'The Enchanted Precinct' became the most successful original project of Okko. Let's figure out what makes the new series about evil spirits so good.

The series 'The Enchanted Precinct' started back in December, so it managed to make it into our list of standout series of 2023. Now we decided to take a closer look at the reasons for its success and whether the project has any downsides.

Evgenia Smykova

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A Precinct Not for Everyone

Lyokha (Nikolay Naumov) is a former police sniper with post-traumatic stress disorder. In the midst of an alcohol binge, he learns about his sister Katya's terminal illness. The girl doesn't want her daughter to be sent to an orphanage after her death, and asks Lyokha to get his act together so he can become the guardian of the eight-year-old girl.

Lyokha has lost many close people in his life, so he does everything to help his sister: he calls in old connections and gets a job at a police precinct. But the establishment turns out to be unusual. The criminals the hero is supposed to catch are fairy-tale characters: the Serpent Gorynych, Baba Yaga, and other evil spirits. And while the former sniper has no trouble catching the villains, trying to become a good guardian becomes a real challenge for Lyokha.

Residents of Our Precinct

The main aspect of the series that allowed it to win so many viewers' hearts is the cast. On screen, we can see Filipp Yankovsky as the Raven, Tatyana Dogileva as Baba Yaga, Pavel Derevyanko as the Serpent Gorynych, and Olga Medynich in an unrecognizable role as the Snow Queen. Throughout the series, we also hear the voice of Evgeny Tkachuk as the digital Koschei.

First of all, in this story I was interested in my character – the three-headed Serpent Gorynych. Or rather, three entities. We dubbed them the brutal, the woman, and the child. These transformations from one to another were the most interesting part for me. And then, of course, I really like to change, to be as diverse as possible on screen. There's never enough of these expressive means. And when the opportunity arises to play such stories, I always take them on with great pleasure.

The fairy-tale genre allows actors to reveal themselves from unexpected sides. Many roles show that the actors enjoyed being able to 'act up' on screen. This is clearly visible in the image of Baba Yaga – we haven't seen Tatyana Dogileva like this before, even in 'Vampires of the Middle Strip'. And every appearance of the Raven makes you admire Filipp Yankovsky's charisma.

Stories of Our Precinct

Of course, the project wouldn't have succeeded solely due to the cast. It's nice to realize that series are now being created not just for entertainment, but to popularize classic fairy tales, traditions, and culture of our country.

The show's episodes are based on characters and stories we know from childhood, but with the action moved to modern times. This gave the authors room to add a wealth of cultural references to the project. For example, we see on screen not just Gorynych, but Viktor Vasnetsov's work 'The Fight of Dobrynya Nikitich with the Seven-Headed Serpent Gorynych', which the famous villain comments on.

Another thing that attracts the project is its humor. Here, the comedic episodes are guarded by the character of Ilya Sobolev, the foul-mouthed Gnome (his punchlines aren't always successful, but they hit the mark quite often) and all the employees of the Enchanted Precinct, in particular, Elena Fedotova (Daria Melnikova) and Oleg Zayats (Alexey Zolotovitsky). The duo of the latter is a classic partner tandem, where one is a bore and moralizer, and the other is an outright fool, so there is plenty of ground for comedic episodes.

'The Enchanted Precinct' is a comedy series, but its authors skillfully weave important topics for discussion into the narrative. Here we encounter Lyokha's difficult fate, masterfully told in the style of a fairy tale, and delve into his relationships with his family, particularly his sister and niece. The creators touch on classic problems of fathers and children (using the example of Yaga and her daughter), themes of friendship and betrayal – all the things we love in fairy tales.

It is already known that the series has been renewed for a second season. We can only hope that it will be no worse than the first, with its magical Moscow, great soundtrack, and charismatic characters.

I read many positive comments from viewers of 'The Enchanted Precinct'. Honestly, I didn't even dare to expect that the series would resonate so much with people! With success comes great responsibility – we need to surprise even more. I hope in the second season we will succeed. There will be more fairy-tale characters and even more humor!

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