoped for the participation of ‘basically every single person who was involved with [Mad Men]’.

Which of course left the door open for acting talent from Mad Men to appear in The Romanoffs, with Weiner stating at the time that he ‘would definitely not rule that out’.

Although there is no word, as yet, on what characters Hendricks and Slattery will play, we know that other declared players include Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Amanda Peet (Brockmire), Marthe Keller (Marathon Man) and Isabelle Huppert (lauded for her performance in 2016’s Elle), The Romanoffs looks to have more than a fighting chance in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

The Romanovs, in the last days of their ruling dynasty, were most memorably captured in the 1971 movie Nicholas & Alexandra and the BBC1 series Fall of Eagles (1974), while Anastasia, a 1956 live action and 1997 animated movie, depicted life after the fall of the Romanovs, centring around the supposed surviving daughter of the imperial family.

The Romanovs in 'Nicholas & Alexandra' (1971)

In 1999, an episode of sitcom Frasier entitled A Tsar is Born toyed with the idea of the Cranes as descendants of the family, but that seems to be the most recent mainstream TV reference to The Romanov dynasty.

One of the most notable people to use the Romanoff name was the famed Hollywood restaurateur and fraudster Harry F Gerguson aka Mike Romanoff aka Prince Michael Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky-Romanoff, self-proclaimed nephew of Tsar Nicholas II.

'Anastasia' (1956) starring Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman

No-one believed that the flamboyant Romanoff was really a member of the imperial family. But in a town eager for novelty, a fake Russian prince fitted in pretty well – enough to also garner roles playing himself (or a version of himself) in films including A Guide for the Married Man, Von Ryan’s Express, Move Over Darling and In a Lonely Place.

And our very own Prince Michael of Kent is revered by latter-day Tsarists, in part due to his close blood connection to the Romanovs (Tsar Nicholas was the first cousin of three of his grandparents) but chiefly because of his extraordinary resemblance to the late monarch.

Prince Michael has pursued his Russian interests enthusiastically, which has led some to criticise his relationships with the monied classes of the former USSR.

The centenary of the Russian Revolution this year and the subsequent execution of Tsar Nicholas and his immediate family in 1918 appears to have acted as a spur for the development of TV dramas.

Aside from The Romanoffs, there are two other projects in varying stages of production.

Famed Hollywood restaurateur and fraudster Harry F Gerguson used the Romanov name

Last year US cable channel Freeform announced that producer McG (behind Lethal Weapon (the TV series), Terminator Salvation, Charlie’s Angels) was prepping a new show based on Princess Anastasia surviving the murder of the rest of her family and becoming an espionage agent in 1920s Paris.

In reality, this looks to be a generic fantasy series, merely using the Romanov name as a hook, mirroring contemporary TV series and movies that have used real life historical figures as action heroes.

Whether McG’s show will actually make it to our screens remains to be seen.

'Mad Men' star John Slattery (aka Roger Sterling) will join the cast of 'The Romanoffs' (Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC)

In 2016 Russian news agency Itar-Tass ran a story covering the announcement of a 12 season, 144-episode Russian Film Group drama covering the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty – apparently echoing some of the themes of Game of Thrones.

Despite being burdened with the rather dull provisional title of The Age of Prosperity, in the true story of the Romanovs three centuries of power (roughly equivalent to the time the Targaryens held sway in Game of Throne’s Westeros) there exists a wealth of family betrayal, mad relatives, war, religious fanaticism and peasant revolts. Enough, I suppose, to justify some comparison to HBO’s blockbuster show.

Weiner's The Romanoffs represents part of a trend in recent years for commissioning anthology series: a return of sorts to the early days of television, when shows such as Four Star Theatre, The Twilight Zone, Tales of Tomorrow, Death Valley Days and Kraft Television Theatre dominated the airwaves.

Will The Romanoffs usher in a new kind of anthology series?

We’ll have to wait some time for an answer as Weiner’s show is unlikely to drop on Amazon before spring 2018.