Netflix’s Steamy New 8-Part Thriller Is Already Coming for ‘Bridgerton’s Crown

With Season 4 now fully released, Bridgerton has reigned over Netflix relatively uncontested for the past month and counting. The Regency Era series returned in January to tell the love story of Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) and Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and, unsurprisingly, immediately shot to the top of the streamer’s charts, where Part Two has remained globally ever since its premiere back in February. There are few shows capable of challenging Shonda Rhimes‘ much-loved adaptation of Julia Quinn‘s romance novels in the recent aftermath of a new season, considering not one, but two installments rank in the platform’s Top 10 English-language series of all time. However, a spicy, much-anticipated new thriller is starting to make a push for the crown.

Thursday marked the premiere of Vladimir, the miniseries take on Julia May Jonas‘ novel of the same name, starring The Mummy favorite Rachel Weisz. It follows a middle-aged English professor whose life begins unraveling amid a scandal at her college. During this, she becomes consumed by her obsession with one of her young colleagues, the dashing Vladimir (Leo Woodall), despite both of them being married. Regardless of the risks, she’s ready to do anything to make her fantasies a reality, pushing boundaries and bringing secrets to light in the process. In the words of the author herself, it “explores what women feel like they’re allowed to desire, and how they’re allowed to desire.” Judging from the streaming numbers so far, audiences desire the series, too.

Currently, Vladimir sits in second place on the platform, falling just behind Bridgerton and barely coming out ahead of The Night Agent, another of Netflix’s most-watched series that just got renewed for Season 4. Critics have been a bit more mixed on the final product, giving it a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences in general have shown they’re on board for the darkly comedic, seductive, and twisted tale being told through the star-studded cast, including John Slattery, Jessica Henwick, Matt Walsh, Kayli Carter, Miriam Silverman, Mallori Johnson, Tattiawna Jones, and Louise Lambert. Collider’s Taylor Gates lauded Weisz’s comedic performance in particular in her 8/10 review, saying, “By not leaning into its edgier, murkier elements, Vladimir stops short of being a masterpiece, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun.”

What’s Next for Rachel Weisz After ‘Vladimir’?

Vladimir is only Weisz’s second leading television role, following her acclaimed dual turn in Prime Video’s 2023 series adaptation of David Cronenberg‘s Dead Ringers. Next, the Oscar winner will be heading back to the big screen and to easily one of her most beloved roles as Evelyn O’Connell. Last year, The Mummy fans got a big surprise when it was announced that Ready or Not directing duo Radio Silence would be helming a new sequel to the 1999 adventure film starring Weisz and Brendan Fraser, and it’ll premiere in May 2028.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett managed to revitalize the Scream franchise after the death of Wes Craven, and they’re looking to do the same with the return to Egypt, which aims to begin shooting in August. In an interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff for their sequel, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Gillett described the challenges of balancing nostalgia with new ideas as they take on such a beloved franchise.

“I feel like we have some muscle memory now. You don’t want to be too beholden to what came before, but you want to be really respectful of it. It’s walking that fine line of giving people and ourselves something new and fresh that stands on its own when it comes out without alienating what came before it, but also without just being nostalgia bait. I think it has to be both of those things.”

Vladimir is now available in its entirety on Netflix. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the biggest streaming hits throughout the year.