Netflix is building a high-calibre psychological drama around obsession, control and collapse, with One Day breakout Leo Woodall joining Rachel Weisz in the upcoming limited series Vladimir.
The eight-part drama is based on Julia May Jonas’s debut novel, a sharp and unsettling portrait of desire gone feral inside the confines of campus culture. Jonas is adapting her own work for the screen and will serve as creator and writer. Weisz, who is also executive producing, plays a literature professor whose personal and professional life starts to disintegrate after a charismatic younger colleague named Vladimir arrives on campus. That role will be played by Woodall, fresh off his starring turn as Dexter Mayhew in Netflix’s One Day and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.
The project is being steered by 20th Television and comes with a strong bench of executive producers. Sharon Horgan, Stacy Greenberg, and Kira Carstensen are on board for Merman. Jason Winer and Jon Radler are attached through Small Dog Picture Company. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini round out the list.
Tonally, Vladimir is being positioned as a provocative mix of academic drama and erotic unease, threaded with black comedy and moral ambiguity. The original novel drew comparisons to Damage and Notes on a Scandal for its candid take on gender, fantasy, and power dynamics.
Production timelines haven’t been announced, but this marks another prestige swing from Netflix in the literary adaptation lane, targeting audiences who followed projects like You, Obsession and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
