When Russia's Putin first attacked peace-loving Ukraine and started a war, we learned about 40-something Volodymyr Zelensky, the short and strong President of Ukraine. We've seen on the national news frequently since war started. With his working-class attitude and soulful eyes, he's won millions of hearts here in America. I pray that he's victorious and that Ukraine can rebuild. We also learned that he'd done comedy and appeared in a foreign version of DANCING WITH THE STARS before his political career began.
Today, I was taking an online stroll through Netflix and saw a show called SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE. I clicked on to read a description -- and discovered that, not only is it a subtitled sitcom, it starred....Zelensky!
His presidential career started in 2019. SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE aired from 2015 to 2019. It's the story of a pretty ordinary guy -- an unmarried history teacher who lives with his parents -- who's elected President of Ukraine "in a democratic fashion," as TV journalists report, adding that he is "the Ukrainian people's choice." There are some who don't acknowledge the election results. (Hmmm. Does this all sound vaguely familiar?)
One day in his classroom, after class had been dismissed, he ranted to a buddy about how people need to take their votes more seriously and make wiser choices. A student, who was not visible to him, sees the rant records it on his cellphone and posts clips online. The rant is popular on social media. The students in his high school class unanimously tell him that their parents would vote for him in a heartbeat.
In the first episode, Vasyl (Zelensky) gets elected president -- and continues to live with his parents.
This subtitled sitcom has a very hip HBO vibe to it. It is smart and funny. Also, what our network news didn't tell us, is that Zelensky is excellent at comic acting. If his was living here in the States, if he wasn't fighting Russia, he'd be getting TV and film work. He's that good an actor. Here's a taste of the show.
Again, SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE is currently on Netflix. This sitcom truly is a case of life imitates art.
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