*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).
It's been quite the week for Facebook, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it seems, still has a fun streak. The high-profile CEO stepped out with rapper Kanye West to kick back, relax, and sing a little karaoke on Monday.
In a conference call with reporters on Thursday that lasted more than 80 minutes, Mark Zuckerberg declared that an extensive New York Times report about his company's insufficient and self-preserving response to Russian meddling on the platform was "simply untrue."
Robin Koval, CEO and president of the anti-smoking Truth Initiative spoke to Cheddar on Thursday about the FDA's decision to seek restrictions on flavored nicotine products and menthol cigarettes. She said she's pleased with the progress, but is calling for more robust restrictions.
Equinox Fitness Clubs founder Lavinia Errico spoke with Cheddar about her early days as an entrepreneur, and the future of fitness. "People are going to realize that in order to be healthy, you have to be spiritually healthy, mentally healthy, emotionally healthy and physically healthy," Errico said. "That's the movement."
In the age of countless dating apps and a more sex-positive culture, why are younger people having less sex? Kate Julian, who wrote the latest provocative cover story for The Atlantic about the "sex recession," told Cheddar that there's a number of factors, ranging from rising anxiety rates to the proliferation of porn.
The New York Times published a bombshell report Wednesday evening detailing how Facebook has navigated public scandals and attacked its critics over the past few years. The stock moved lower Thursday on the news.
With an increasing number of mobility options, putting an end to distracted driving is more urgent than ever. Ryan Luckey, assistant vice president of brand marketing at AT&T, told Cheddar about AT&T's partnership with e-scooter company Bird to keep distracted drivers ー and scooter riders ー off the roads.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Ford and Walmart envision a world in which products are delivered straight to customers' doors ー no driver required. The two titans of industry are teaming up along with Postmates to explore delivery via self-driving cars in Miami-Dade County, Fla.
The former president of Pinterest has a new mission to curb tech addiction. Tim Kendall left his perch as the top business chief of the $12 billion company one year ago and is now the CEO of Moment, a mobile app that aims to teach people how to reduce their phone use.
