*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).
Ben Leber, former NFL star linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings, and Nate Bauer, Best Buy's Geek Squad Chief Inspector, give their tips for making your sunday super.
As the gender pay gap continues to close there is still some hesitation in women when it comes to being confident in their personal finances. Hilary Hendershott, President & Chief Advisor of Hilary Hendershott Financial joins Your Cheddar to discuss how to get your feet wet in investing.
Cheddar's CannaBiz explores the business of marijuana. Cheddar Anchors Tim Stenovec and Hope King explore the state of regulation, market opportunity, and businesses capitalizing on this trend.
The Washington Post broke the story that GPS tracking and fitness company Strava had revealed the locations of secret U.S. Military bases. Now, Rosie Spinks, reporter at Quartz, joins Cheddar to explain how and why she has been focusing on the privacy issues around Strava since this summer.
"Ultimate Expedition" is YouTube Red’s newest adventure competition series, bringing together eight celebrities with no previous climbing experience to summit Mount Tocllaraju in Peru. Chachi Gonzales is a Youtube star who decided to participate in the competition alongside other celebrities.
Earlier this month Facebook announced they would be adjusting their media and news strategy to give preference to reliable news sources. This has since resulted in fire from media moguls and another announcement from Facebook that they would be giving preference to local news sources.
Vimeo coming off a big year of changes in 2017. The company's CEO Anjali Sud explains how these changes are driving growth for the company. A look at the business of marijuana on Cheddar's Cannabiz. The New York Times released an investigative piece on the dark world of buying followers and bots for social media fame and recognition. Facebook faces calls to remove its messenger app for kids. The Dow closed today down more than 300 points. The major dip occurred on the same day as President Trump's first State of the Union address.
This weekend the New York Times released an investigative piece on the dark world of buying followers and bots for social media fame and recognition. Since the report has been released, the fallout has been significant. Nicholas Confessore, reporter at the New York Times, joins Cheddar to talk about his report and what the reaction has been.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently proposed government funding for a study to explore the impact of legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-NY) and High NY Founder and CEO Michael Zaystev discuss the state of regulation in New York.
Beth Dover is a talented comedian who shows off her impressive comedic timing in both Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" and Comedy Central's "Another Period." The funny lady currently stars in the period comedy which just premiered its third season.
