Gloss comes out of a coma: how did the series “First Issue” with Evgeny Tsyganov appear?

The winter movie premieres season is starting strong: on December 1, KION will release the series “First Number”, which was presented for the first time as part of the “New Season” film festival. Even then, the project about the interior kitchen of the polish aroused curiosity, especially among media representatives, and fortunately, the expectations were justified. Although the story is fiction, it develops within the framework of familiar facts; One day, foreign brands left Russia, and fashion magazines that made a living on advertising began to close en masse after their licenses were revoked. The reasons, as expected, remain silent, but that is not the point.

One of the screenwriters, Sergei Minaev, knows this business firsthand – he himself continues to head the magazine “Rules of Life” (formerly Esquire) as editor-in-chief. And, of course, Minaev’s features can be noticed in the main character, despite the fact that his friend, writer Eduard Bagirov, became the prototype.

For years, representatives of creative industries and professionals who created a fairy tale and sold it to the masses remained unemployed. But not everyone is so easily ready to give up their dreams and earnings, therefore, at the request of the owner (Igor Vernik), Idol magazine, as a result of rebranding, turns into the publication “Gentlemen”. And this decision forces the editor-in-chief to resign from his post because he “still values ​​his reputation” and does not want to “spoil his resume.”

It seems that the ship is sinking with the captain and the crew is ready to disperse. The only logical solution is to close the magazine and take the money. That’s exactly what shareholders think when they want to turn a once-profitable business into a loss-making business and buy it back at almost zero cost. That’s when they came up with the idea of ​​finding a loser who couldn’t even publish the first issue as editor-in-chief. The choice falls on the main character of the series, Konstantin Inozemtsev, played by Evgeny Tsyganov. For some, its purpose is the opportunity to settle old scores, for others – punishment, and for himself – a chance to return his beloved and prove to himself that he is worth something.

The once popular author of a novel with the symbolic title “Coma” happily becomes an alcoholic, becomes vulgar, and lives a hedonistic lifestyle. Inozemtsev looks like a relic of the 2000s: it is hard to believe that such a person could not only create a fashion publication for the younger generation, but even publish the first issue without having experience in this field. Despite everything, Tsyganov’s hero evokes sympathy from the audience. And all because he does not try to look like someone else, adapt, borrow new views and please everyone. Despite everything, women love Konstantin because he is honest in his thoughts and actions – and it is this freedom, which he calls new sincerity, that is fascinating.

No matter how repulsive the harshly cynical Inozemtsev seems to those around him, all his questions are appropriate – he is not detached from reality. Who will read the “Gentlemen” magazine when “inner London” disappears from the Garden Ring? What will writers who have previously introduced the world of luxury write about? Inozemtsev changes the concept of the magazine, and with it its name, to the encouraging “Lamp”.

Rough and slightly behind the times, Konstantin Inozemtsev intuitively feels the right direction and suggests turning to eternal values ​​​​instead of momentary trends: “Let those who are here for a short time count the years, I am here forever.” This is illustrated by an episode in the second series where the glamorous and boring parties are depicted quite realistically. “Simple” Inozemtsev corners a young designer whose collection is inspired by the work clothes of poor migrant workers but will be worn by the rich. Where is innovation, justice and the fight against inequality?

And of course, a men’s magazine cannot ignore the women’s issue. There are many of them here, they are different – talented, ambitious, beautiful, but almost all of them are unhappy in their personal lives. What are we looking for in each other? Why are we meeting? What do we want from a relationship? What kind of man does a woman dream of? All these questions need to be answered by the main character himself, whose beloved woman Maria is married to someone else. At first it seems that Inozemtsev is using his former love for profit, because Maria, whose prototype is clearly Alena Doletskaya, is a media business shark. Why would he risk his comfort and position for a forgotten love?

The “first issue”, telling about the life of secular Moscow and the work of journalists, will be of interest not only to a narrow circle of party goers. There is also a place for endless questions – love and self-finding. And also humor. Evgeny Tsyganov, who never betrays himself, leaves his hero serious in any situation, but there is really something to laugh at heartily in the series.

The plot develops dynamically and does not sag for a moment, and in general the series looks easy. But like most of us, heroes find themselves in the grip of uncertainty. But experience shows that the end of one thing always leads to something else. This gives hope for the best.

In addition to Evgeny Tsyganov and Nadezhda Mikhalkova, many stars played in the series: Sasha Bortich, Pavel Derevyanko, Ida Galich, Ravshana Kurkova, Leonid Yarmolnik, Igor Vernik, Lukerya Ilyashenko, Alexandra Rebenok, and also in a cameo – Sergei Minaev Alexander Tsypkin.