Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s career did not start out in politics, rather the actor and comedian ascended to the presidency largely thanks to the popularity of the Ukrainian TV show “Servant of the People.” (Twitter)
(Tribune News Service) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s career did not start out in politics, rather the actor and comedian ascended to the presidency largely thanks to the popularity of the Ukrainian TV show “Servant of the People.”
The satirical political comedy which premiered in 2015 follows Zelenskyy’s character, a schoolteacher, who inadvertently becomes president of Ukraine after giving an impassioned speech complaining about corruption which then goes viral online, inspiring millions of Ukrainians to vote for him as their leader.
Netflix recently announced the return of the foreign language series to its platform as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third week, which has simultaneously vaulted Zelenskyy’s figure globally.
“You asked and it’s back,” the streaming service said on Twitter.
In a truth is stranger than fiction occurrence, the real-life namesake Servant of the People political party was formed in Ukraine in 2018 by employees in his production company, Kvartal 95, with Zelenskyy as the party’s candidate for president, according to his IMDB page.
He won a second round vote for the presidency with 73% in his favor in 2019, it added, defeating incumbent president Petro Poroshenko, who had assumed the presidency after the country’s 2014 revolution.
Also previous to becoming president, Zelenskyy’s other notable stints in film and TV include winning the Ukrainian version of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006 and voicing the title bear in the Ukrainian-language versions of “Paddington” and its sequel film, according to NBC News.
“Servant of the People” is now streaming on Netflix.
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