It's hard to be top: the project based on the Strugatsky novel became one of the best in September

Autumn turned out to be rich in high-profile series premieres. Russian moviegoers watched everyday comedies and historical dramas, worried about doctors with difficult fates, and hunted a maniac in a provincial village with investigators. According to the Russian rating of the series "Medialogia", the leadership remained with "Cold", which presented the final episode on September 17. A grandiose project based on the cult novel by the Strugatsky brothers "It's Hard to be a God" was among the best new products in the top. Another premiere of the month is Egor Beroev's "Marik", which was first presented at the Pilot festival of Russian TV series in the summer of 2026. Read more about the new products that the audience noticed in the Izvestia article.

"It's hard to be a God," 3rd place

One of the most notable novelties of the fall was the adaptation of the novella by brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky "It's Hard to be a God." The premiere took place on September 3. The story takes place in the distant future. Earthlings observe less developed civilizations and help them go through difficult stages of formation. Anton, an employee of the Institute of History, goes to the planet Kepler-4077 under the name Rumata. The main rule is to stay on the sidelines so as not to disrupt the natural course of history. The main role was played by Serbian actor Aleksandar Radojicic.

The project brought together a vibrant ensemble of stars of modern Russian cinema: Fyodor Bondarchuk, Sergey Bezrukov, Nikita Kologrivy, Leonid Yarmolnik, Victoria Isakova, Ravshana Kurkova, Irina Pautova. Dmitry Tyurin took the director's chair, Andrey Zolotarev wrote the script.

"This is the most ambitious and complex project that I have ever seen in Russia or the USSR,— Andrei Zolotarev told Izvestia. — It is clear that there was a large-scale cinema in the USSR, but I have not seen serial Russian projects of this scale. And it's incredibly difficult: to immerse the viewer in the world of Arkanar, so that the viewer believes that this world really exists, requires a huge amount of resources, a huge number of man-hours. It is technically, economically and emotionally very difficult. I sincerely tried to strictly follow the feelings that I received when I read this book.

Some of the scenes were shot in Iran, and some were set in a large—scale medieval Arkanar, which was specially built at the Moskino Film Park. For those who prefer to watch the entire series, all episodes are already available. The final was released on October 15th.

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The film starring Sergey Bezrukov and Victoria Isakova earned more than 122 million rubles.

What else did viewers watch in September

Another notable novelty in the top of the Russian rating of the series "Medialogy" is the drama series "Marik" by Egor Beroev, which took the second place. It was first shown to a professional audience at the Pilot festival in Ivanovo in the summer of 2026, and in September the project was seen by the audience. In the story, military doctor Mark Aksenov returns from the front and discovers that there is no former life: his wife considered him dead and married someone else. To start over, he gets a job in an ambulance in modern Mariupol. The story was praised for its relevance, vivid location shooting and successful casting. The main role was played by Vasily Kopeikin.

In the ninth place of the top is "The Master of Moscow", a historical drama that spanned the period from 1811 to 1823. Directors Igor Zaitsev and Valeria Wegner told the story of three families from different classes: nobles, merchants and serfs. Against the background of the military conflict with Napoleon, their fates are intertwined and radically change in the millstones of history. Ironic to some viewers was the choice of an actor for the role of Napoleon — he was played by Denis Kutuzov.

On the 11th line is the TV series "Professional Neighbor" starring Vladimir Sychev. His hero is an apartment invader. He looks for errors in the documents in order to get the right to use the share, and then he drives the owners out of the house by all possible means.

The 13th place was taken by the detective "The Number of the Beast", which takes place in the 1990s. The main character is investigator Alexey Kirsanov (Dmitry Palamarchuk), who is investigating the murder of an entire family in the provincial village of Kliny. The only evidence is the numbers on the victims' bodies and an army cap found in the woods.

The September rating of Medialogia showed that the audience's interest is once again distributed among different genres — from crime dramas and detective stories to historical sagas and fiction. In total, 11 premieres of 2026 were included in the fresh top. Of these, 10 are Russian.