Fandorin. Azazello (Season 1)

Fandorin. Azazello (Фандорин. Азазель, 2023) is a Russian detective series you can watch online on iFILM. It unfolds in an alternate 21st century where the October Revolution never happened and a Russian empire still stands — the year is 2023, the city Petrograd.

Twenty-year-old Erast Fandorin has just joined the criminal investigations unit and is stuck with dull cases, until a bizarre death lands on his desk. A young oil tycoon shoots himself in the heart of the capital, in front of dozens of witnesses and a patrol robot. Studying the footage, Fandorin concludes it was no suicide, and each fresh clue pulls him toward a dangerous secret organization. Vladislav Tiron plays the rookie sleuth, with Mila Ershova and Maxim Matveev alongside.

The show loosely transplants Boris Akunin's novel Azazel into a steampunk alternate history of robots and an imperial Petrograd. Its tagline — the winter's main adventure — promises sweep rather than a quiet whodunit. It's a treat for anyone who knows the literary Fandorin and wants to see him in unexpected surroundings. Stream Fandorin. Azazello online on iFILM.