The Self-Serving Seduction of "Vladimir"

"The series' Vladimir, played by Leo Woodall, is a rising literary star and a young father who's just arrived at a sleepy upstate college, where he and his wife are set to teach. More relevant to his new colleague, M (Rachel Weisz), a creative-writing professor, he is also fantastically hard-bodied, as dedicated to his gains at the gym as he is to the life of the mind."

"M's infatuation with Vladimir might be interpreted as an idle distraction from the sex scandal engulfing her husband, John (John Slattery), if not for a flash-forward in the show's opening minutes. There she is with an unconscious man tied to a chair in her cabin, part-Humbert Humbert, part-Annie Wilkes."

"Despite this unpromising start, 'Vladimir'-adapted from the 2022 novel of the same name by its author, Julia May Jonas, and the showrunner Kate Robin-proves strangely compelling. Even when we think we know where the series is going, it remains as slippery as its unreliable narrator, difficult to nail down in both genre and intent."

Vladimir is a campus comedy series centered on M, a creative-writing professor played by Rachel Weisz, who becomes infatuated with Vladimir, a charming literary star and new faculty member portrayed by Leo Woodall. The show opens with a flash-forward revealing M with an unconscious man tied to a chair, suggesting darker undertones beneath the comedic premise. M's obsession may stem from dissatisfaction with middle age and her fading relevance, exacerbated by her husband John's involvement in a sex scandal. Despite an initially off-putting opening where M directly addresses viewers with self-pitying monologues about aging and lost attractiveness, the series proves surprisingly compelling. Adapted from Julia May Jonas's 2022 novel by showrunner Kate Robin, Vladimir maintains an elusive quality, remaining difficult to categorize in genre and intent while keeping viewers uncertain about its direction.

Read at The New Yorker