*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).
Good communicators, rejoice. You possess the top skill in demand in this year's LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs Report. "The single biggest one is in oral communications," Guy Berger, LinkedIn's chief economist, told Cheddar Thursday. "Nearly every major city in the United States has a shortage in this."
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White says the mixed martial arts league's five-year deal with ESPN puts it in a position to go the distance despite declining linear television trends. "Everything is going digital. Cord cutting is real. It's happening and we see it in all aspects of the business, whether it's pay-per-view or television," White said in an interview with Cheddar Thursday.
Wildlife adventurer Coyote Peterson has been bitten, stung, and poked by a lot of creatures. It may come as a surprise that it's no accident ー he does it for his fans. A Steve Irwin-style adventurer, Peterson is the star and founder of Brave Wilderness, a YouTube Channel with more than 13 million subscribers. He sat down to discuss some of his craziest adventures with Cheddar.
If you're eyeing the coming year for that big vacation you've been meaning to take, gird yourself for higher prices. Flight and hotel prices are edging up around three percent on average, according to Mark Ellwood of Condé Nast Traveler, due in part to higher fuel and labor costs, more long-haul trips, and good old-fashioned supply and demand.
With just a few weeks left in the year, Cheddar is taking a look at the best and worst of what 2018 had to offer. The internet's attention span was shorter than ever this year, with new memes, viral moments, and trending stories dominating feeds on social media every day.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.
Taking Back Sunday is growing up. The band that started in the early aughts as part of the emo scene is about to turn 20 years old ー and to celebrate, it's releasing an evolved rock album, "Twenty." Bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Mark O’Connell told Cheddar the album is a combination of old and new.
All eyes were focused on Google CEO Sundar Pichai when he testified in front of Congress on Tuesday. But stealing the spotlight was a face in the background ー the Monopoly Man, resurfacing to troll corporate America once again. According to Ian Madrigal, the D.C. attorney behind the viral persona, the mustachioed figure is the ultimate symbol of corporate malfeasance.
2018 was a year of serious advancement in tech. It brought us more driver-less cars, Bitcoin adoption, and more A.I. But as the year dwindles, we're looking to the future, not the past. As we gaze into Cheddar's Crystal Ball, here are our top five picks for the technology that is most likely to advance even further in 2019.
Marketing management platform Traackr found that 72 percent of major brands are dedicating a large portion of their budgets to influencers. And 2018, it seems, has produced hordes of them on social media, from fashion to fitness. So which of them deserve your attention? Here is Cheddar's list of five to watch.
