TV fans have days to binge ‘fabulous’ historical drama before it leaves UK streamer
You've not got long.
Amazon Prime Video subscribers have been urged to watch a 2017 historical drama before it leaves the streaming platform for good.
Private Lives, a drama made in the Czech Republic, follows members of the country’s wealthy elite during and after the Second World War.
Starring some of the biggest names in Czech TV, including David Novotny, Vladimir Javorsky, Judit Bardos, and Alexandr ‘Sasa’ Rasilov, the series was titled Bohéma in its homeland.
Episodes were made available to UK viewers in January 2017, just a month after the Amazon Prime Video service was launched around the world.
However, on the website’s page featuring titles set to leave the platform in the next 30 days, Private Lives is listed, bringing its eight-year stay to an end.
The six-part miniseries follows Czech celebrities and actors who were among the country’s most famous and powerful people during the era of the First Republic.
The Czech drama is set during and after World War II (Picture CT1/Bohema)The First Republic refers to the First Czechoslovak Republic, which was the first Czechoslovak state to exist between 1918 and 1938, eventually becoming known as Czechoslovakia.
Private Lives explores both wealth and poverty within the Czech film industry of the mid-20th century, and how the industry was affected by Nazi occupation and then by Soviet occupation.
Each episode is over an hour in length, with all six episodes being almost as long as a feature film – the shortest episode is the first, which stands at 71 minutes.
It ‘lifts the lid’ on the European film industry during the Nazi and Soviet eras (Picture: CT1/Bohema)Some of the real-life famous names featured in the historical series are Czech actors Zdenek Stepanek, Vlasta Burian, Oldrich Novy, and several others.
On X, @Wakirsten called the series ‘fabulous’ and described the series’ main musical theme as ‘gorgeous’, while @ShadyM commented: ‘Not what I expected but Bohema is what I’m all about.’
@TomAndr thought the series provided sobering thoughts for any Czech person watching it: ‘It’s good to remind ourselves what a wonderful time we live in [now]. And that it’s good to appreciate it.’
Meanwhile, @ZelkaLekovic said: ‘I watched the series – I was blown away, I like it a lot, I watch movies and series from that time.’
According to Czech reporters, Private Lives ‘grapples with the question how, in the course of 15 years, the country could be transformed from being a proud democracy into a fearful totalitarian society’.
The series was called Bohema over in the Czech Republic (Picture: CT1/Bohema)In 1934, the First Czechoslovak Republic was the only functioning parliamentary democracy in central Europe. Four years later, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany.
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Czechoslovakia was reinstated before a coup in 1948 saw the country fall under Soviet occupation – despite never officially becoming a Soviet Union member.
The series is said to ‘lift the lid’ on the goings on at the Prague-based film studio Barrandov, which was (and remains) the largest film studio in the central European country.
As well as being responsible for several Czech-language films, Barrandov has also overseen production on Mission: Impossible films, The Bourne Identity, and James Bond film Casino Royale.
Watch Private Lives on Amazon Prime Video.
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