10 Russian TV series, chained to the couch from the first series. All released in 2022

Russian TV series suffered for quite a long time from the same type of actors who starred in a dozen TV series in a year and annoyed the viewer more than commercial breaks, as well as from plots written clearly in a hurry. Now we can safely say that both problems have been solved – there are more and more fresh faces on the screen, budgets have grown, and plots are written by people with a clear ability to build interesting stories with bright characters. Yes, so far it is still quite far from the level of HBO, but in the genre of detectives and historical dramas, domestic cinema copes more than adequately. And these ten series are clear proof of that.

Women’s verdict

• Evie: 7.8 out of 10.
• Duration: 4 episodes of 44 minutes.

Very often, it is women detectives who manage to uncover the “hanging”, because they are able to think outside the box, see the situation differently and notice what others do not see. This is what the series “Women’s Sentence” was filmed about, in the center of which three completely different women are trying to unravel the most complicated tangle of serial murders – a judge, a teacher and a doctor. Everyone has their own problems in life, everyone fights for their own happiness, but all this will have to be shelved, because now there is a more difficult question. Sentence a young musician to capital punishment for murders, or still find a real killer who commits terrible crimes?

Through the scope

• Movie search: 7.0 out of 10.
• Duration: 4 episodes of 52 minutes.

A very interesting and sincere story about snipers during the Great Patriotic War. Two brothers, fighting with the most experienced German sniper, lose the battle – one goes to another world, and the second is seriously wounded, because of which he will no longer be allowed to return to the front. Instead, a Soviet sniper is given the task of teaching his skills to cadets who are to go into battle against the worst enemy of the time, and Alexei performs the task with extreme efficiency, but at times overly brutally. However, when there is a war around, and a rifle is in the hands, it cannot be otherwise.

No rules

• Movie search: 7.6 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 47 minutes.

It is hard to imagine that a long-forgotten pioneer camp can disturb the quiet life of a successful businessman. It’s just that she, the main character of this amazing story, did not think that, along with the abandoned territory, she also received a rather rich supply of mineral waters, for which many will want to compete. The problem is that a businessman is a girl, and even quite fragile, even though she knows how to solve problems on the go. But she still has to put together a team of a former policeman and a former bandit in order to repel the villains. Popular actors, a beautiful picture and an understandable plot – everything is included.

Zero patient

• Movie search: 8.4 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 50 minutes.

In the modern world, there is a lot of information about HIV – now you will not surprise anyone, unfortunately. But in 1988 in the USSR, finding HIV in a patient was something incredible, on the level of the plague or something even more dangerous, which is difficult, but must be fought. An extremely unusual plot for a Russian series, in which the scriptwriters managed to appropriately combine drama, detective story and elements of historical accuracy in the context of medicine forty years ago. Against the background of the fading pandemic of the coronavirus, it looks like a breath, and the cast was chosen more than qualitatively.

Trap for the judge

• Movie search: 6.9 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 50 minutes.

It is very difficult to imagine an honest judge who does not take bribes and does the job as it should, despite the circumstances. And Nesterov is just one of those. He put criminals behind bars for years, remaining spotless, extremely meticulous and fair. But suddenly, on his own anniversary, someone kidnaps the daughter of a judge, in the process of searching for which very terrible secrets are revealed. So much so that the main character no longer seems like a hero. Now the only question is, is Nesterov ready to reveal his terrible secrets, having paid an incredible price for the search for his daughter, or will his reputation and past merits be more important for him?

intelligence chief

• Movie search: 7.6 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 48 minutes.

What do you know about Soviet intelligence officers? Probably not so much – that’s why they are intelligence, to remain in the shadows even after decades, remaining behind the screen of the “Secret” stamp. Fortunately, the authors of the series decided to open their eyes to what the elite of that time was like, how the most complex and important structure was created in the USSR, how the specialists of that time worked and why they were considered the best of the best even overseas. Fans of historical series on the verge of documentaries will enjoy The Head of Intelligence from the first second to the last credits, because you haven’t watched anything like it yet.

St. John’s wort

• Movie search: 7.0 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 48 minutes.

The plot seems more than classic – an investigator from the capital for a noticeable puncture in his work (kills a criminal during detention) is sent to wait out the hype somewhere in a godforsaken town. And, of course, the quiet town turns out to be the site of a strange series of crimes that the detective decides to investigate with his own hands. True, do not rush to roll your eyes at the scenario that is painfully familiar – in fact, the series pleased with an excellent plot, vivid characters and a good game of “gray morality”. An extremely unusual combination for this kind of series, and the color is striking.

Artist

• Movie search: 7.5 out of 10.
• Duration: 16 episodes of 50 minutes.

Imagine Moscow in 1944 – there is still a whole year before the end of the war, and the capital is suddenly covered by a wave of extremely brutal murders and robberies. But these are not ordinary robbers who kill for profit – detectives find portraits of the victims at the crime scene. An unusual detail, because if there is a portrait, then there must be an artist – talented, intelligent and, apparently, cold-blooded. Now the operatives of the Moscow police department need to find both the leader of the gang, “Artist”, and his accomplices, because they are sure that in fact the task of the killers is much more global than it might seem at first glance.

Chimera

• Film search: 7.7 out of 10.
• Duration: 8 episodes of 50 minutes.

Drug dealers no longer carry goods in the trunks of large jeeps, and even more so they do not drop drugs from planes, as they did fifty years ago. Modern technology, advanced hustlers, and cunning strategies have made it possible for illegal substances to be distributed in a much more unusual way, causing significant harm to millions of people around the world. How to deal with this if the enemy literally reborn from the ashes, became much more agile and leaves no chance to catch himself again? An extremely worthy series about the fight against modern criminals who press the laptop buttons more often than the gun trigger.

Offline

• Movie search: 7.8 out of 10.
• Duration: 10 episodes of 52 minutes.

The authors of the series touched on a rather acute and more than relevant topic of acquiring illicit substances in the so-called “darknet” – due to this, the plot feels quite lively, attractive and disturbing. It’s all about a hacker who hacked into an application for buying drugs on the Internet, and now threatens customers with violence – they must either go to the police and confess to their deeds, or play a game. For your life. And although at first it looks like a bad joke or an unsuccessful prank, in fact it turns out that the hacker was not joking – he really makes the users of the application pay, but already offline.