Chancellor Kate Winslet proposes an invasion of “peace and love” in the trailer for HBO’s The Regime

Kate Winslet's dark political satire will premiere in March

By Sam Barsanti | February 8, 2024 | 5:30pm

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Chancellor Kate Winslet proposes an invasion of “peace and love” in the trailer for HBO’s The Regime

The Regime Screenshot: YouTube

If you’ve ever wondered what Veep would look like if Selina Meyer got everything she ever wanted and became an all-powerful autocrat, then HBO just might have you covered with The Regime. Coming in March, the limited series stars Kate Winslet as the fairly evil chancellor of a fictional European country in the midst of political upheaval, with apparently nothing standing between her and her various whims. She wants to have a close relationship with a brutal soldier-man called The Butcher? She does it. She wants to have a cabinet meeting while in a tub? She does it. She wants to conduct a military invasion as an “expression of peace and love” because that sounds more fun? She does it.

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The Regime | Official Trailer | Max

The follows Winslet over the course of a year in her crumbling country, so it will probably be focusing on her tragic (if seemingly well-deserved, if you’ll forgive a little editorializing about a fictional despot who just happens to be played by a talented, well-liked actor) downfall. Then again, what’s a darker political satire than the bad guy in a situation like this winning?

In addition to Winslet, the series features Mattias Schoenaerts as the aforementioned Butcher, Guillaume Gallienne as Winslet’s character’s husband, Andrea Riseborough as one of the chancellor’s advisors, Martha Plimpton as the American secretary of state, and Hugh Grant as the imprisoned leader of the opposition standing against Winslet’s—ahem—Regime. He’s only briefly in this trailer, but he seems to be playing a very Hugh Grant-y foil to Winslet, so it should be fun to see them spar.

The Regime, the latest of Winslet’s many collaborations with HBO (after Mildred Pierce and Mare Of Easttown) will premiere the first of its six episodes on March 3.