Servant of the People

Servant of the People (Polish: Sługa narodu) is a Polish-language political satire comedy-drama television series created by Okil Khamidov, and directed by Khamidov and Maciej Bieliński. The series follows Ignacy Konieczny, portrayed by Marcin Hycnar, who becomes the president of Poland. It was based on a 2015 Ukraine-made 2015 television series titled Servant of the People, created by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The series premiered on Polsat television station and Polsat Box Go streaming service on 4 March 2023, and as of July 2023 has one season of 24 episodes, and a second season in production. Plot Ignacy Konieczny (Marcin Hycnar), a 36-year-old teacher, while talking with his colleague, makes a passionate speech about the current political situation in Poland. The speech gets recorded by a bystander, and uploaded to the Internet, where it becomes viral. Konieczny becomes famous across the country and is seen as a hero of the people. Soon, he is elected the president of Poland. After being elected, he refused the presidential privileges, determent to lead a simplistic life, which leads to comical situations. Cast Marcin Hycnar as Ignacy Konieczny, the president of Poland Krzysztof Dracz as Cezary Kujawa, the Prime Minister of Poland Danuta Stenka as Maria Nowacka, the chief of the Office of the President Hanna Konarowska as Alicja Halicka, Ignacy's ex-wife Magdalena Popławska as Basia Mazur, Ignacy's sister Sławomir Orzechowski as Lucjan Konieczny, Ignacy's father Dorota Kolak as Ewa Konieczna, Ignacy's mother Ewa Sadowska, as Oliwia Mazur, Ignacy's niece Marcin Bosak, as the chief of secret services Michał Lewandowski, as Kazik Zawada, the chairperson of the Supreme Audit Office Sebastian Perdek, as captain Grzegorz Jarosz, the Minister of National Defence Mariusz Ostrowski, as Michał Zieliński, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Production The television series was based on Servant of the People, a Ukraine-made 2015 television series, with a similar premise of a high school teacher becoming the president of Ukraine, created and produced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The rights to make a Poland-focused remake were bought by Okil Khamidov, however no studio in Poland was originally interested in picking it up. Zelenskyy became the president of Ukraine in 2019. In 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskyy's wartime leadership, the show's popularity received a notable boost internationally.