The 23 Best Russian TV Series to Learn Russian in 2026

Without Russian TV series I would’ve never been able to become fluent in Russian.

But it was quite difficult to find good series when I started learning in 2016. And that’s why I decided to create this list of the best Russian TV series to learn Russian in 2026.

So if you’re learning Russian – or if you’re just interested in what Russian cinematography – the list below will help you find your next Russian series to watch…

The 23 best Russian TV shows for learning Russian

Below you’ll find 23 shows that are great if you want to learn Russian – or are just interested in Russian culture.

1) Чики

Чики is a series about 4 female friends in Southern Russian who have a shared dream of opening a fitness club. The show explores the challenges and triumphs they face as they work toward their goal, and the dynamic of their friendships as they navigate their personal and professional life.

I really liked the view that the series gave of the life in a small southern Russian village. I’ve traveled around Russia a bit as well, so it was interesting to see a non-comedy film that was situated not in the big cities.

2) Кухня

Кухня is a popular Russian television series. It’s a comedic series set in the kitchen of a fancy Moscow restaurant, with the focus on the personal and professional lives of the characters who work there. The show explores the challenges and difficulties of working in a high-pressure kitchen, as well as the relationships and conflicts that arise among the staff.

This show is a good show for intermediate learners, as the vocabulary isn’t too advanced. The great thing about this show is also that there are about 8 seasons and a movie. So if you enjoy watching it, you can watch it for months.

3) Эпидемия

Эпидемия – or “To the Lake” in English, is a Russian television series set in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious virus has devastated the population. The show follows Sergey as he tries to save his family. They leave Moscow and travel to a remote lake in search of safety. The series explores the challenges and dangers they face on their journey, but also as the relationships they form and the sacrifices they must make to survive.

I found it interesting that the series was shot in 2019, just a year before the Covid pandemic started. But that must’ve been a coincidence ;)

4) Как Я Стал Русским

“How I became Russian” is the story of Alex, an American reporter who moves to Moscow for his work, and gets his ‘real Russian’ education. His grandma was Russian, so he does know a bit of the language – but unfortunately none of the Russian customs, culture, and habits.

Which turns out pretty unlucky for him – but incredibly fun for us.

They basically used all the funny and interesting Russian customs (such as only bringing an uneven number of flowers for a girl on a date) and created fun scenarios with it. And at the end of each episode, Alex writes in his blog about what he learned that episode about Russian culture and mentality.

This was one of the first series that I could watch without English subtitles, as the vocabulary used is not too difficult (compared to other series)

5) Лучше, Чем Люди

In English you can find this series as “Better than Us”. It’s a Russian science fiction TV series released in 2018. The show is set in a near future where robots have become a common part of society and are used in various tasks. The plot is about a family and their relationships as they come into possession of an advance and highly intelligent robot. This challenges their understanding of what it means to be human.

The show explores themes such as the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, ethics and the impat of technology on society.

It’s not the easiest film to watch if you’re just starting learning Russian, but you can find it on Netflix, so you can turn on English subtitles.

6) Крыша Мира

“Top of the World” is a series about two guys and a young girl who want to open a hostel in Moscow. Their apartment has a roof with a beautiful view of the city – hence the name Top of the World.

However, they experience a lot of troubles and challenges along the way (including a pissed-off neighbor, who tries to block all their plans for opening a hostel).

It’s a fun series to watch and you’ll also learn some things about corruption and bureaucracy.

7) Полицейский с Рублевки

Полицейский с Рублевки is a Russian television series that revolves around the life of a police officer Grisha who works in Rublyovka, a well-off neighborhood in Moscow. The show explores Grisha’s personal and professional challenges, as well as the complexities of policing in a wealthy and influential area. The series touches on themes such as corruption, power dynamics, and the balance between upholding the law and protecting the interests of the community. The series shows a karikatured look at the life of a police officer in modern-day Russia.

Especially the relationship between Grisha and his boss are fun to watch unroll.

8) Солдаты

This Russian TV series is a bit older and if you’re looking for a TV show on how the Russian life in the army was 15 years ago, then you should definitely watch Soldiers.

It’s about new recruits who are enlisted in the army and making the best out of their situation. They develop lifelong friendships, overcome difficult obstacles, and of course fall in love with the camp nurse.

9) Вампиры средней полосы

Вампиры средней полосы is a Russian television series about the lives of a group of vampires living in Russia. The show delves into the vampire mythology and their place in modern-day society, as well as the personal and political conflicts that arise between the vampire community and regular people.

10) WW1 Documentary

Here’s something different. A long documentary about the First World war. The series and documentaries from StarMediaEN were one of the first ones that I watched when I started learning Russian.

They’re well made – cover a wide range of different topics and best of all for new Russian learners: they’re available with English and Russian subtitles.

So you can watch them with Russian voices, and English subtitles. This is perfect for any beginner Russian learner, as your brain and ears will get used to the Russian language.

11) Жуки

Жуки is a Russian television series that follows the story of three guys from Moscow who have made a successful app. They’ve almost succeeded in selling it to a large investment fund. However, their plans are disrupted when they have to fulfill their mandatory army service by serving in a remote Russian village, with the name Жуки. The show is about the challenges and adventures the guys face as they adjust to life in the countryside, as well as the obstacles they encounter as they try to sell their app from such a remote location. The series touches on themes such as the contrast between city and rural life, the struggles of starting a business, and the importance of friendship and teamwork.

I found it a lot of fun to watch this series, as it often uses classic misunderstandings between people to create funny uncomfortable situations between people.

12) Смерть Шпионам

Spies must die is another StarMediaEN series. They’re detective shows, located in the Soviet Union (usually with a war theme) and they’re with less action and more dialogue.

They cover a wide range of times and locations and are perfect if you’re looking for a fun detective series. They’re available with English subtitles, so they’re perfect for beginner learners. Especially if you like the Soviet Union theme. You can go to the YouTube channel StarMediaEN to find these series.

13) Интерны

This is the Russian version of the popular sitcom ‘Scrubs’. It follows interns in a hospital who try to make their way through the trials and medical challenges.

14) Метод

Метод is a Russian TV series about a mysterious police investigator Rodion Meglin, who successfully solves difficult crimes, through his own secret ‘method’, which only he knows. A young woman, Yesenya, want to figure out what his method is, and becomes his trainee.

The series has a lot of gory scenes, so if you don’t like that – don’t watch this series.

15) Бригада

This is a Russian classic series about the story of four childhood friends, ordinary Moscow guys, Sasha Bely, Kosmos, Pchyola and Phil, who grew up in the same yard. One of them comes back from the army in the summer of 1989 and dreams of going to college. But his dream did not come true: together with three friends, he became an unwitting accomplice in the murder, after which he went into racketeers.

16) Игра на выживание

An adventure series about reality show participants who find themselves embroiled in a deadly adventure. At stake is the largest cash prize in the history of Russian television – 1 million euros, but only those who manage to reach the very end will receive it.

All the benefits of civilization remains within a few hours of flight, stunning landscapes around: the mountains of the Western Sayan, impenetrable forests, abandoned buildings from the times of the USSR and the Canyon of the Dead, where the participants of the reality show are welcomed by their host.

17) Тротский

This is a series about the Russian revolutionary Trotski. I find Russian history very interesting, so I enjoyed watching this a lot.

18) Отпуск

This is a series about two families that have a tradition of going on holidays together. The personal lives of the 2 families are getting very itnertwined, an this gives a lot of fun situations.

19) Физрук

Физрук is a series about a former bodyguard of a criminal who gets fired. In order to win back his job, he becomes a PE teacher at the school of his former employer’s daughter. It’s a fun series about a guy from the nineties who has trouble in modern society.

20) Гоголь

This series is based on the writings of Nikolay Gogol, a Ukrainian writer from the 19th century. In a small village in Russia, women are getting kidnapped, and no one knows what’s happening…

21) А зори здесь тихие

This is the remake of a classic soviet film. In it a commander in 1942 asks for a new regiment of soldiers that don’t drink – so his higher-ups send him a regiment of female soldiers. At first the comander is very unhappy with this, but throughout the series the bond between him and his new soldiers grows.

22) Романовы

This is a historical documentary about the Romanov family. It’s from StarMedia, so you can find it on their channel on YouTube. If you like to learn about Russian history, I highly recommend watching this.

23) Нюхач

This is the first Ukrainian production that was available on Netflix. The main character has a super-sensitive sense of smell that allows him to solve all sorts of crimes. His friend Victor, who works for the SBI (Special Bureau of Investigation), often brings him into investigations as an expert. The unique ability of the protagonist is not only a gift for him, but also a curse, because every time it prevents him from adjusting his personal life.

How to use Russian TV series for learning Russian?

To make sure that we’re on the same level, I’ve added here a step-by-step guide on how to use these best Russian TV series for learning Russian. In the first couple of steps, we’ll find out which type of series is correct for you. Then there are some tips and tricks on how to apply the learning best to your life. After that we’ll discuss the reasons why watching Russian TV shows is such a good idea if you’re learning the language.

Step 1: what’s your level in Russian?

First of all, what’s your current fluency in Russian? Don’t lie to yourself here – but take an objective approach. Are you just starting out – or did you already learn some Russian?

The more advanced you are, the wider the choice of series is. If you’re a beginner, for example, it’s not a great idea to start watching WW2 documentaries with a lot of difficult terms without any subtitles whatsoever.

And also, cartoons are not the best option. They might look fun to watch and have a relatively simple vocabulary. But what I’ve found is that the high-pitched voices often make it very difficult for beginners to understand what they are saying. So keep the fun cartoons for a later level.

Step 2: Do you need English (or Russian) subtitles?

Beginners should watch Russian shows with English subtitles. That way you’ll still be able to follow the plot, but you will learn a lot of Russian at a aubconscious level.

Once you find that you’re at the intermediate level – you might want to switch to Russian subtitles. This will be a big step and don’t be surprised if it feels very overwhelming at first. Don’t worry about that and see how far you can come.

If after a couple of episodes, you still feel like you don’t get anything, there are 2 things that can be the culprit. First thing is that maybe you’re watching a series with too difficult a vocabulary. Try switching to simpler Russian shows (for example: “How I became Russian”). If that’s also too difficult – then go back for a while to watch them with English subtitles.

Step 3: What are you interested in?

Another good question. If you hate war-themed movies, then don’t try to watch World War 2 documentaries. And if you can’t stand the awkward situation humor that some of the newer Russian series have – then skip them!

You’re not obliged to watch a specific show just because some people say that it’s a great show for learning Russian.

The most important part is that you enjoy whatever you’re watching. Plus, there are so many good Russian shows out there, that it’s literally impossible to go through all of them.

So pick a couple of genres that you like, and find the right series for them.

Step 4: Just get started!

Once you’ve made a list of a couple of series that you’d like to watch – which are at your level of Russian, just get started watching them.

It might feel a bit uncomfortable (especially if you’re at the stage without English subtitles) but just stick with it for a couple of episodes. Your brain needs time to get used to the Russian, and once you get into it, you’ll find that following the plot becomes easier and easier over time.

Step 5: Watch for at least 20 minutes per day (or aim for the brain melt)

If you want to get the most out of watching TV shows in Russian, I recommend you try to watch at least every day. This will create a habit and before you know it, you’ll be craving to watch your daily series. In a couple of months, your Russian will have improved a lot.

20 minutes is a good starting time. But feel free to watch for as long as you can. It’s a learning thing, so you can spend your time guilty free and watching series!

If you feel 20 minutes is too much – and you’re getting that brain melt after only 5 minutes of watching. Then you can either continue with watching just a couple of minutes per day. That will soon become 10 minutes and 20 minutes the more you practice.

Also, you can decide to go down a notch and find an easier series or turn subtitles on after several minutes.

Another helpful tip is to stop watching English series, and only watch Russian ones. They’re just as fun and your progress in Russian will skyrocket!

Why Russian TV series are so good for learning Russian

Here I’ve listed the top reasons why I think it’s a great idea to watch Russian series (and Russian movies). Especially for those who are learning Russian.

#1 It’s fun

This is number 1 for a reason. You see, the more practice and time you put into learning Russian, the better you’re going to become. So if you can decide between spending 2 hours of studying a grammar book at your desk – or watching a fun series in Russian for 2 hours… which one are you more likely to choose?

Exactly: watching the series. Because it draws you in and keeps your attention with an interesting plot and humor – it will be 10 times easier to spend a lot of time on it.

So if you’re stuck in a rut and find that it’s difficult to focus on regular learning, maybe you need to switch up your routine and just watch a good series. That will help you get to the next level in Russian.

Oh, and maybe you’re the type of person who always feels like he needs to do something useful with his time? Then watching Russian television shows will help relax you while learning something that’s important to you.

#2 You’ll learn helpful vocabulary

You can learn vocabulary by memorizing lists. Or by using a spaced repetition program. But still, when doing that you’re not going to know which words are often used – and which ones aren’t.

By watching series (especially modern ones), you’ll quickly find out which words are commonly used by native speakers. This will help you focus in on learning useful vocabulary.

Plus you’ll learn a lot of new words in context. So you’re more likely to remember them. So it’s a double punch:

You’ll find out exactly which words you need to focus on and which ones are important. Plus you’ll be able to better remember them!

#3 train your brain and ears to understand Russian

This is arguably one of the best functional improvements that you’ll gain from watching Russian series. It is that your brain and ears will get trained to the Russian language.

It’s especially helpful for beginners. Remember when you just started out and Russian sounded like a string of weird sounds? And you couldn’t even distinguish between a single word? That’s exactly the thing that watching good TV shows will help you with.

Because it’s just a matter of listening to Russian for an extended period of time. Training your ears to distinguish individual words when hearing Russian. And the great thing is that you don’t even have to put in full effort for this. Just by consciously listening to Russian speech, you’ll learn it. So even if you use English subtitles, you’ll quickly get a feeling for listening.

#4 Learn about Russian history and culture

The next thing I want to talk about isn’t often mentioned. But I think watching the best Russian TV series is a great way for getting to know the Russian history and culture. Especially if you watch realistic series (like Soldiers) or documentaries, you’ll learn a ton of useful references and information about the Russian mentality, culture and history.

Plus you’ll get a lot of conversation topics for when you’re speaking with a native Russian. Since winters are long and cold, most Russian people spend a lot of time indoors in winter. And what better way to spend a cold winter evening, than watching a good series?

After you’ve watched a couple of series, it will be easy for you to find common ground with other Russian speakers. Because you’ve probably watched the same ones. At least some of them. Russians are often very happy that you’re showing interest in their culture and language. Because it’s actually pretty rare that a non-Russian person tries to learn Russian. So they’ll be very grateful that you’re taking the time to learn it.

Conclusion on the best Russian TV Shows for learning Russian

We’ve covered a lot of interesting topics in this Russian TV shows article. So if you’re interested in learning Russian, I highly recommend you check out some of the series mentioned in this article.

Feel free to follow my exact step by step guide for finding out which series will suit you well. And then try to watch for at least 20 minutes per day. This can be easily made into a habit by switching your English series for Russian ones.

You’ll probably see an increase in your understanding of Russian within the first couple of weeks already. And the longer you keep watching series, the better your Russian will become.

One thing I absolutely love about watching Russian TV shows is the guilt free leisure it offers. If you’re anything like me and always feel like you need to do something useful with your time – all the time. Then it can be very liberating to watch TV shows in Russian. On the one hand you’re relaxing and having a good time – while still practicing and becoming better in something that’s important to you.

What are your favorite Russian TV series? Or movies? Let us all know in the comments! Or share your experience how watching Russian TV /movies made you a better Russian speaker.