*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).
Neighborhood Goods is modernizing the department store in a neighborhood near you. The retail start-up recently planted its first, 14,000-square-foot, brick-and-mortar location in Plano, Tex., and according to the company's co-founder and CEO, he's eyeing Chicago, Atlanta, D.C., Nashville, or Seattle for his next move.
"Vice," the upcoming Dick Cheney biopic, and "The Assassination of Gianni Versace," the true-crime series, led the Golden Globe nominations with six and four, respectively. The nominations were announced in Los Angeles Thursday morning. "Vice," which is slated for release on Christmas Day and has benefited from strong buzz despite reviews still under embargo, was followed by "A Star Is Born," "Green Book," and "The Favourite" with five nominations a piece.
New York is now the first city in the country to set a minimum pay rate for drivers working for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, following a vote on Tuesday by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. Under the new policy, those drivers will make $17.22 per hour. But Aziz Bah, steward of the Independent Drivers Guild, told Cheddar Wednesday it's only the beginning.
The markets rebounded from session lows after news broke the Federal Reserve is considering a new approach to interest rates that could translate to fewer rate hikes in the coming year. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday the Fed is considering a "wait-and-see" mentality for monetary policy, after the anticipated December hike that is by and large already priced into the markets.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018.
StoreMe wants to solve travelers' "schlepping problem." The on-demand app allows travelers to search a location, input the number of bags they have, and make a reservation. That way, as travelers are passing through cities, they can enjoy the sights sans luggage. "This service is convenient, on-demand, and it's totally affordable," Peter Korbel told Cheddar Wednesday.
Medical marijuana is now legal in Utah, but not exactly in the form voters intended. Shortly after the medical marijuana initiative, Proposition 2, was scheduled to go into effect, the Utah state House and Senate swooped in and replaced it with a new law. Wayne Niederhauser, a Republican senator for Utah's 9th district, defended the move in an interview on Cheddar Wednesday.
When Glassdoor debuted its 2019 list of "Best Places to Work," one technology giant was dealt a conspicuous downgrade. Capping off a year of serious scandal, the embattled Facebook fell six spots to number seven on the list. Glassdoor's community expert, Scott Dobroski, explains the weaknesses they saw in employee morale.
Care to watch the original "Star Wars" trilogy? Don't assume Disney's forthcoming streaming service Disney+ will have it. And while AT&T owns "Friends," it won't be streaming it exclusively on its own OTT platform when it launches in 2019 ー viewers will still be able to binge the series on Netflix. "Star Wars" and "Friends" are just a couple of the confusing licensing arrangements viewers should expect as more media companies push to debut their own streaming services to rival Netflix and Hulu.
Not too long ago the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a major television event, and its corporate parent L Brands had a $100 stock. But the once-hot brand's appeal has suffered amid a rise in new lingerie brands that present a more inclusive and size-diverse view of female beauty. Can the mall staple get woke and win back millennial shoppers?
