Aside from the revelation of the current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced the Paddington Bear, people are now tuning in to an old comedy series that he led.
Servant Of The People, which premiered in 2015, is a political satire about a high school teacher-turned-president, lasting for three seasons.
The series’ title is also the name of the political party Zelenskyy currently leads and campaigned for the presidency with. Zelenskyy plays Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, who, at first, is unaware and clueless about the sudden change of events, but eventually becomes a decent leader.
At the same time, the series contains a dark story arc centered on mysterious men who see the election and presidency as a game, with Vasyl being an unexpected piece on their board.
What helps make the show interesting is the distinctions between it and Zelenskyy’s real life, seen during the first few episodes. For example, the show states that Holoborodko won the election by 67 percent. In real life, Zelenskyy won the 2019 elections by 73 percent.
In addition, Holoborodko expresses discomfort when it came to press and preparations he had to go through before his inauguration. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy uses social media to spread his message, especially now during Russia’s invasion of the nation.
However, one thing that both Zelenskyy and his Servant of the People role have in common is wanting to make a change and do good as the people’s servant.
Before the character’s presidency, Holoborodko rants about how people are not learning from past mistakes and voting for the same people. His rant was published on social media by one of his students and created a domino effect that put him into power.
“I wish every common teacher lived like a president!” he says.
“I wish every president lived like a teacher…I’m telling this to you like a teacher of history.”
Zelenskyy studied law, before pursuing acting and later running for the presidency. Winning the Ukrainian election in 2019, Zelenskyy is now leading the defensive charge against Russia.
Servant of the People can be viewed in select countries on Netflix and all 3 seasons can be viewed globally on YouTube.
