--- title: Kate Winslet Is Hilarious in HBO's 'The Regime': TV Review description: Winslet carries this funny, brilliantly executed but thematically undercooked sendup of authoritarianism from 'The Menu' writer Will Tracy. canonical: https://time.com/6835189/the-regime-review-hbo/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-02-27T19:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:52:35.731Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Kate Winslet Is Hilarious in HBO's 'The Regime' og:description: The Emmy winner carries this funny, brilliantly executed but thematically undercooked sendup of authoritarianism. og:url: https://time.com/6835189/the-regime-review-hbo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ba2466121a72143/698a48df09208f175741b9f6/kate-winslet-matthias-schoenaerts.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: kate-winslet-matthias-schoenaerts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kate Winslet Is Hilarious in HBO's 'The Regime' twitter:description: The Emmy winner carries this funny, brilliantly executed but thematically undercooked sendup of authoritarianism. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ba2466121a72143/698a48df09208f175741b9f6/kate-winslet-matthias-schoenaerts.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kate Winslet Is Hilarious in HBO's Authoritarian Comedy _The Regime_ > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Feb 27, 2024 7:00 PM UTC  Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts in The Regime Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts in The RegimeMiya Mizuno—HBO  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Feb 27, 2024 7:00 PM UTC [Kate Winslet](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095927/kate-winslet/) is the reigning queen of the HBO miniseries. She redefined an iconic heroine in [Todd Haynes’ _Mildred Pierce_](https://time.com/5727531/best-miniseries-2010s-decade/) and disappeared behind the grimace of an embattled small-town detective in [_Mare of Easttown_](https://time.com/5953833/mare-of-easttown-review/), earning Emmys for both roles. And she may well win a third for her astute portrayal of the fragile, eccentric demagogue at the center of HBO’s _The Regime_. Yet because it is a black comedy, rather than a weighty drama, the funny, brilliantly executed but thematically undercooked six-part series, premiering March 3, represents a major departure from her most celebrated work. A delusional right-wing kleptocrat who believes she’s a champion of the people, Winslet’s Chancellor Elena Vernham presides over a fictional Central European nation from within the walls of a former grand hotel she “requisitioned” as her own personal Versailles, growing increasingly paranoid as her country’s economy falters. Showrunner Will Tracy ([_Succession_](https://time.com/tag/succession/), _The Menu_) has made a careful study of the 21st century authoritarian. Like [Marine Le Pen](https://time.com/4703325/the-power-of-le-pen/), Elena is a daughter desperate to triumph where her ideologue father failed. Like [Vladimir Putin](https://time.com/6757904/trump-russia-republican-party/), she’s a restless expansionist. Like [Donald Trump](https://time.com/tag/donald-trump/), she speaks constantly of love but thrives on hatred. And like so many dictators, past and present, she’s petrified of pathogens—in her case, mold.  Kate Winslet in The Regime Miya Mizuno—HBO Enter Herbert Zubak ([Matthias Schoenaerts](https://time.com/5737198/best-movie-performances-2019/)), a fanatical pro-Vernham soldier whose exploits have earned him the nickname _Butcher_, who is conscripted to keep Elena safe from spores by following her around with a humidity meter. As her neuroses erode her relationships with a passive husband (Guillaume Gallienne) and all but her most sycophantic advisers, Zubak becomes her confidant. And his genuine populism, which prescribes radical land redistribution and, er, a diet that includes rural dirt, threatens to destroy the regime’s lucrative relationship with the West. Tracy keeps the abrupt political realignments coming, as Winslet, equipped with a lisping, upper-crust accent and gamely leading deranged musical numbers, pivots fluidly from hysterical hypochondriac to tyrannical alpha, hopeless romantic to malignant narcissist. The other performances are excellent as well, from Schoenarts’ energetic turn as a rugged maniac to a supporting cast that includes [Hugh Grant](https://time.com/3704181/hugh-grant-romantic-comedies/) and [Andrea Riseborough](https://time.com/6252134/andrea-riseborough-oscars-2023-controversy/). Quippy dialogue features many great [_Veep_](https://time.com/4732295/review-veep-season-6/)\-esque insults (“mewling vulva,” “Our Lady of the Shrinking GDP”). Most inspired of all is Kave Quin’s production design, which fuses the aesthetics of fascism with Elena’s unique foibles to craft an utterly convincing backdrop to her breakdown. At one point she’s carried aloft in a sort of luxury popemobile. When Zubak prescribes potato steam to treat her mysterious ailment, dozens of golden vessels heating heaps of tubers appear in the palace.  Matthias Schoenaerts in The Regime Miya Mizuno—HBO _The Regime_ is a lot of skillfully produced fun, but it never delivers the shrewd political commentary its premise could support. It’s less a satire than a farce—more _The Menu_ than _Succession_. Observations about global capitalism, far-right hypocrisy, and American and Chinese imperialism remain under-developed, as do some secondary characters whose scenes never get a chance to become full-fledged story lines. By all means, give Winslet another Emmy. If only Tracy’s ambition matched that of his star. 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