Vladimir Is Now on Netflix — Rachel Weisz's Best Work in Years Has the Internet Hooked
One week in, Vladimir has quietly become the most talked-about prestige drama on Netflix. Rachel Weisz plays a middle-aged literature professor descending into obsession with a younger colleague — and critics and audiences alike can't look away. Here is everything you need to know.
What It's About
Vladimir opens with an unnamed narrator, a middle-aged literature professor, addressing the viewer directly and describing a growing sense that she has lost control over the people around her. In the opening scene, set in a remote cabin, a man revealed to be Vladimir Vladinski is tied to a chair wearing only a cardigan and his underwear — drugged, slowly regaining consciousness. Before the situation can be explained, the story moves backward six weeks to recount the events that led there.
Her marriage to a fellow professor, John — played by John Slattery — is sluggish after years of an open relationship. She's also just learned that the college is bringing a sexual assault case against John for past dalliances with students he believed were consensual. Against that backdrop, she is swept up by an all-consuming crush on Vladimir, a hot-shot young writer who joins the faculty alongside his enigmatic wife Cynthia.
The Cast
Vladimir stars Rachel Weisz as the unnamed narrator, Leo Woodall as the titular Vladimir, John Slattery as her husband John, Jessica Henwick as Cynthia, and Ellen Robertson, Matt Walsh, Kayli Carter, and Miriam Silverman in supporting roles. Weisz also executive produces alongside Sharon Horgan's Merman production company.
Weisz Is the Engine
The critical consensus lands in the same place regardless of the outlet. Weisz describes her character as "reliable in the sense that she wants to control her narrative — but the narrative she tells isn't always accurate. That seems like a very human trait, to adjust the truth for one's audience when things are going out of control."
Audience reviews on IMDB note that Weisz delivers an excellent performance, reminding viewers she can still do comedy while remaining completely convincing — carrying the show through the protagonist's inner narration in a way that makes the character both fascinating and unsettling. The knock on the show is Woodall, who some critics feel doesn't fully convince as the object of such all-consuming desire.
Where It Comes From
The eight-part limited series is created by Julia May Jonas based on her 2022 novel of the same name. Directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini — the team behind Fleishman Is in Trouble — directed several episodes including the pilot. Filming took place in Toronto from July to September 2025.
The series explores desire, obsession, sexuality, campus gender politics, and cancel culture — "what women feel like they're allowed to desire, and how they're allowed to desire," as Jonas put it.
How to Watch
Vladimir has been streaming on Netflix globally since March 5, 2026. All eight episodes are available now. The show is rated TV-MA.
