*By Conor White*
"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's new anthology series for Amazon, "The Romanoffs," is about far more than Russia's last royal family, according to one of its stars.
"As I said to Matthew when I was doing this, I have to bone up on the Romanoffs," actor Aaron Eckhart said in an interview on Cheddar.
"And he said, 'Well, not really, because it really has nothing to do with the Romanoffs.'"
The family consisted of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and five children. After Russia's February Revolution of 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne and was later executed with the rest of his house. Within the last 30 years, all the bodies have been discovered and identified through DNA testing. Despite that evidence, whispers remain that one of his children, most likely Anastasia, escaped the killings. (The tsar's youngest daughter inspired the popular animated film, "Anastasia," which was recently turned into a musical.)
The Amazon ($AMZN) series features a different cast in each of its eight episodes, which are all linked by some sort of connection to the famous family ー be it real or fabricated.
Eckhart said it's the relationships between the show's characters ー whether directly linked to the royals or not ー that makes the show special.
"The magical part of the show is that it has thematics, and it has through lines with the Romanoffs," the Golden Globe nominee said. "But it's all these different scenarios with different people all over the world."
The series is creator Weiner's return to television after his seven-season run with "Mad Men" ー the highly-acclaimed show garnered two Golden Globes for "Best Drama Series" and eight Primetime Emmy awards.
It was Eckhart's first time working with Weiner, and he said the experience was "educational, interesting," and "fascinating,"
"It's very surprising and striking and bold. It takes a real genius to figure this all out," Eckhart added.
In the age of binge-watching, Amazon has made the choice to release one episode per week after releasing the first two episodes simultaneously on Oct. 12.
Eckhart is a fan of the move and called it "more traditional." But he admitted he has binged his way through at least one classic series.
"I did binge-watch 'Friends'," he said.
"'Friends' is a very good show."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/meet-the-romanoffs).
John Henry has some advice for young entrepreneurs ー but he'd rather they didn't listen too closely to it. "My advice is always the same," the entrepreneur and investor told Cheddar. "My advice is not to listen to so much advice." On Henry's new unscripted series, "Hustle," which premieres on Viceland later this month, he coaches a diverse group of real-life budding entrepreneurs struggling to make their dreams a reality in New York City.
A new bill in Illinois would require potential gun buyers to reveal their public social media accounts to state police. The ACLU is now speaking out against the idea, citing privacy and bias concerns. "The things that social media would show are one's political views, perhaps one's religion, and even in some instances someone's race," Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU of Illinois, told Cheddar.
The private investigator working on behalf of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to find out how his private texts were leaked to the National Enquirer believes a "government entity" may have been involved. That explosive claim was relayed on Cheddar Friday morning by Manuel Roig-Franzia, a Washington Post reporter who interviewed Gavin de Becker, Bezos' security chief.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.
It's not fitness. It's life. Such is the motto of wellness brand Equinox ー which is taking that commitment to the next level with "Cycle for Survival." "At Equinox, we are a 'do good' company. We're about high-performance living and we felt that this was a cause we wanted to get involved in, " Scott Rosen, president of Equinox, told Cheddar.
Delivery has always been integral to Jimmy John's, first as a means of survival, then as a cornerstone of its business model. But today Jimmy John's is taking its push for customer loyalty one step further with a rewards program. "We're in the process. Hold on soon, it's coming," Jimmy John's CEO and President James North told Cheddar Thursday.
About 83 percent of Americans are happy in their relationships, according to a new survey by eHarmony. Grant Langston, the CEO of eHarmony, said the happiest couples are those that share in common things like income, education, and political affiliation. But power sharing is also key. "You've got to be equal, and unfortunately only about 50 percent of the couples reported having equal relationships. We've got a lot to work on there," Langston told Cheddar.
Cycle for Survival is a movement focused on beating rare cancers. Every dollar raised goes towards rare cancer research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Equinox is a founding partner of Cycle for Survival and a huge contributor to the movement's success. Equinox President Scott Rosen joined Cheddar to celebrate hitting the $200 million fundraising mark.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
Low-cost airlines have succeeded by dazzling travelers with cheap tickets to popular destinations, but that strategy is growing harder to maintain for long-haul trips. "The problem is nobody's sure whether the model is sustainable," Brian Sumers, senior aviation business editor at Skift, told Cheddar Wednesday.
