Servant of the People (2015 TV series)

*Servant of the People*
Servant of the People
Genre	Political satire; Comedy
Created by	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Starring	Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Stanislav Boklan; Olena Kravets; Jury Krapov; Mykhailo Fatalov; Oleksandr Pikalov; Eugene Koshovyi; Viktor Saraykin; Natalia Sumska; Kateryna Kisten;
Theme music composer	Dmytro Shurov
Composer	Andriy Kiryuschenko;
Country of origin	Ukraine
Original languages	Russian, Ukrainian
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	51
Production
Executive producer	Volodymyr Zelenskyy;
Producers	Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Andriy Yakovlev; Boris Schefir; Olexiy Kiryushenko;
Production locations	Kyiv, Ukraine
Running time	40—90 minutes
Production company	Kvartal 95;
Original release
Network	1+1
Release	16 October 2015 –; 28 March 2019

Servant of the People (Template:Lang-uk, Russian: Слуга народа, sometimes translated as Servant of the Nation) is a Ukrainian political satire comedy television series created and produced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stars as Vasyl Petrovych Goloborodko, a high-school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine after a viral video filmed by one of his students shows him making a profane rant against government corruption in his country.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was later elected actual president of Ukraine in 2019.

The series was produced by Kvartal 95, which was founded by Zelenskyy.^[4] It would become much more involved in Ukraine's actual politics; on 31 March 2018, a political party named after the television series was registered with the Ministry of Justice,^[5] and Zelenskyy was elected President of Ukraine on 21 April 2019, with over 70 percent of the second-round vote.^[6]

Plot

Filmed by a student when launching a profane rant about corruption in Ukraine, who uploads the footage to YouTube, Vasyl Petrovych Goloborodko (Volodymyr Zelenskyy), an absent-minded high-school history teacher who lives with his parents, turns into an Internet sensation overnight. Goloborodko's students launch a crowdfunding campaign for his candidacy in Ukraine's presidential race against his wishes, eventually propelling their flabbergasted teacher to political victory as the new President of Ukraine. While in office, Vasyl is confused at his newfound responsibilities, but gradually eases into his presidential duties and decides to weed out corruption in his government.

Cast and characters

Actor / Actress	Role	Note	Seasons
Actor / Actress	Role	Note	1 (2015)	2 (2017)	3 (2019)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy	Vasyl Petrovych Goloborodko, Grisha	A high school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine, following a rant against government corruption in his country secretly filmed by one of his students. Zelenskyy also portrays Grisha, a government employee who received plastic surgery to serve as Goloborodko's physical double.	Main
Stanislav Boklan	Yuriy Ivanovich Chuiko	A corrupt politician who serves as the Prime Minister of Ukraine and is later exposed as an ally of the oligarchs.	Main
Yevhen Koshovy [ru; uk]	Serhiy Viktorovich Mukhin	The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a former actor.	Main
Olena Kravets	Olha Yuriyivna Mishchenko	Vasyl's ex-wife and the director of the National Bank of Ukraine. She later becomes acting Prime Minister.	Main
Yury Krapov [ru; uk]	Mikhaylo Ivanovich Sanin	The Minister of Fiscal Affairs of Ukraine.	Main
Mykhailo Fatalov [ru; uk]	Mikhail Ashotovich Tasunyan	The head of the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU)	Main
Oleksandr Pikalov [Wikidata]	Ivan Andreyevich Skorik	The Minister of Defence of Ukraine and a former navy captain.	Main
Viktor Saraykin [ru; uk]	Petro Vassilyevich Goloborodko	Vasyl's father	Main
Kateryna Kisten [ru; uk]	Svetlana Petrovna Sakhno	Vasyl's sister and the former first deputy of the Ukrainian tax service.	Main
Nataliya Sumska	Mariya Stefanovna Goloborodko	Vasyl's mother	Main	Minor
Olha Zhukovtsova-Kyiashko	Oksana Skovoroda	Mukhin's secretary.	Minor	Main
George Povolotsky	Tolya	The Chief of Security and a bodyguard who is initially part of Vasyl's security detail before he is dismissed after Vasyl regards the detail as unnecessary to his work.	Minor	Main
Dmitry Surzhikov	Dmitry Vasilyevich Surikov	Prime Minister of Ukraine, former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the National Bank	Minor	Main
Halyna Bezruk (Season 1) Anastasia Chepelyuk (Season 2)	Anna Mikhailovna	The General Adviser to the President, a former specialist of the Development Department, and Vasyl's mistress, who is exposed as an ally of the oligarchs.
Anna Koshmal [Wikidata]	Natasha Sakhno	The niece of Vasyl Goloborodko
Valentina Ishchenko^[spelling?]	Bella Rudolfivna	Secretary of Vasyl Goloborodko
Stepan Kazanin	Speechwriter	Assistant to Vasyl Goloborodko

Minor roles

Actor / Actress	Role	Note
Alexei Kiryushchenko	Sergei Pavlovich	Former president
Tetyana Pechonkina	Nina Yegorivna Tretyak	Former teacher of Holoborodko, former head of the SBU
Yuriy Hrebelnyk	Plato
Alexey Vertinsky	Sergey Susseldorf	Designer (Episode 5) / Louis XVI (Episode 20)
Oleg Maslennikov	Oligarch	Oligarch
Olena Bondareva-Repina	Raisa Andriivna	School principal
Oleksiy Smolka	Serhiy Leonidovych Karasyuk	Leader of the faction
Anastasia Karpenko	Yana Klymenko	Opposition journalist
Mykhailo August	Andriy Volodymyrovych Yakovlev	Minister of Culture
Danilo Oskin	Mykhailo Semenovych	Oligarch
Vitaliy Ivanchenko	Vitaliy Romanchenko	MP from the Dobrobut faction
Rinat Khabibulin	Dima	Vasyl's son
Alexander Danilchenko	Nikolay Pavlovich Pilipenko	Chief of ZhEK
Alexander Ignatusha	Judge/Monk Sebastian	Judge/Monk
Nazar Zadniprovsky
Andriy Romaniy		Host of political talk show
Dmytro Melenevsky		Karasyuk's bodyguard
Andriy Danylko	Verka Serduchka	Ukrainian pop singer

Episodes

Season 1

Episode	Original air date	Description
1—2	16.11.2015	The show starts with a clip of Oligarchs (called the "three whales") discussing politics on a balcony with a view of Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Their faces are not shown, and eventually they do cheers over some beer. The show cuts to the past, where a class of students are all talking about their teacher's rant about life in Ukraine. The teacher, Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, asks them to quiet down, and learns that his entire class (minus the student who filmed him) saw his rant on YouTube and that they and their relatives agree with Holoborodko. Holoborodko's rant is shown to be laced with profanity in his description of the Ukrainian government. He tells his students a parable about a peasant who screamed at the emperor to lower the taxes in his province; the emperor then ordered the peasant's tongue cut out and the taxes to be lowered. In the present, Holoborodko is elected in a landslide after his students start a crowdfunding campaign for his candidacy, and his life is turned upside down. Upon his victory, he is greeted by Yuriy Chuiko, the Prime Minister, and is shown a variety of presidential luxuries, from photoshoots to a limousine escort.
3	17.11.2015	Waking up as President, Holoborodko notices how all members of his family begin to serve him. But his sister does not know at all that her brother is the new President of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the oligarchs are beginning to provide certificates about Vasyl Holoborodko.
4	17.11.2015	Vasyl is preparing for the inauguration. He is assisted by a speechwriter. The ex-boyfriend of the President's niece comes home to the girl with his family. He wants to woo her, because now she is a relative of the Guarantor.
5	18.11.2015	The president's first working day begins with a trip to work in a minibus. The Prime Minister also goes with him. Vasyl's father decides to make several expensive purchases and live on a wide leg.
6	18.11.2015	Relatives of the President make a chic repair for free in the apartment and dream of moving to Mezhyhirya. Holoborodko meets with officials and visits the Verkhovna Rada. He even imagines the ghost of Che Guevara, who calls for radical measures.
7	19.11.2015	By order of Vasyl, all deputies must unload the center and move to work in buildings on the outskirts of the capital. Also, officials should switch from luxury business cars to bicycles.
8	19.11.2015	Holding an open competition for ministerial positions turns out to be a big mistake. The old government and the oligarchs decide to spend on the bread places of their people. The president finds out about it by accident. Therefore, he decides to offer positions to trusted people with whom he personally knows. However, it is not known whether the deputies will support their candidacies.
9	23.11.2015	The first working day of the Holoborodko team was not easy for all ministers without exception. There are a lot of people in the Cabinet who want to frame them. The most affected is the head of the SBU, into whose cup of tea was poured a chemical substance.
10	23.11.2015	The guarantor is shocked by what happened to the head of the SBU. He intends to figure it all out. Meanwhile, his team receives eye-catching offers from the "strong people". The oligarchs are trying to bribe the ministers, and the president doesn't know anything about it.
11	24.11.2015	The ministers still decide to take a bribe. Some of them even ask for more money. At the same time, the Prime Minister feels great collecting profits from farmers. But the state employees get what is left.
12	24.11.2015	Holoborodko introduces tax reform. It provides for an interest rate cut, as well as a simplified tax payment scheme. In order to explain his intentions to the people, the President wants to use the resources of the Ministry of Culture. He asks to shoot a commercial, which will simply and easily show all the advantages of the reform.
13	25.11.2015	Holoborodko's tax reform primarily affects his family, namely his father. Meanwhile, the head of the Fiscal Service begins to check officials. He finds out that all their income is registered to husbands, wives, brothers, parents, etc. When their relatives are so tying up, the deputies themselves huddle in small apartments.
14	25.11.2015	Thanks to the agreements of Anatoliy's wife, the President decides to use the services of a security guard. The Head of the Fiscal Service speaks with the relatives of the wealthiest officials. This leads to a high-profile case and forces the oligarchs to move.
15	26.11.2015	The President's sister is trying to get into the Cabinet and take a high position. But all the ministers refuse to accept her to their departments. When at least some funds appear in the budget, Holoborodko decides to allow them to repair Kyiv roads.
16	26.11.2015	All the failures of the President and his team are leaked to the media. One call can cause a storm of dissatisfied people. Specially trained people who do not want to lose their seats begin working on this.
17	30.11.2015	Having launched several reforms, Holoborodko actually declares war on the oligarchs. The president is beginning to be watched. Subordinates of oligarchs are struggling to find the errors that took place in the life of the President. But, as it turns out, it is not so easy to compromise the Guarantor.
18	01.12.2015	Finding a decent person for the post of head of Ukravtodor is not so easy. For years it was occupied by people who plundered one of the most important structures in the apparatus of the state. And such people of the new Guarantor, of course, do not suit.
19	02.12.2015	Holoborodko is trying in every way to eradicate corrupt power. In this episode, Angela Merkel herself calls the Guarantor, who mistakenly informs the President of the good news: it was decided to accept Ukraine into the European Union. But in fact, the European Union accepts Montenegro.
20	03.12.2015	The president suggests that the "strong ones of this world" file real tax returns with the right number of zeros. Holoborodko continues to press the oligarchs. Of course, this causes them rabies. The caste of oligarchs is trying to influence the President in every possible way. But he doesn't give up.
21	07.12.2015	Holoborodko's reforms are not to the liking of not only the people, but also the "three whales" who are trying to gain control of power. They try to negotiate with the newly minted President, but nothing happens.
22	08.12.2015	The president needs to repay his debts to the IMF. He resorts to unpopular measures - tough reform. Such a policy of the head of state sows real panic among the people.
23	09.12.2015	The president is on a political talk show. On the air of the program, he talks about reforming the judicial system of Ukraine. With the submission of Holoborodko, the former head of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of Kyiv conducts an audit right at home. They show what a wonderful life the official leads with his family.
24	09.12.2015	So came to the end of the first 100 days of the reign of Holoborodko. Finally, his actions lead to progress. Changes in government are becoming noticeable. The President was able to find those buttons, by clicking on which it was easier and easier to carry out reforms. Anatoliy saves the president from an assassination attempt. He and his family, minister friends, and lover Anna Mikhailovna have a family dinner.

Season 2: From Love to Impeachment

Episode	Original air date	Description
1—2	23.10.2017	Holoborodko wakes up in a cold sweat after dreaming, in which he was betrayed by best friends. After recovering a little, he quickly calms down, as it is just a dream, but in reality the president has a birthday today. But after watching the news, Holoborodko suddenly realizes that there will be no holiday, because there was a coup d'etat in the country. This turns out to be a prank by his friends.
3	24.10.2017	After the unforgettable birthday of the President, all his friends gather for an important meeting in his office. On the agenda: the lack of evidence against Yurii Ivanovich, as banks in all countries in which he withdrew money refuse to cooperate with the investigation. Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by the visit of Yurii Ivanovich himself, who was brought to Holoborodko's office for an investigative experiment.
4	24.10.2017	Finally, the day comes when Ukraine received a visa-free regime. The president is most pleased with this news, of course. Leaving home in the morning, Vasyl Holoborodko does not meet anyone and soon realizes that all Ukrainians have left their homeland in search of a better fate, and only he remained a true patriot of his country (then it turns out to be a dream).
5	25.10.2017	After the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the President realizes that the time has come for change, and goes to the Department of Development, which has long had a plan "to realize the dream of a successful and self-sufficient Ukraine." At the same time, the trial of Yurii Ivanovich continues, and today an incorruptible judge will announce his verdict.
6	25.10.2017	Today is an important historic day for the whole country, and parliament must vote for a new prime minister. The situation is such that the oligarchs cannot decide on a single candidate for the post and are launching a series of compromising stories about the president and his entourage on TV so that he does not get ahead of his candidate.
7	26.10.2017	The global crisis has even affected the IMF, so only one country in Eastern Europe will receive a loan: Ukraine or Greece, but to do so, countries must show their tough stance on corruption. The Greeks decide to imprison their oligarchs. Ukraine needs a bigger figure, so the local oligarchs decide to arrest the main corrupt official, who turned out to be the former president.
8	26.10.2017	In order to receive a loan from the IMF, Ukraine must fulfill the mandatory conditions and adopt a whole package of anti-corruption laws, for which Verkhovna Rada deputies stubbornly refuse to vote. The president has only 2 days to persuade deputies to vote for the necessary laws for the country.
9	30.10.2017	After the president's visit to Yurii Ivanovich in "places not so far away", Vasyl Holoborodko makes a proposal that the former prime minister cannot refuse and agrees to testify against the oligarchs in court.
10	30.10.2017	A delegation from the IMF arrives in Lviv to sign a final loan agreement. It would seem that no difficulties should have arisen, as the Rada voted for the necessary laws for the country, and all that is needed is the personal presence of the president, who at such a crucial moment decides not to go to Lviv.
11	31.10.2017	To quarrel with the oligarchs and get the coveted loan, Vasily Petrovich Holoborodko goes to Kharkiv to meet with the governor for the sole purpose of persuading him to change Roizman's bank to Mamatov's bank. The meeting does not yield the desired result, and the president again goes to Yurii Ivanovich, who has a contingency plan.
12	31.10.2017	Instead of the promised visit to Sumy, the president goes to Zaporizhzhia and reveals a number of corruption schemes to the press, after which he thanked journalist Serhiy Biryukov, who works for Roizman, for this information in front of many cameras. The oligarchs understand that all these events are not accidental, and promise to arrange a "warm welcome" to Vasyl Petrovich in Zaporizhzhia.
13	01.11.2017	Holoborodko continues to reveal the schemes of the oligarchs, creating new problems for them. They "bite" each other, revoking the license of one of the TV channels and causing the failure of privatized mobile operators and banking systems. Ukraine is falling into a global crisis, but then it turns out to be only a dream of Holoborodko. Titushky incited by Mamatov chase the president and Chuiko all over Zaporizhzhia. During the chase Holoborodko and Chuiko change into costumes like those of Verka Serduchka and defend themselves with "cakes."
14	01.11.2017	Yurii Ivanovich finds his long-awaited freedom by fulfilling his obligations to the president. Holoborodko is meeting with the IMF delegation to accept its demands, but when he hears that the commission was demanding from Ukraine, the latter is sent "in the ass."
15	02.11.2017
16	02.11.2017
17	06.11.2017
18	07.11.2017
19	08.11.2017
20	09.11.2017
21	13.11.2017
22	14.11.2017
23	15.11.2017
24	16.11.2017

Season 3: Choice

Episode	Original air date	Description
1	27.03.2019	Vasyl Holoborodko is in prison, while Dmytro Surikov is in power. The new president organizes a grand scam to buy coal in South Africa and flies to Thailand. When people find out about it, they go out to protest, but they are dispersed. Surikov's colleagues betray him. The "Dairy Revolution" begins. Meanwhile, previous ministers have appealed to the EU to release Holoborodko.
2	27.03.2019
3	28.03.2019

Development

Production

Concept Volodymyr Zelensky , Andriy Yakovlev , Oleksiy Kiryushchenko , Serhiy Shefir , Borys Shefir
Scriptwriters: Andriy Yakovlev , Oleksiy Kiryushchenko , Yuriy Kostyuk, Yuriy Mykulenko, Dmytro Hryhorenko, Mykhailo Savin, Dmytro Kozlov, Oleksandr Bragin
Directed by Oleksiy Kiryushchenko
Cinematographer: Serhiy Koshel
Production designer: Vadim Shinkaryov
Composer: Andriy Kiryushchenko
Soundtrack: Dmitry Shurov , Potap and Nastya
Make-up artist: Nina Kremeshna-Lavrinenko
Costume designer: Veronika Yatsenko
Executive producer: Victor Yarish
Creative producer: Yuri Kostyuk
Producers: Volodymyr Zelensky , Borys Shefir , Serhiy Shefir , Andriy Yakovlev , Oleksiy Kiryushchenko

Release

Servant of the People aired on the 1+1 channel in Ukraine.^[1] The studio also posted all episodes for free on YouTube.^[2] The show is available for streaming and download on Netflix in some countries.^[2]

Belarusian TV channel Belarus-1 started broadcasting the show in evening prime time on 11 November 2019.^[7]

The Russian channel TNT aired the pilot episode of the show's first series on 11 December 2019, claiming it did so as "a marketing move to raise awareness of the platform".^[7] TNT cut a scene from the episode in which president-elect Goloborodko asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin wore a Hublot watch, a joke referring to a well-known anti-Putin chant in Ukraine.^[8]

Sequels

A film adaptation of the series, Servant of the People: the Movie, was released in 2016. The second season used footage from the film to expand on its plot and was released in 2017, bringing the film into the series' main continuity.^[9] The third season was released in 2019.

Impact

2019

Zelenskyy would later mirror his character's rise to political power in being elected President of Ukraine in 2019.

2022

In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskyy's wartime leadership, the show's popularity received a notable boost. Broadcasting rights have been requested by various foreign companies.^[10]

Broadcasting rights

During 2022, Zelenskyy won widespread admiration as a resistance figure against Russia and Putin, leading to the series becoming more popular in turn. Foreign broadcasting companies have sought to air Servant of the People on their own channels.