# King & Jester (2023)

> A fantasy drama in which the rise of Russian punk-rock band King and Jester mingles with folkloric tricksters and evil spirits drawn from their songs.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/139501

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 9
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, fantasy, music
- Created by: Rustam Mosafir
- Network: Kinopoisk
- Cast: Konstantin Plotnikov, Vladislav Konoplev, Valeriia Zoidova, Daniil Vakhrushev, Ilya Lovkiy, Danila Rassomakhin, Yan Ilves, Vassa Bokova
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15939084/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: dark, feverish, melancholic, intense, surreal

## Synopsis

King & Jester (2023) is a Russian fantasy drama miniseries created by Rustam Mosafir for Kinopoisk. Loosely based on the real story of the cult punk-rock band King and Jester, the nine-episode run follows the band's rocky road to success through the 1990s and 2000s, centred on its polarizing frontman Michael Gorshenev, played by Konstantin Plotnikov, alongside bandmate Andrei Knyazev, played by Vladislav Konoplev. Their ascent is haunted by tricksters, evil spirits and noblemen who step out of the band's own song lyrics and into their everyday lives, so the rock biopic keeps slipping into horror fable territory. Each episode mixes concert energy, backstage turmoil, romantic and marital strain, and the pull of addiction with eerie folkloric set pieces. The result is a restless, melancholic and dark-hued tone in which music, myth and self-destruction are tightly bound. Viewers who enjoy Penny Dreadful for its folklore-tinged dread, or Walk the Line for its portrait of a volatile musician, will find resonance here. Its mood is sombre and feverish, and the series is a rock-saturated, adult-oriented fantasy for viewers who like their myth raw and their music loud.

## Shows like King & Jester

- [1703 (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/132646)
- [Difficult Teens (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/80239)
- [The Swamp (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/96137)
- [The Magic District (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/155841)
- [The Master and Margarita (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/5973)
- [Psycho (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/84367)
- [Offline (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/124188)
- [Territory (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/92280)
- [Sparta (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69373)
- [Children of Change (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/184409)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt