Polyarnyy
2019-2021 / 30 episodes
Director: Mike Starchak
Genre: Comedy
Country: Russia
Starring: Mikhail Porechenkov, Katerina Shpitsa, Filipp Dyachkov, Ivan Okhlobystin, Svetlana Listova, and others.
Synopsis:
Viktor Gromov, once a legend of criminal Moscow, nicknamed the Butcher, has long retired and while away his days on a country farm. But one fine day, his former colleagues in a dangerous business appear on the farm and confront the fact that Vitya must overexpose the thieves’ common fund in his bank account. He has to agree. But on the very day when Vitya has to return the money, he gets a blow on the head and completely forgets the password from the bank account. Fleeing from his former accomplices, Vitya finds himself thousands of kilometers from Moscow. In a small northern town called Polyarny-17.
Mike Starchak:
Polyarny — it was real micro-surgery in filmmaking
My Moby Dick. I’m proud that I was able to bring the first season back to life and turn it into what it became—warm, funny, and heartfelt. I like to say it was real micro-surgery in filmmaking: using footage shot by another director, I had to film additional shots, scenes, and entire relationship arcs to make the story breathe and the genre work.
The second season was a whole different beast. First, I had to prove that the success of season one wasn’t just a fluke. Second, I had to show that I could build this machine from scratch without relying on someone else’s foundation. I’d say I nailed both—solid A+. Season two expanded the world, and the story became even more ambitious.