Sky Atlantic's Leicester directed drama The Regime is a muddled camp mess

Deliciously camp dictators and despots - there’s a serious lack of them on TV - so it’s handy that Sky has come to the rescue with one of Leicestershire’s finest folk in the director’s chair. However, The Regime can be summed up with another word beginning with d - disappointing.

From the minds behind global hit Succession, The Regime is a six-part look at an authoritative regime in an unnamed central European country. It is directed by the acclaimed Leicester-born filmmaker Sir Stephen Frears whose previous credits include The Queen, The Lost King and Quiz, the ITV drama about Charles Ingram, the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? cheat - all of which are far better than this.

It’s a great shame too as The Regime boasts an all-star cast led by Kate Winslet who portrays Chancellor Elena Vernham - the stylish and seductive autocrat who slinks around in a dazzling array of outfits while rattling off commands in full on camp fashion. Even just a simple strut down a lavishly decorated palace corridor commands your attention, such is the hold Winslet has on viewers as she does her darndest to make the drama gripping, while her tongue is firmly in cheek as she spouts a list of political orders.

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It’s about as good as it gets though as there’s very little else to The Regime. Although, to be fair to Elena, she does have some substance when she’s not strolling about in a glamorous outfit parade - she’s a germaphobe who can sing. Yes, this is best encapsulated in the opening episode as the Chancellor turns cabaret performer in a bid to woo some Americans as part of a trade agreement. Clearly, it’s a method Brexiteers regret not trying after the EU referendum.

Elena’s lungs seem key to events too as while they can produce a sweet singing voice, they can’t take much else as the Chancellor’s inherited her dad’s extremely weak lungs. The clean freak also can’t stand dirt, dust and detritus around her as she’s positively repulsed by anything dirty - other than her language - which to be fair to Kate she delivers with great aplomb. Never has the f word sounded so beautiful.

Elena’s poorly lungs are why a “water diviner” is needed urgently at the dictator’s abode, so of course her team turns to disgraced soldier Herbert Zubak who has just executed some miners following a riot. It’s the natural thing to do of course, with Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) best described as troubled and befuddled. It’s understandable as his CV reads as executing one moment and then spraying water into the air the next. Weird.

That job progression sums up The Regime as a whole. It’s a weird mish-mash of things. Sky Atlantic bills the drama as “darkly comic”, but it never feels like it knows what it wants to be. At one moment, there’s witty exchanges between Elena and her team, while at others it becomes deadly serious and lacking in anything remotely fun despite some campy background music blaring out.

The confused feeling viewers get only worsens as Zubak ditches the diviner to become Elena’s confidante as slowly, but surely he holds all the cards without her realising. That is definitely intriguing, especially as domestic troubles form all around the Chancellor, with Schoenaerts showing some depth to his character. He and Winslet are perhaps the only good points on this front as they positively sizzle on screen - especially when both are getting off on potato steam (don’t ask). Sadly everyone else around them is pretty wafer thin on the character front.

The incredibly talented Andrea Riseborough is poorly served as the one-dimensional palace manager Agnes who is northern and that’s about it. Elena’s husband, Frenchman Nicholas (Guillaume Gallienne) is similarly lacking too, with him defined by the fact he is French and likes sex. I haven’t even got round to seeing Hugh Grant’s guest role in the series, but we can be sure his character is probably not going to offer much other than Hugh’s trademarked dithering. He’s probably betting on appearing in the Paddington sequel for more character depth.

Despite the many problems with The Regime, it looks great on screen. Leicester man Sir Stephen has certainly made it look stunning for the cameras, showing off as many angles of the beautifully lavish palace as possible. The drama’s darker moments also look great for TV too, but the directing cannot save the show itself which lacks an identity.

It’s a big shame as Kate Winslet is clearly having the time of her life playing Elena. It’s such a contrast to her other recent drama role, the downtrodden cop in Mare of Easttown, but this is not even in the same league as that performance. The Regime cannot compare to the brilliance of Mare of Easttown, there’s no hiding that. If you last all six episodes, well done. You’ve done better than me.

The Regime airs Mondays at 10pm on Sky Atlantic. The series can be streamed in full now on Sky’s on-demand service or on NOW TV.