With shows like BBC One’s Wolf and Netflix’s All The Light We Cannot See, it’s a great time for novels to be adapted into thrilling prestige TV. Later this year, Showtime and Paramount+ are bringing a new miniseries to our screens that adapts the 2016 novel Gentleman In Moscow. Written by novelist Amor Towles, it explores the life of a fictional Russian count in the early 20th century, and the series has cast Ewan McGregor into the star role, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Count Alexander Rostov is born a few years before the beginning of the 20th century in Saint Petersburg and becomes accustomed to living an aristocratic lifestyle, before being sent out of Russia for wounding his sister’s suitor. The bulk of the series’ story takes place in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution, with the rich and privileged count returning to the country and being put under arrest. A miniseries about Russia going through a pivotal moment in history feels timely, and they will see how Count Alexander experiences the changes in the new Soviet Union. Rostov is banished to a hotel in Moscow, and threatened with execution should he try to leave.
The hotel is just opposite the Kremlin, and Rostov starts trying to find purpose in life as history unfolds around him. As he undertakes a personal journey of rediscovering himself, one of the people he comes across while living in the hotel is Anna Urbanova, played by Winstead.
Ubranova is a self-made actress at the height of her fame, and her beauty and wit draw Rostov in. But she remains enigmatic to him, not letting her guard down easily. Rostov is unsure whether Ubranova has a true interest in him, or is just acting the part. McGregor executive produces the series, and commented “It’s an amazing, wonderful story and I am very excited to get to play such a fabulous role.” There are no other cast members confirmed yet, but expect more in the coming months. The series is however being directed by Sam Miller, who previously worked on Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You and the Apple TV+ series Surface.
A Gentleman In Moscow will arrive on Paramount+ in the UK later this year in 2023, though no definite release date has been announced yet.