So, what will it be?

We’re doing an actual anthology — and I say it that way because the word is used for different purposes now than it was when I was growing up. They’re contemporary, but every single episode — and there will be eight — has a different cast, a different story and a different location. The thing that holds them together is that all of the stories involve people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Romanov [family, the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia. The mystery surrounding the family dates back to 1918, when revolutionaries brutally murdered Tsar Nicholas II and much of his family. But the remains of one of his daughters, Anastasia, long served as a mystery, with lore suggesting she'd survived the tragedy and taken on a new identity. In the years since, many have claimed to be Romanov survivors.] And that’s the title of the show, The Romanoffs. [Weiner's spelling choice reflects the pronunciation as well as the way the family name was commonly spelled until recently.]

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What inspired the choice?

When I was writing my novel [the dark contemporary fable Heather, The Totality, will be published this fall] I started collecting these stories — we’re coming up with new one, too — but I loved the idea both as a viewer and as a writer of being able to tell a story that really commits. I don’t mean that we didn’t do that on Mad Men or that you don’t do that on continuing series, but when the characters are not coming back the next week you have a chance to tell it in a different way — to resolve it. Black Mirror is a different genre, but if you enjoy the idea of seeing a new story every week, that will be part of it. And the reason that I picked the Romanovs is that in an era where we have social media and so much theoretical connection to each other it really seems like we’re further apart than ever. And 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. I also 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.

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I may be getting ahead of myself here, but if there were to be a season two, would you continue telling this story or would you select a new one?

Oh, I’d do more of these. I’m hoping that people enjoy this, but it’s set up so that if I enjoy this and Amazon enjoys this, we will continue. And to me, there’s no reason that you can’t do hundreds of these because the stories are very different and there’s no formula to them. As you know, I’m not a big fan of that anyway. So you’re never going to know what you’re going to get — where are we going this week and who’s in it — but for fans of our work, you probably will get more explicit coming attractions. (Laughs.)

Where will these stories be set? And for that matter, filmed?

It’s interesting because without a standing cast or standing set, it can be financially freeing in a way. So, of the eight, we’re planning to do as many as four in the U.S. — I don’t know how many of those will be in Los Angeles — and four abroad. And then shooting them abroad, too. They’ll most likely be shot all in English but with the ability either to tell stories about Americans abroad and, of course, actors from those countries here, too.

Could we see your Mad Men stars pop in, too?

I definitely would not rule that out.

Have those conversations already been had?

We don’t have scripts yet, so we haven’t cast it. But of course I’d love to work with the people whom I worked with on Mad Men. And by the way, behind the scenes, my producing partner is Blake McCormick, who was on Mad Men, and in the writers room, Semi Chellas is an EP and in charge, and Marie and Andre Jacquemetton are back. And in terms of production, I’m going to try to get everybody who is available.

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That budget was reported at $70 million. Is that correct?

It’s not $70 million. It’s actually $50 million for eight episodes. By the way, the most annoying thing about that was that it was suggested that that was my salary. I wish! That would be amazing, but you’d have trouble getting me on the phone if that were my salary. (Laughs.) I’m very happy with how I’m being treated but that’s the budget for eight episodes — and it’s a generous budget but it’s not as insane as it was reported.

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torre_avenue said:

"Could we see your Mad Men stars pop in, too?

I definitely would not rule that out."


.

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iamblades said:

I totally want to see Hamm with a crazy hobo beard playing Rasputin now.

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The Romanoffs, Matthew Weiner’s followup series to his Emmy winning Mad Men, has started to assemble its cast. Joining the Amazon contemporary anthology series as guest stars are Academy Award nominee Isabelle Huppert (Elle) and two former Mad Men co-stars, Christina Hendricks and John Slattery. Also cast in the series, co-produced with Weinstein Television, are Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Amanda Peet (Togetherness), and Marthe Keller (Marathon Man).

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RatskyWatsky said:

Source

That cast!

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torre_avenue said:

Aaron Eckhart joins the cast.

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Inferno313 said:

Good to see that dude doing something intriguing for once. He was fantastic in Thank You For Smoking, The Dark Knight, and Rabbit Hole, but has spent most of this decade appearing in some dire action movie nonsense. Anyone remember I, Frankenstein?

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The series behind-the-scenes creative team includes includes Director of Photography Chris Manley (Mad Men), Costume Designers Janie Bryant (Mad Men) and Wendy Chuck (Spotlight), Production Designers Emmy award winner Henry Dunn (Mad Men) and Christopher Brown (Mad Men). Hair and make-up heads are Theraesa Rivers (Mad Men) and Lana Horochowski (Mad Men), respectively. The casting team includes Emmy winners Carrie Audino (Mad Men) and Laura Schiff (Mad Men), as well as Kendra Clark (Mad Men).

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Corey Stoll (“The Strain”), Andrew Rannells (“Girls”), Mike Doyle (“Odd Mom Out”), JJ Feild (“Turn: Washington’s Spies”), Janet Montgomery (“Salem”), and Paul Reiser (“Mad About You”) have joined “The Romanoffs” as guest stars.

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Jigorath said:

I really miss Mad Men.

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