*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).
Kareem Burke, who co-founded Roc-A-Fella records and claims to have "personally launched" Kanye West's career, says he's disturbed by the rapper's recent comments and that it doesn't sound like the Kanye he knows.
The editor-in-chief of O Magazine, Lucy Kaylin, discusses Oprah Winfrey's interview with the Tony-Award winning "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in the May issue of the magazine.
The 18-year-old star of "Black-ish" and "Grown-ish" is rallying teenagers to lead more sustainable lives and register to vote before the midterm elections in November.
A recent investigation by the Washington Post found an additional 27 women who say the former CBS anchor sexually harassed them. And, in some cases, when these women raised concerns with managers their complaints weren't elevated, says Amy Brittain, the reporter who broke the story.
The online education platform offers its 31 million users thousands of courses from established universities for a fraction of the price of on-campus classes. Coursera wants to expand further and bring "the highest quality education" to even more people, says its new CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.
Glamour magazine's Morgen Peck, who recently wrote a story about the leading women in cryptocurrency, says their increasingly visible role may change the so-called bro culture of the industry.
The guided meditation app wants to make the ancient practice of mindfulness easier for people. You don't need "to sit down on the floor, cross-legged, light some incense," says the Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, a trained Buddhist monk.
The comedian and actor says a shift in mentality will be a "multi-generational" process that involves more men talking to each other about their shifting roles in culture. "Men need to feel purpose," he tells Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
After more than three decades, "The Karate Kid" makes a comeback in YouTube Red's new series "Cobra Kai." The 10-episode show is still centered around the original rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. "Part of the show that's fun is seeing these characters grow up," said co-creator Jon Hurwitz.
By using more grants and endowments, the Ivy League school is helping low-income students graduate without the burden of debt. There are so many overall economic benefits to getting more students through, says Princeton President Chris Eisgruber, that more institutions need to find ways to help.
