Pavel. The First and the Last (Season 1)

"Pavel. The First and the Last" (2025) is a Russian historical drama series you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Alexander Kott, with Denis Vlasenko in the lead role as Emperor Paul I.

The title carries weight. Paul would be the only Russian emperor ever to bear that name — first and last. Catherine the Great, his mother, kept him at arm's length for decades. The court never accepted him. And the question of who arranged the murder of his father, Peter III, never left him alone. Those waiting years carved out a man with an acute sense of injustice and a need to impose order once he finally got the chance. As emperor he moved to rein in the nobility's unchecked power and ease the burden on serfs and common soldiers. Kirill Kyaro, Aleksei Barabash, Vladimir Steklov, and Natalya Surkova co-star.

The series doesn't ask you to like Paul — it shows you the logic of how he became who he was. Rated 18+. Stream "Pavel. The First and the Last" (2025) online on iFILM.