The comedy series “Diener des Volkes” is available in Germany for streaming via Arte. In it, Zelenskyj plays a history teacher who becomes president overnight.
Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj* was not always a politician. Before he was at the head of the country, he was an actor and comedian. So he plays in a humorous series with the German title “Servant of the People”. It’s about a teacher named Vasyl Petrovich Holoborodko, who becomes President of Ukraine. The character of Holoborodko is played by Selenskyj.
And in reality, Selenskyj succeeds in 2019 after a first candidacy to be elected President of Ukraine*. The name of his party bears the same title as the series. After winning the first round of the election, he thanked all voters who “didn’t vote for him for fun”, as the portal reported in the press.
“Servant of the people” on Arte: Zelenskyj in satirical series about “about real-life villains”
Because Selenskyj’s role in the show is primarily one thing: satire. This is how she describes the British-American news platform Mashable: “This is satire of the fast-paced, generally accessible kind.” billionaire oligarchs who prevent any government from working for the people in a way only the jester of a hopeful democracy can.”
The character of Holoborodko is ranting about the regime in Russia in front of a colleague while a schoolboy is filming him. The video ends up online. His students persuade their teacher to register as a candidate. Holoborodko becomes president overnight, so to speak. After his candidacy, he is actually elected and moves to the top of Ukraine*. An amazing parallel to reality.
In 2015 Volodymyr Zelenskyj was only President of #Ukraine in “Servant of the People”. Against the background of the actual EU membership application that he signed a few days ago in the middle of the war, this scene from the series seems downright bizarre: pic.twitter.com/deQbz6FrjV
— ARTE (@ARTEde) March 3, 2022
Main role for Zelenskyj in “Servants of the People: To be seen in the stream on Arte
There are three seasons of Servant of the People and one movie. The series was shot between 2015 and 2018. The first season can be streamed on the Arte channel. It is available in original sound with German subtitles.
The demand for the series has increased since the beginning of the Ukraine war*. Nicola Söderlund, co-founder of the Swedish television rights agency Eccho Rights, can hardly save himself from inquiries: After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the series “Servants of the People” became a worldwide bestseller. Broadcasters all over the world wanted to broadcast the series,” Söderlund told the AFP news agency in Stockholm. “We concluded 15 contracts last week and are in negotiations with 20 other countries.” (fh) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
The entire series “Servants of the People” can be seen at Arte.
List of rubrics: © picture alliance/dpa/Arte
