The leader of a fictional European country falls apart in HBO’s latest political satire, “The Regime,” premiering on March 3. The network has a long history of deconstructing power on shows like “Veep” and “Succession,” two programs that will undoubtedly spring to mind during this 6-episode descent into power-hungry madness. Oscar winner Kate Winslet, who won Emmys for her previous two HBO mini-series (“Mildred Pierce” & “Mare of Easttown”), is having a blast as Chancellor Elena Vernham, a world leader who is so insecure and unstable that she’s dragging her country down with her. Alternately dictatorial and demure, Vernham is the kind of fascinating character that an actress like Winslet turns into a meal. The writing somewhat gets away from creator Will Tracy by the end as the stronger first half kind of forces the show into a narrative corner from which it can’t quite escape, but there’s enough sharp dialogue and insight throughout to justify a look. And Winslet is having a blast.
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The fact that Will Tracy wrote “The Menu” and three episodes of “Succession” should give potential viewers a strong impression of what they’re in for with “The Regime”: more skewering of the insecurity and the idiocy of power and how one usually feeds the other. Like its hypochondriac and agoraphobic leader, “The Regime” rarely leaves the palace of Elena Vernham, a leader who is on the precipice of revolution when she brings in one of her military leaders who was at the core of quelling a recent uprising to see what she can learn from the people on the frontline. The excellent Matthias Schoenaerts plays Corporal Herbert Zubak as a creature of instinct, someone who brings an earthy alpha male energy to Vernham’s inner circle of yes men. He challenges her in a way that feels empowering, encouraging her not only to leave the legacy of her authoritarian father behind but to break the kind of political deals with power players in her country that really keep it stable and even challenge the United States for world power. He’s more than just a devil on her shoulder; he’s representative of that kind of poisoned political advisor who feeds into a leader’s worst habits. He’s Karl Rove meets the MMA.
When Zubak gets in Vernham’s ear, “The Regime” becomes akin to watching a car crash in slow motion. It’s not always wise to empower people as inherently incapable of leading as Elena Vernham. And it’s not just the home-spun remedies for her ailments like black radish and mustard on her chest; it’s the way he physically threatens those around Elena, including even the U.S. Secretary of State (Martha Plimpton), who comes to the palace to figure out just what’s going on in the seat of power in this increasingly unstable ally. Elena’s husband (Guillaume Gallienne) gets pushed to the side, but Tracy writes some of his best scenes for a cabal of power figures who work behind the scenes to keep Elena in check. They almost serve as a sort of Greek chorus, with their scenes sort of recapping the latest bad decisions and how to respond to them. These scenes have a snappy banter that’s reminiscent of Armando Iannucci’s work on “The Thick of It.” In other words, pretty great.
Countering Winslet’s showy performance is a remarkably restrained (almost too much) one from Andrea Riseborough (and, it should be noted, a fun guest one from Hugh Grant.). The Oscar nominee for “To Leslie” plays the Palace Manager, a right-hand woman for Elena who knows exactly when to play along and when to push back in secret. Her character kind of disappears at times, indicative of a problem that comes from cramming what feels like ten episodes of narrative development into six. “The Regime” has a habit of leaping forward in time over the year in which it takes place, turning what could be a slow descent into madness into something that’s more herky-jerky as Elena and Zubak align, fall apart and align again, although that kind of unpredictable instability feels intentional. While it feels somewhat ludicrous in an era when almost every show is a few episodes too long to suggest that this one is too short, the final episode, in particular, feels rushed, as if Tracy had a bunch of new ideas to explore and not enough time to do so.
Having said that, “The Regime” is never boring, and the first few episodes are as sharply written as anything that’s been on HBO for a long time. And then there’s Winslet, perfectly capturing the kind of blend of power and insecurity that can be truly dangerous in this world. Vernham is the model of a leader who knows deep down in their private moments that they’re not really capable of leading. Choose whatever real-world parallel you want. There are plenty of options. [B]