The first trailer has been released for the upcoming Paramount Plus series A Gentleman in Moscow, which stars Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Advertisement

Adapted from a best-selling novel of the same name by Amor Towles, the eight-part series sees McGregor don an extravagant moustache to play the fictional Count Alexander Rostov – an aristocrat who finds himself on the "wrong side of history" after the Russian Revolution.

The trailer begins with the character being asked to state his name and occupation by a tribunal, before he responds: "It is not the business of gentlemen to have occupations."

That answer unsurprisingly doesn't go down very well, and he is told that his class is a "threat against Russia", and that he will therefore be sentenced to live the rest of his days at the Hotel Metropol.

The trailer then picks up four years into his sentence, as he explains how times have changed since the revolution, with most of his friends now dead and his house seized and burned, before we see him befriend a young girl called Nina (Alexa Goodall), who owns a key that can open every door in the hotel, and a glamorous actress named Anna Urbanova (Winstead).

These encounters appear to renew Rostov's spirit, although he is repeatedly warned against doing anything too risky given he is still a prisoner.

"They can take away your house, they can take away everything, but they can't take away who you are," he defiantly states at the end.

You can watch the trailer in full below.

The limited series will premiere on Paramount Plus on Friday 29th March for UK viewers, and also stars Johnny Harris (Without Sin), Fehinti Balogun (Dune), Leah Harvey (Foundation), Paul Ready (The Terror) and John Heffernan (The Pursuit of Love).

The cast is rounded out by Lyès Salem (Coupez), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (The Witcher), Dee Ahluwalia (Sex Education), Anastasia Hille (I Hate Suzie Too), Daniel Cerqueira (Judy), Leah Balmforth (Silent Roar), Billie Gadsdon (One Day) and Beau Gadsdon (The Crown).

Read more:

Meanwhile, the official synopsis reads: "A Gentleman in Moscow follows Count Alexander Rostov, who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past places him on the wrong side of history.

"Spared immediate execution, he is banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol, threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside again.

"As the years pass and some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold outside the hotel’s doors, Rostov’s reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

"As he builds a new life within the walls of the hotel, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love."

A Gentleman in Moscow will debut on Friday 29th March on Paramount Plus. Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage.

Advertisement

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement