“Better Than Humans” is a Russian science fiction television series about android robots .
| Better than people | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | fantastic drama |
| Creator | Alexander Kessel |
| Screenwriter | Alexander Dagan Andrey Ivanov Natalya Kudryavtseva Vasily Meshkov Asya Guseva Oleg Kuzmenko Anna Dubinskaya Marina Koshkina Elena Kalinina Tatiana Donskaya |
| Producer | Andrey Dzhunkovsky |
| Cast | Paulina Andreeva Kirill Kyaro Alexander Ustyugov Olga Lomonosova Eldar Kalimulin Vita Kornienko Vera Panfilova Aleksandr Kuznetsov Fedor Lavrov Sergey Sosnovsky Kirill Polukhin Pavel Vorozhtsov Irina Tarannik |
| A country |  Russia |
| Original language | Russian |
| Number of seasons | 2 |
| Number of series | sixteen |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Eduard Gorbenko |
| Producer | Eduard Iloyan (gen.) Alexander Kessel (gen.) Vitaliy Shlyappo (gen.) Denis Zhalinsky (gen.) Alexey Trotsyuk (gen.) Ruslan Sorokin (gen.) Mikhail Tkachenko Andrey Dzhunkovsky Dmitry Lanskoy (music) |
| Operator | Ilya Ovsenev |
| Timekeeping | 52 min |
| Studio | Yellow, Black and White Sputnik Vostok Production |
| Broadcast | |
| On the screens | November 28, 2018 (START and Kino1TV) - present |
| Video format | 16: 9 |
| Sound format | Dolby digital |
| Links | |
| Series page on the START video service website | |
| IMDb | ID 8285216 |
The premiere of the series took place on the START video service and on-line cinema of Channel One on November 23, 2018 [1] .
The television premiere of the series took place on the Russian First Channel on April 22, 2019 [2] .
In April 2017, the project became a finalist in the MIPDrama Screenings competition in the category “Works in progress” within the framework of MIPCOM 2017 and was selected to the program “International Panorama” of the Series Mania serials festival [3] .
In January 2019, the rights to the series were sold to the Netflix platform. At it, he was the first among Russian television projects to be released under the Netflix Original brand with a local translation. The deal could reach a record $ 1 million for Russia [4] .
Content
Story
In 2029, android robots became commonplace and entered all spheres of human life - they help them raise children, work as personal drivers and security guards. For most people, bots are just soulless machines for routine work, but they are also capable of emotions. The main character - the super boat Arisa - is trying to understand what it means to be human. As a child, she learns the world and gradually discovers the concepts of care, devotion and love. Moreover, her absolute and naive following this path makes her a better being than the people themselves.
Starring
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Paulina Andreeva | new generation empathic bot Arisa |
| Kirill Kyaro | pathologist , former surgeon George N. Safronov father of Egor and Sonya |
| Alexander Ustyugov | Head of CRONOS Corporation Victor Pavlovich Toropov |
| Olga Lomonosova | Alla, ex-wife of George, mother of Yegor and Sonya |
| Eldar Kalimulin | Egor Safronov son of George and Alla, in love with Jeanne |
| Vita Kornienko | Sonya Safronova daughter of George and Alla |
| Vera Panfilova | waitress in the club "Liquidators" Zhanna Barseneva sister Barca |
| Aleksandr Kuznetsov | bartender in the club "Liquidators" "Bars" (Barsenev) brother of Jeanne |
| Fedor Lavrov | CRONOS Special Assignments Specialist Gleb |
| Sergey Sosnovsky | head of the State Duma Committee on Cybersecurity Alexei Stepanovich Losev father of Svetlana Toropova |
| Kirill Polukhin | investigator in the department for combating cyber crime, former employee of the slaughter department Pavel Borisovich Varlamov |
| Pavel Vorozhtsov | Technical Director of CRONOS Corporation Igor Mikhailovich Maslovsky |
| Irina Tarannik | Svetlana Toropova Victor's wife |
| Sergey Kolesnikov | Colonel Anatoly Vladimirovich Svetov Head of the Police Department on the fight against cybercrime |
TV Series Production
- Filming of the television series began in the summer of 2016 [5] and ended in the fall of 2017.
- The creators initially planned to shoot 2 seasons of 8 episodes each [6] .
- Ergonomic cyber costumes, the most complicated plastic make-up and a lot of all kinds of gadgets, borrowed from the pages of scientific journals [7], were used during the shooting.
- The name of Arisa 's superbot is not accidental: this is the name of the traditional Armenian dish - porridge with chicken and wheat [8] .
- The company Central Partnership offered to release the series in cinemas, but the producers took in Channel One partners and decided to make a premiere on online platforms [9] .
- Since the release of the trailer, opinions began to appear [ who? ] about the similarity of the series with the Swedish project " Real People " and the American series " People " [10] , but the creators of the project [ who? ] categorically disagree with the status of the remake : according to them, [ who? ] The script of the series is absolutely original [11] .
List of episodes
| Season | Series | Broadcast period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | 1-8 (8 episodes) | November 23 - December 28, 2018 | |
| 2 | 9-16 (8 episodes) | January 11 - March 1, 2019 | |
Season 1
| Batch number | Premiere | Description of the series |
|---|---|---|
| one | 11/23/2018 | An unusual cargo is delivered to the Kronos Corporation: a unique anthropomorphic robot Arisa inside the trunk. Arisa escapes from Kronos and accidentally authorizes five-year-old Sonya Safronova. Father Sonia, pathologist George Safronov, is urgently called to work: at the request of an old acquaintance of Maslovsky Safronov, he must issue the death of the security guard Kronos as an accident. Safronov understands that they are trying to hide a crime with his help, but he really needs money - George is suing his ex-wife Alla, who is trying to take their children to Australia. In the evening, Arisa appears on the threshold of Sonya's room. No one except the owner of Kronos, Viktor Toropov, and his assistant Maslovsky, knows that the world's only bot killer was illegally brought into the country. |
| 2 | 11/23/2018 | Alla deceives Safronov, pretending to agree to leave him children. In fact, she is waiting for the moment to deprive George of parental rights through the court. An investigator from the anti-cybercrime department Varlamov is interested in the body of the Kronos security guard. The eldest son of Safronov, Yegor, hates his father because he must return to school because of him. Egor runs away from lessons and gets acquainted with Jeanne. Jeanne and her brother Bars are part of the Liquidators youth group, which advocate the destruction of bots. The liquidators are preparing a large-scale action. Arisa authorizes Egor and George Safronov: they are now her family. Maslovsky tells Victor that he knows how to find Arisa. |
| 3 | 11/30/2018 | Safronov finally discovers that a bot lives in his house. Sonya claims that Arisa is a member of their family, but George believes that they should return the robot. To to collect dirt on Safronov, Alla secretly penetrates the apartment and sets up surveillance cameras. Arisa saves Sonya. Safronov, to his surprise, discovers that Arisa is an unusual bot. She picks up the slightest nuances of the mood, him and the children. The liquidators set a time for the action against bots. Egor wants to go with Jeanne, but for this he needs a robot. Victor presents the concept of Arisa to the Minister of Social Security and his father-in-law Losev. Losev takes the word from Victor that he will soon show Aris. |
| four | 12/07/2018 | Varlamov suspects that Safronov helped hide the murder of the Kronos guard. But he has no evidence: Arisa hides the main evidence. On one of images in the network from the action of the liquidators Varlamov recognizes Yegor. Egor is being arrested. He faces a serious charge. Sveta is interviewing her father, Losev. They are discussing the Minister’s new retirement initiative. Alla decides to reveal her deception and returns home. She accuses Safronov of not being able to take care of the children. Realizing that she is dangerous for the family, Arisa leaves. |
| five | 12/14/2018 | Alla asks the judge to release Yegor. Varlamov offers Safronov to think about what information about Vick he is ready to exchange for his son’s freedom: Varlamov has his own accounts with Toporov and “Kronos”. Vick reminds Sveta that today is the day their son died. Light does not recognize his death - she is sure that in the child-bot, whom she calls the name of her son, the soul of her boy lives. The day comes for Arisa's presentation at the Ministry. Instead of the real Arisa, Maslovsky is preparing a copy for Vic for her - Arisu-2, warning that the robot only looks like a unique prototype, and a scandal awaits them. |
| 6 | 12/21/2018 | Vick offers Safronov cooperation: he pulls Yegor out of prison, and in return, George prepares Arisa to participate in the tender. Safronov and Alla agree. Safronov arranges a family holiday, at which he begins to think that he and Alla and the children can be happy again. Ariza considers Alla to be superfluous in their ideal family, because she can become new, improved, Safronov's wife - she does not raise her voice for children, she will never grow old and will not lie. Arisa’s statement about Alla’s lies is an unpleasant discovery for Safronov. Egor also conceals from his parents his meetings with Jeanne and the liquidators. |
| 7 | 12/28/2018 | Alla decides to escape from Safronov with the children. Arisa shows Safronov reservation on tickets that Alla ordered in secret from him. Safronov is trying to end Arisa. The people of Vic return Alla. Bars asks Yegor to bring Arisa to the Botnet. Egor agrees, hoping that this will help him to establish relations with Bars and make peace with Jeanne. Varlamov and Safronov learn that Arisa is the only robot in the world that can violate the laws of robotics and harm people. Safronov realizes that Vick experimented with him, blackmailing him into taking a dangerous, unpredictable robot into the family. |
| eight | 12/28/2018 | Arisa is lying to Safronova that she has never harmed people: her ability to hide the truth is another unknown feature. George and Alla have to prepare Aris for the tender - the fate of Yegor depends on this. Losev and Vic are pleased that Sveta helps Toropov in preparation for the competition. It seems to Losev that his daughter is recovering. In fact, Sveta hates both of them. Bars kills the "mole" sent by Gleb. Now he, along with a group of liquidators, should find a new, safe place. Arisa intends to explain to Alla that she does not consider her actions a boon to the family. Arisa’s goal is to protect Safronov and the children, and she has no restrictions on the way to her. |
Season 2
| Batch number | Premiere | Description of the series |
|---|---|---|
| nineteen) | 01.11.2019 | On the night before the tender, Gleb, Vika’s assistant on “difficult issues,” abducts Alla and Sonya. Vick must have guarantees that on the show Safronov will convince Arisa to do what Vick needs. Varlamov receives a panic button signal from Safronov, but does not have time to help. Leopard collects the remnants of his group to declare his principles by loud action of the liquidators in today's tender show, where Aris and other bots will compete that can replace people. Egor sneaks on the show. Suddenly, he encounters Jeanne and leads the liquidators to his father. Realizing that it will not be easy to cope with Arisa, Bars pretends that he wants to help Safronov to disrupt Vick's plans. |
| 2 (10) | 01/18/2019 | The tender has been canceled. Vic tells the press that the liquidators have abducted Arisa and Safronov. Losev threatens Vick, because due to the missing bot, the state order is being called into question, from which Losev expected to get a lot of money. Safronov agrees with Bars, about the place where he should give him Alla and Sonya. In return, Safronov must give to Aris. Bars calls Lara - a hacker girl. Lara must crack Arisa in order to gain access to her memory. |
| 3 (11) | 01/25/2019 | Safronov remains with the liquidators to make operation Jeanne. He asks Barca to trick Egor into leaving with his mother. Leo takes away Alla, Sonya and Yegor from the city. The liquidators run into a police patrol and riot: they are unhappy that Bars is risking their lives for his sister. Lara explains to Barca that downloading Arisa’s memory without damaging the entire system is impossible. She is struck by the perfection of Arisa and she does not want to harm her. Egor realizes that Alla intends to force him to take him out of the country, and escapes. Light threatens Vick, which will tell his father about his fraud with Arisa. |
| 4 (12) | 02/01/2019 | Vick sends Sveta to a psychiatric clinic. Joan wakes up after surgery. She persuades Barca to flee, but he does not intend to abandon his mission. His goal is to prove to people that Arisa is dangerous, and destroy her. Varlamov finds out the circumstances of the death of his assistant Petrenko. The witness accuses Safronov of a crime. The Ministry announces the second round of the tender: the winner will receive funding for the launch of the plant for the production of robots - human substitutes. If Arisa wins, Kronos will receive the money. Vic hides that he will not be able to produce bots similar to Arisa. Lara puts up Arisa for auction. |
| 5 (13) | 02/08/2019 | In order to capture how the robot attacks a person, Bars plans to play a performance with Arisa-2 in Kronos. Safronov is fond of Lara, but the girl says that Arisa is much more important to her than George. Lara helps Arisa hide from the people of Vic and the liquidators. Arisa freezes, and Lara gets to the bottom of her installation programs. One of the creators of the robot contacts her, who explains that after Arisa's reboot, she will acquire the ability to make independent decisions. Yegor asks Safronov to save Zhanna, at whom the infection begins. George takes Jeanne to the hospital, where they fall into Vic's trap. Lara puts Arisa in an underground auction. |
| 6 (14) | 02/15/2019 | Vick offers Safronov a deal: for him, Arisa’s participation in the tender is still important. Safronov, in turn, demands that Vick withdraw his accusations of the death of Assistant Varlamov. Lara tells Safronov that she is dying, and she needed the money from the sale of Arisa for the operation. Upon learning that Sveta is in a psychiatric clinic in very poor condition, Losev promises to crack down on Vic. Safronov asks Arisa to open the memory during interrogation in the police, but Arisa refuses: she understands that it threatens her with destruction, because the killer robot will not be left among the people. Safronov warns Varlamov that in his department there is a person working for Toropov. Vic kills Losev. |
| 7 (15) | 02/22/2019 | Maslovsky is looking for a way to free the Light, which is kept on psychotropic drugs. On a talk show, Vic talks about how liquidators are more dangerous than robots. As evidence, Toropov cites the story of Safronov, whose family was abducted by the liquidators. Located in the studio, George has to confirm the words of Vic. Pension reform is gaining momentum. Arisa must demonstrate the skills of a robot doctor: she needs to undergo a complex surgical operation under the guidance of Safronov, a former neurosurgeon. George is against, and Arisa injects him a large dose of sleeping pills to independently perform the operation. Her patient is Lara. |
| 8 (16) | 03/01/2019 | Safronov tells Vick that it was he who did the unsuccessful operation to his son: if Arisa had been in his place then the boy would have survived. Maslovsky on the orders of Vic erases all the settings of Arisa. The bot is returned to its original settings. Toropov authorizes Arisa - now he is her first user. Kronos receives money to launch the Aris robot manufacturing plant. To hide the traces of his scam, Vic orders Gleb to blow up the plant during the grand opening. For everything to indicate the action of the liquidators, Jeanne must do this. Egor goes to the factory with Jeanne. |
Awards and nominations
- 2019 - Professional prize of the Association of film and television producers in the field of television cinema :
- prize in the nomination “Best Visual Effects” (UnitFive)
- prize in the nomination "The best work of the artist in makeup" (Maria Novikova, Alexey Ivchenko (plastic makeup)) [12]
- Nomination for a prize in the category "Best Mini-TV Series (5-24 episodes)"
- Nomination for a prize in the category “Best Actress of a TV Movie / TV Series” (Paulina Andreeva) [13]
Notes
- ↑ Online movie theater START will show the premiere of the series “Better Than People” // “Telesputnik”, November 7, 2018
- ↑ Channel One will show the series “Better Than People” about android robots // TASS , April 8, 2019
- ↑ “Trotsky”, “Gogol” and Tsekalo go to conquer Cannes // The Hollywood Reporter , October 5, 2017
- ↑ Russian producers uploaded Netflix // Kommersant , January 11, 2019
- ↑ Paulina Andreeva plays a robot in a new fantastic television project (PHOTO) // OK !, August 24, 2016
- ↑ Everything was mixed in the botomir // Tricolor TV Magazine, August 25, 2016
- ↑ Android is a friend of man // Izvestia , November 10, 2016
- ↑ Details from the filming of the series “Better Than People” // Teleprogramma.pro, October 14, 2016
- ↑ Gogol’s move // Kommersant , December 7, 2018
- ↑ “Better Than People”: a trailer for the domestic analogue of the Humans series was released // “ World of Fantasy ”, September 12, 2017
- ↑ Search for the present: the series “Better Than People” with Paulina Andreeva was shown to the Russians // Amurskaya Pravda , November 24, 2018
- ↑ The results of the VII AIC & T Prize // March 27, 2019
- ↑ The Association of Producers announces the list of nominees for the VII AIC & T Prize // February 12, 2019