In any other year, the arrival of hit Ukrainian comedy show Servant of the People at SBS On Demand would play like a fairy tale come true.
A sweet-natured political satire (think Armando Iannucci on happy pills) that debuted in 2015, it crackles with hope for a brighter future for the country. Looking back from now, as the Russian onslaught continues to devastate all in its wake, we cannot help but feel a bittersweet pang for what could have been.
Few stories more closely resemble the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction. Founding television production company Kvartal 95 Studio in 2003 withof making the world more joyful, then-comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy pursued the art of laughter after studying law. Servant of the People fits the bill perfectly, because often the sharpest comedy cuts deeper than it seems.
At its beating heart is a fresh-faced and muscular Zelenskyy, minus the khakis and facial hair we are now so used to seeing on the nightly news. He gives off a certain ruffled charm playing Vasiliy. A frustrated history teacher and recent divorcee, he’s crashing back home with his parents when government wonks turn up unexpectedly at their door one morning.
‘Servant of the People’. Source: SBS On Demand
SURPRISE: they’re here to announce that he is the newly installed President of Ukraine. Only, Vasiliy wasn’t even aware he was in the running.
You see, one of his students surreptitiously recorded him having a potty-mouthed rant about the country’s corrupt politicians then leaked it online, where it promptly went viral – much to his principal’s displeasure. His class took it upon themselves to nominate Vasiliy, crowdfunding a presidential run, without his knowledge.
A dab hand at the bemused reaction shot, you can feel Vasiliy’s discombobulations as he’s hurled, unwittingly, into the vortex of power. Depicting a humble man’s determination to do things differently and stamp out corruption (including in his own family), it’s heart-warming stuff. Vasiliy eschews favours, pushes real policy change for the greater good and speaks to journalists with refreshing candour (something all electorates would appreciate). His passion offers a beacon of hope, enmeshed with trust.
‘Servant of the People’. Source: SBS On Demand
All of which added up to an incredibly powerful force that broke past the boundaries of fiction. Two hugely successful, 24-episode seasons followed before Zelenskyy would announce his real-world tilt at the presidency on New Year’s Eve 2018. Running on a similar platform, he promised to banish faceless men’s greedy claws from the public purse, build up the economy to support all Ukrainians, and bring unity to the country and with fractious neighbour Russia.
The three-part finale of Servant of the People followed in 2019, the same year Zelenskyy would topple the incumbent in a landslide. If some world leaders doubted such a populist candidate in the Trumpian era, then Zelenskyy focused on delivering on his word.
It’s surreal, then, to watch Vasiliy, his mirror image, at work in the show that made his name, replete with dream tete-a-tetes with historical figures including Abraham Lincoln and Ancient Greek philosophers Herodotus and Plutarch. As amusing as his stumbling towards greatness is, the jaw-drop moments layered in from this contemporary moment of horror, keep hitting hard. In an alternate timeline, perhaps President Zelenskyy led Ukraine to those brighter days from the outset.
You can't help but consider the piercing fragments of Ukraine’s broken future as you enjoy Servant of the People. There's a melancholic undercurrent to the breezy opening credits that depict Vasiliy suited and booted on a bike, riding through the beautiful green spaces and historic buildings of a not-yet-shattered Kyiv. Shudder as those shadowy oligarchs, huddling in a backroom, try to work out whether he was installed by the Kremlin or the West and whether they can twist him as their puppet.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Vasiliy Petrovich Goloborodko, Ukraine President, in ‘Servant of the People’. Source: SBS On Demand
We laugh at Vasiliy’s pushback against ridiculously staged photo ops – again, electoral candidates take note – and the slick makeover pushed on him by his spin doctors. This includes tailoring presented by Karl Lagerfeld, and a case full of designer watches proffered. He’s told that one of the most glitteringly ostentatious, a Hublot, is favoured by none other than Putin. Indeed, this moment got the show banned in Russia almost immediately, .
As Vasiliy prepares for his inauguration, he’s presented with somewhat unconvincing lookalikes of world leaders to practise meeting and greeting, including President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel and, in the eeriest moment of all, Putin.
The infamous watch joke. Source: Screen capture
And yet, isn’t there power in seeing this man we have all come to recognise and admire espouse the importance of politicians standing tall? “The truth is the truth, no matter how unpleasant it is,” he tells his class after the video of his rant goes viral. In an age when lesser men than Zelenskyy try to abuse the trust of their people, isn’t that powerful indeed?
