PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON RUSSIAN EPIC TV SERIES JANISSARY WITH ILYA MALAKOV: A STORY OF HONOUR, FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE SET IN THE LATE 17TH CENTURY

  JANISSARY EPIC SERIES  

TO LAUNCH TOMMOROW!

Janissary will start in Russia tomorrow

Now I cannot tell you if the plan is still on given the current situation over in dear old Matushka Rossiya, but according to official schedule new historical series JANISSARY ((Русский пленник or Янычар) should start on the First Channel of Russia's national broadcaster tomorrow, February 28th with the action set in the dark and blood thirsty Ottoman empire within lavish new 12 episodes! Beside our dearest Ilya Malakov (whom you remember from their historical movie Kolovrat or Furious) in the lead role, the cast also includes actors from Serbia, Georgia, Ethiopia, Latvia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, thus making it a panslavic and international project with more than 150 actors involved in total. The shooting started back in the summer of 2019 so it was a very long production process. The story is set at the end of the15th and the beginning of the 16th century so beside the infamous Turkish sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (Serbian actor Ivan Bosiljcic), the series will also include Russian tzars Fedor Ivanovich (Vladimir Koshevoi) and Boris Godunov (Artur Ivanov). Samvel Tadevosian, controversial Serbian actress Milena Radulovic, Arina Zharkova, Richard Lepers also star. Ivan Shurhovetzkiy, who helmed Kolovrat, is also directing this one. A whole city was built in Turkey for the needs of the production and some of the mass scenes include more than 2000 people on screen. It it interesting that the sets were done by Tims Production which also did famous Magnificent Century, Turkey's most popular historical series ever. The series has already been sold to ex Yugoslav countries, Turkey, and some of the Middle East and North African countries.

THE STORY OF THE PRISONER 

 Alekha (Ilya Malakov) is an honest, strong, freedom loving Cossack from the end of the 16th century, who decided to fulfill his father's last will. As a result, he goes to a foreign land in order to bow to the Virgin Mary. By the will of fate, he finds himself in the palace of the Sultan Mehmed (Serbian star Ivan Bosiljcic) of the Ottoman Empire. Here the Russian is taken prisoner and sent to become one of the evil Jannisaries (sultan's elite squads made from the children and prisoners who are taken from the enslaved regions of the empire and then trained and forced to turn against their own families and people). In an instant, not only plans, but also the life of the protagonist goes downhill. The man tries to fight fate, but the circumstances are stronger. As a result, he becomes an Ottoman prisoner who must serve the hated sultan. Here Alekha will face many trials and hardships. But during the whole journey, he does not give up on the faith that one day he will return home - to his native land. In parallel, he finds the love of his life. But even here difficult tests await him. But for a real Cossack there are no barriers when he loves. He is ready to give his life for his beloved, because in a true Cossack, love for a woman is equated with love for the Motherland. Check out the trailer for the series below and tell us what you think:

HOLLYWOOD SPY'S ULTIMATE GUIDE THROUGH ALL NEW EPIC, PERIOD SET AND HISTORICAL 2022 TV SERIES: FROM LORD OF THE RINGS AND VIKINGS, TO ROYAL COURTS, WILD WEST AND HISTORICAL VENUES

 UPCOMING 2022 EPIC SHOWS 

 WORLD'S MOST EXTENSIVE LIST

Your Spy is bringing you our traditional list of all the period set series to expect in the upcoming new year. We have a few ultra exclusive pics (Tom Jones, Hotel Portofino etc) and if you click on the links within the sections you will find out more about the series.

 

LORD OF THE RINGS

Without any doubt the most anticipated of the 2022 new epic shows and also, with the budget of over half a billion dollar, the most expensive series ever made is LORD OF THE RINGS which arrives to Amazon with

The second season is moving production over to UK from New Zealand

the first eight part season September 2nd. Set thousands of years before the events of the films, it will follow a group of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. Morfydd Clark plays young queen Galadriel, and the second season is in works too.

 

SERIES FROM STARZ

Starz, the usual home of lavish epic dramas, is bringing us three of them this year: SERPENT QUEEN in which Samantha Morton plays famous

First photo from the sets of The Serpent Queen in France

Catherine de Medici with Colm Meaney as her hubby King Francis and Charles Dance as the pope . They also have a prequel to cult DANGEROUS LIAISONS 18th century French story with Alice Englert and Nicholas

John Heffernan as Duke of Somerset in Becoming Elizabeth

Denton as leads. Their BECOMING ELIZABETH will reveal young years of the Virgin Queen with Alicia von Rittberg, Tom Cullen,  Romola Garai, Jessica Raine, Jamie Blackley in the cast.

SHOGUN AT FX

FX has started production (which will last till April) on their small screen version of SHOGUN which means we might get it at the end of the year.

Cosmo Jarvis takes the lead role in new Shogun

Cosmo Jarvis takes the lead role a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him! Hiroyuki Sanada will be Lord Toranaga.

SERIES FROM GREAT BRITAIN

BBC is bringing us Connor Swindells, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Alen in SAS ROGUE HEROES six part series on the creation of the famed Special Forces Unit. We might also get, over at ITV, a new version of Henry Fielding's

SAS Rogue Heroes will probably arrive rather soon to BBC

TOM JONES from the Poldark team. Solly McLeod plays the poor foundling in the story of the young man's complicated journey to find love and

Exclusive first look at Solly McLeod as Tom Jones

success in 18th century England. BBC is also bringing us GALLOWS POLE which follows a development of a criminal enterprise set against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution in 18th century Yorkshire, with George

Ultra exclusive first look at the cast of Hotel Portofino

Mackay, Tom Burke and Michael Socha in the cast. ITV and BRITBOX will air HOTEL PORTOFINO 1920s Italian riviera set mini series starring Natascha McElhone, Anna Chancellor and Lorenzo Richelmy.

 

THE ESSEX SERPENT

Apple has Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston leading six part THE ESSEX SERPENT which follows newly widowed Cora, who, having been released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the

Claire Danes will sport a lot of interesting costumes in the series

small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area. 

WILD WEST SET SERIES

We are probably most interested in BBC produced and Emily Blunt, Rafe Spall, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, Toby Jones starring THE ENGLISH six part saga about a woman who seeks revenge on the man

First look at Matthias Schoenaerts as Django

she sees as responsible for the death of her son in the Wild West. Rival Sky is bringing us DJANGO in which Matthias Schoenaerts plays a gunslinger in the Wild West who is searching for his daughter who he believes escaped the

Douglas Booth and Dominic Cooper in That Dirty Black Bag series

murder of his family eight years ago. Tom Austen, Noomi Rapace also star. AMC has THAT DIRTY BLACK BAG a raw, epic and romantic spaghetti western series about the dark side of the Far West. Travis Fimmel,

Tom Blyth as Billy the Kid in new Epix historical series

Douglas Booth, Dominic Cooper and Aidan Gillen star. Epix will have BILLY THE KID series in which Tom Blyth plays the young gangster. It comes from Michael Hirst.

 

WILLOW AT DISNEY PLUS 

Disney Plus has a new remake of the famous 80s cult classic WILLOW ready for 2022. Warwick Davis returns as a dwarf farmer who does magic.

First look at the cast that is shooting Willow over in UK

The story will take place years after the events of the film bringing new characters to the enchanted realm of fairy queens and two headed Eborsisk monsters! Ellie Bamber leads the now femalecentric cast. 

 

  NEW HBO EPIC SERIES 

HBO is of course headlining its epic offer with Game of Thrones spin off series HOUSE OF THE DRAGON! Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Ryan Corr, Graham McTavish, lead the new saga

House of the Dragon is a Game of Thrones spin off

following the story of the House Targaryen set 200 years before the events of the original series. In January, HBO is bringing us Julian Fellowes

Gilded Age comes from Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes

produced costume drama THE GILDED AGE set in the 19th century golden age of New York and following the clash between the new business families

Sarah Lancashire is famous cook Julia Child

and old aristocrats. They will also air JULIA series in which Sarah Lancashire plays famous TV cook Julia Child. David Hyde Pierce plays her husband.

 

 BOUNDLESS AT AMAZON

Amazon will take us on a sail across the seas in historical four episode saga BOUNDLESS in which Alvaro Morte and Rodrigo Santoro play

Rodrigo Santoro plays the lead role in Boundless series

Juan Sebastián Elcano and Ferdinand Magellan whose epic voyage around the world after they set sail from Spain 500 years ago is in the focus of the story. 

 

EPIC SERIES ON NETFLIX 

World's most popular streamer will launch this spring THE EMPRESS series on Austrian empress Sisi starring Devrim Lignau and Philip

The imperial couple in The Empress series on Sisi of Austria

Froissant as the imperial couple. They also have our dearest boys Leo Suter, David Oakes and Sam Corlett in VIKINGS: VALHALLA which

Valhalla already has the second season shot and done!

arrives February, set 100 years after Vikings series and centering on the adventures of Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Hardrada and the Norman King

Blood Origin is a six part prequel to Witcher series

William the Conqueror. They also have BLOOD ORIGIN prequel to their popular Witcher, with Laurence O'Fuarain and Michelle Yeoh leading

The cast aboard the ship in spooky series 1899

the cast of the series set in an elven world 1,200 years before the original show, centering on the origins of the very first Witcher. 1899 will be set on a 19th century spooky voyage ship whose journey becomes a trip to nightmare.

 

EPIC SERIES FROM FRANCE 

Another queen awaits us in Canal + series MARIE ANTOINETTE which will see Emilia Schule playing the 18th century queen with James

First look at the queen of France in Marie Antoinette

Purefoy also in the cast. Isabelle Adjani will play DIANE DE POITIERS in the two part series on the famous lover of French king Henry II, the

Isabelle Adjani is the royal mistress in Diane de Poitiers

husband of the above mentioned Catherine de Medici. They also have AND MOUNTAINS WILL BLOOM a six episode family saga set in 1837 in Provence with Guillaume Arnault in the lead. 

 

  EPIC SERIES FROM RUSSIA 

Russians are bringing us a historical saga on their tzarina ELIZAVETA in which Yulia Khlynina plays the heiress of Peter the Great. They also have Ilya Malakov playing a Russian boy who ends up in Turkish

First look at the tzarina Elizaveta in the new Russian epic saga

sultan's army in RUSSIAN PRISONER saga, and also DECEMBER in which Alexander Petrov plays famous poet Yesenin in his last days when he was in love with Isadora Duncan, the famous dancer. You will also see Ivan

Our boo Ily Malakov is Russian Prisoner

Bosilychich in CASANOVA IN RUSSIA where he is seducing Catherine the Great and LAND OF LEGENDS in which Alexander Kuznetsov play 15th century prince Mikhail who tries to unite the people of Rus.

 

GERMAN PERIOD SET SERIES 

Coming from Germany next year we have a number of period set dramas. HOUSE OF PROMISES, set in the 1920s Berlin inside a newly

First look at the cast of House of Promises series

opened department store. BONN will, meanwhile, be a six-part political thriller about the rise of Germany’s Federal Republic after the terror of WW2.

Hotel Europe will air sometime next year on German ARD

HOTEL EUROPA will be set between WW1 and WW2 in a hotel on the Rhine which hosted some of the most famous names of that time including Hitler and Charlie Chaplin. Currently we've no news on upcoming historical series coming from Italy or Spain, so if you have any info contact us freely!