The Telki
The Telki is a Russian dramatic television miniseries that premiered in 2022.
It was directed by Maria Agranovich and is based on the novel The Telki. A Story of Unreal Love by Sergey Minaev.
The series stars Miloš Biković, Lyubov Aksyonova, Oksana Akinshina, and Paulina Andreeva in the lead roles.
Plot
The series is based on Sergey Minaev’s novel The Tёлки. A Story of Unreal Love, with the story updated to the present day.The protagonist, Andrey Mirkin, is the head of a successful PR agency whose comfortable life begins to collapse after an intimate video featuring him is leaked online.
Episodes
Cast
- Miloš Biković as Andrey Mirkin
- Lyubov Aksyonova as Vika, Andrey’s partner and friend
- Oksana Akinshina as Lena, Andrey’s wife
- Paulina Andreeva as Olga, a lawyer
- Victoria Tolstoganova as Zhenya, chair of a bank’s credit committee
- Aleksey Agranovich as Yuri Petrovich Tayozhny, chairman of a major corporation
- Aleksei [Kravchenko (actor)|Aleksey Kravchenko] as Boris Borisovich, Lena’s father
- Anna Slyu as Rita, Tayozhny’s wife
- Isabel Eydlen as Varya, Rita’s sister
- Maksim Stoyanov as Gubin
- Vlad Sokolovsky as Denis, Lena’s brother
Production and reception
The screenplay was written by Dmitry Abezyayev and Marusya Trubnikova, with Maria Agranovich serving as director.
The series premiered on February 24, 2022, on the streaming platforms more.tv and Wink.
On May 2, 2022, it aired on the STS television channel.
Critics were divided. Film.ru reviewer Gulnaz Davletshina praised the cast but criticized the focus on an unlikeable protagonist at the expense of more compelling female characters.
Sergey Efimov of Komsomolskaya Pravda noted that the series avoided the overt journalistic tone of the novel but described its themes as outdated and its setting as artificial.
Audience reactions were mixed, with praise for the detective storyline and ensemble cast, alongside criticism that the story felt dated.