Rachel Weisz takes on a provocative role in the upcoming Netflix limited series ‘Vladimir’, playing an unnamed college professor consumed by a sexual obsession with a younger colleague. The series, based on Julia May Jonas’s 2022 novel, premieres on March 5 and explores themes of desire, aging, and unreliable narration.
The story follows Weisz’s character as she navigates a vexed marriage to John (John Slattery), who faces discipline for an inappropriate relationship with a student, while fixating on Vladimir (Leo Woodall). The series blends erotic tension with metafictional elements, as the protagonist’s imagination blurs reality.
Jonas, adapting her own novel for the first time, told Variety she aimed to create a unique adaptation distinct from comparisons to Cate Blanchett’s ‘Tár’. The series uses direct address to the camera, but with an unreliable twist: the protagonist may be spinning the truth rather than revealing it.
Set in a small college town, ‘Vladimir’ examines generational shifts in sexuality and feminism, and how power dynamics have changed between professors and students. Jonas noted the protagonist loses perspective due to desire and life stress, seeing herself as a literary heroine.
