*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).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday Jan. 23, 2019.
CBD is the latest hot trend in wellness ー and Alkaline Water Company is jumping aboard with a new CBD-infused water.
"We just see that as a market we can take right onto, and glom onto," Alkaline Water Company CEO Ricky Wright told Cheddar on Tuesday. "We already have a lifestyle health product in alkaline water ー we see that as a natural extension."
Cannabis is about to experience its biggest year yet, according to the CEO of Vertical Wellness ー but 2020 promises even more growth for the industry. "2019 is going to be the biggest year in history, until we get to 2020," Smoke Wallin, CEO of Vertical Wellness, told Cheddar Tuesday. "When you're on an exponential growth curve, every year is going to be giant. But this year is going to be bigger than any year before."
When Lululemon ($LULU) almost single-handedly pushed the athleisure trend into the mainstream, it seemed a passing fad, at best, that regular consumers would spend upwards of $90 or $100 on workout clothes. But years later, Lulu is going strong and new entrants in the space are betting there's even more runway left in pricey nylon leggings. Vuori is one of those brands making a big bet that athleisure is not so much a trend as it is the future of casual wear.
"Love You to Death," a movie about a real-life case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and matricide, is just the latest example of Lifetime's recent ventures into "grittier" stories for women, Academy Award Winning actress Marcia Gay Harden told Cheddar on Tuesday. "We are moving away from a docile type of portrayal of women and we're going deeper, we're going darker, we're going grittier, we're going into what really it is to be a woman ー and not the presentation of, or the idea of ー and I think Lifetime is right there with that," Harden said.
Dry -- or sober -- January has become an annual tradition for many, and beverage companies are taking notice. Some distilleries are starting to offer non-alcoholic distilled offerings, and more restaurants are expanding their non-alcoholic selections. Ad Age editor Brian Braiker talked to Cheddar about the why people's tastes are starting to change.
Slowing economic growth may spell disaster for some businesses, but travel booking site Kayak tends to see more business when times are tough. "When we enter a recession, prices come down and so, as a result, services like Kayak get used more frequently as consumers try to find those deals," Kayak CEO Steve Hafner told Cheddar on Tuesday. The International Monetary Fund on Monday downgraded its forecast for global economic growth, sparking fears of a global slowdown. But Hafner said Kayak managed to grow through the last major recession, and he feels good about its prospects moving forward. "It was a bad one, but we grew right through it and I suspect this would be no different than that," he said.
Cloud9 has been dubbed the most valuable esports company in the world by Forbes Magazine ー a title that is thanks, at least in part, to the organization's powerhouse VP of marketing, Eunice Chen. Chen is an esports vet who has worked for industry stalwart Riot Games and even runs her own tournament production company, Heroeshype. In an interview with Cheddar Sports, she said, "there are always different ways we can break into new markets in esports and beyond."
"Roma," director Alfonso Cuarón's black-and-white opus detailing life growing up in 1970s Mexico, delivered the first chance at a Best Picture statute for the streaming giant as nominations were announced Tuesday morning. Even if it doesn't win, the nomination marks a significant milestone for a company that has upended just about every aspect of the content and distribution model in Hollywood.
"The Good Place," NBC's beloved comedy that continually asks its characters to examine their morality while navigating the afterlife, boasts big-name cast members like Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. But it's actor William Jackson Harper, who plays the indecisive and anxiety-ridden Chidi Anagonye, who has captured fans' hearts ー and the heart of Bell's character, Eleanor Shellstop.
