Russian Doll is an American comedy-drama television series, created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler, that premiered on Netflix on February 1, 2019. The series follows Nadia Vulvokov (Lyonne), a game developer who repeatedly dies and relives the same night in an ongoing time loop and tries to solve it, leading to her finding Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) in the same situation. It also stars Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Elizabeth Ashley, and Chloë Sevigny.
Nadia - The Russian Doll
Its first season received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Lyonne. In June 2019, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 20, 2022.
Premise
Cast and Characters
Series and episodes
Russian Doll follows a woman named Nadia who is caught in a time loop at her 36th birthday party one night in New York City. She dies repeatedly, always restarting at the same moment at the party, as she tries to figure out what is happening to her. She meets a man who is experiencing the same thing in a different event.
In season 2, Nadia is 10 days away from celebrating her 40th birthday when the 6 train sends her back in time to 1982. She soon discovers she is trapped inside the body of her mother, Lenora, who is pregnant with her. Nadia decides to pursue the gold Krugerrands her mother lost that same year, in order to change the course of her family's history.
Main
- Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov, a software engineer who finds herself reliving her 36th birthday party in an ongoing time loop wherein she repeatedly dies and the process begins again
- Brooke Timber portrays young Nadia
- Greta Lee as Maxine, Nadia's friend, who throws her 36th birthday party
- Yul Vazquez as John Reyes (season 1), a real estate agent and Nadia's ex-boyfriend who is currently in the process of divorcing his wife
- Elizabeth Ashley as Ruth Brenner, a therapist and close family friend of both Nadia and her mother
- Kate Jennings Grant (guest season 1) and Annie Murphy (recurring season 2) portray a young Ruth
- Charlie Barnett[b] as Alan Zaveri, a man who is also stuck in a time loop like Nadia
- Chloë Sevigny as Lenora Vulvokov (season 2; guest season 1), Nadia's mother with whom she had a difficult childhood
Recurring
- Jeremy Bobb as Mike Kershaw, a college literature professor with whom Beatrice is having an affair
- Brendan Sexton III as Horse, a homeless man whom Nadia helps out
- Rebecca Henderson as Lizzy, an artist, and friend of Nadia and Maxine
- Ritesh Rajan as Ferran, a friend of Alan's who works at a deli
- Ken Beck as a paramedic
- Dascha Polanco as Beatrice (season 1), Alan's girlfriend, whom he wishes to propose to
- Sharlto Copley as Chezare "Chez" Carrera (season 2), Lenora's boyfriend in 1982
- Irén Bordán as Vera Peschauer (season 2), Lenora's mother and Nadia's grandmother, a Hungarian Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, appears in 1982 and 1968
- Ilona McCrea portrays young Vera in 1944
- Athina Papadimitriu as Delia (season 2), Vera's longtime best friend and supporter, a Hungarian Romani survivor of World War II, appears in 1982 and 1968
- Franciscka Farkas portrays young Delia in 1944
- Ephraim Sykes as Derek (season 2), a member of the Guardian Angels watching over the subway in 1982
- Rosie O'Donnell voices the subway announcer (season 2)
Guest
- Max Knoblauch as a paramedic
- Yoni Lotan as Ryan, a paramedic
- Waris Ahluwalia as Wardog, Maxine's drug dealer
- David Cale as Dr. Daniel (season 1), a man who concocts the drugs that Wardog sells
- Devin Ratray as a deli customer whom Nadia interrupts as he is purchasing a lottery ticket (season 1)
- Tami Sagher as Shifra (season 1), a secretary for the rabbi at the Tifereth Israel Synagogue
- Jonathan Hadary as the rabbi at the Tifereth Israel Synagogue whom Nadia seeks out to ask questions about the building where her party was thrown (season 1)
- Lillias White as Dr. Zaveri, Alan's mother
- Burt Young as Joe (season 1), a tenant in Alan's apartment building
- Mirirai Sithole as Audrey, Alan's neighbor
- Michelle Buteau as a woman who pepper sprays Alan when she thinks he is stalking her (season 1)
- Jocelyn Bioh as Claire (season 1)
- Anoop Desai as Salim (season 2), Ferran's father and owner of the convenience store in 1982
- Danielle Perez as a librarian (season 2)
- Max Baker as a doctor in a psychiatric ward (season 2)
- Sandor Funtek as Lenny (season 2)
- Carolyn Michelle Smith as Agnes, Alan's grandmother (season 2)
- Balázs Czukor as Kristóf Halázs (season 2), a Hungarian artist and grandson of the Arrow Cross officer responsible for the confiscation of Nadia's family's property
- Gergely Csiby as a German officer (season 2)
- Piroska Molnár as a Hungarian woman who yells at Nadia and Maxine (season 2)
- Phillipp Droste as Lukas (season 2)
- Tulian Aczel as Bruno (season 2)
Summary of the seasons
Season 1
Season 2
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Nothing in This World Is Easy" | Leslye Headland | Story by : Natasha Lyonne & Leslye Headland & Amy Poehler Teleplay by : Leslye Headland | February 1, 2019 | |
| After dying abruptly on the night of her 36th birthday, Nadia finds herself reliving the events of the night in a continuous time loop. Every time Nadia dies, she returns to the bathroom of her friend Maxine's loft, where Nadia's birthday party is being thrown. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Great Escape" | Leslye Headland | Natasha Lyonne & Amy Poehler | February 1, 2019 | |
| An increasingly frantic Nadia is convinced that she is hallucinating due to smoking one of Maxine's Israeli joints at her birthday party. She tracks down Maxine's drug dealer Wardog in order to find out what the joint was laced with. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "A Warm Body" | Leslye Headland | Allison Silverman | February 1, 2019 | |
| Nadia asks for John's help as her quest for answers leads her to a local synagogue. While searching for her cat Oatmeal, Nadia befriends a homeless man named Horse, and later encounters a mysterious man in a falling elevator. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Alan's Routine" | Jamie Babbit | Cirocco Dunlap and Leslye Headland | February 1, 2019 | |
| The day before crossing paths with Nadia in the elevator, Alan plans to propose to his girlfriend Beatrice, only for her to break up with him. To make matters worse, Beatrice admits to cheating on Alan with her professor, Mike. Nadia tracks down Alan, since he is also experiencing time loops, but he accuses her of interfering with his routine. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Superiority Complex" | Jamie Babbit | Jocelyn Bioh | February 1, 2019 | |
| Alan shows up at Nadia's birthday party and the two work together to figure out what is happening to them. Despite initially rebuffing Alan's theory that they are being punished for being bad people, Nadia sets out to make amends with John. Meanwhile, Alan confronts Mike about his affair with Beatrice. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Reflection" | Jamie Babbit | Flora Birnbaum | February 1, 2019 | |
| In an effort to figure out how their lives are connected, Nadia helps Alan remember his first death as they retrace his steps. Alan eventually recalls he died as a result of suicide by jumping from the top of a building. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Way Out" | Leslye Headland | Story by : Allison Silverman Teleplay by : Allison Silverman and Leslye Headland | February 1, 2019 | |
| With the steady disappearance of their loved ones, Nadia and Alan theorize that the loops started because they neglected to help each other on the first night they died. Meanwhile, Nadia is haunted by memories of her troubled childhood. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Ariadne" | Natasha Lyonne | Natasha Lyonne | February 1, 2019 | |
| Nadia and Alan find themselves trapped in two separate timelines, where they run into alternate, pre-loop versions of each other who are unaware of the future loops. They succeed at preventing each other's first deaths, and the episode ends with the pair becoming friends in both timelines, causing the timelines to merge. | ||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Nowhen" | Natasha Lyonne | Natasha Lyonne | April 20, 2022 | |
| A few days before her 40th birthday, Nadia discovers a wormhole on the 6 Train that allows her to travel to and from 1982. While in the past, she realizes she is trapped in the body of her mother Nora, who is pregnant with Nadia. She unknowingly helps a conman named Chez steal her grandmother's inheritance of 150 gold coins. After returning to the present, Nadia asks Ruth about Chez and discovers he was involved with Nora around the time she lost the coins. She also tries to warn Alan about the wormhole. Nadia returns to 1982 and confirms she and Chez stole the coins from Vera. While she is in the bathroom, Chez takes off with them, leaving Nadia behind. Back in 2022, Alan boards the 6 Train. | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | "Coney Island Baby" | Alex Buono | Allison Silverman and Zakiyyah Alexander | April 20, 2022 | |
| Still in 1982, Nadia (in Lenora's body) is confronted by her grandmother, Vera, who accuses her of stealing the coins. Nadia enlists the Guardian Angels to track down Chez before realizing she can look him up online in the present. After tracking down an older Chez in 2022, Nadia goes back to 1982 to confront him. Chez claims he already gave her the money the previous night. Nadia runs into a younger Ruth, just as Vera has Lenora evicted from her apartment. With Ruth's help, Nadia buys back the coins from a jewelry store, using the money of a returned luxury car and Ruth trading her wedding ring as collateral. Nadia leaves a voicemail for Lenora, pleading with her to not waste her second chance. On her way to return the coins, Nadia gets distracted when she spots Alan on the subway. When she returns to her seat, the coins are gone. | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | "Brain Drain" | Natasha Lyonne | Natasha Lyonne and Alice Ju | April 20, 2022 | |
| After losing the coins on the subway, Nadia goes to the hospital for an ultrasound with Ruth and Vera. Vera tells Nadia about a Gold Train in Budapest that is linked to the coins. Nadia takes several family documents from Vera's apartment, as well as a set of slides from the library, and returns to Lenora's mold-infested apartment. Nadia hallucinates earwigs crawling out of her arms, as well as the real Lenora, whom only she can see. Nadia receives a call from a librarian, who tells her how the Gold Train contained all the valuables of Hungarian refugees in World War II, including Vera's gold coins. After the war ended, the train was lost and the valuables were stolen by Nazis. Before Nadia and Lenora can look for the train, the police arrive and take Nadia to a mental institution. Nadia tries to explain her situation to the doctors, but realizes her mother's schizophrenia is starting to take over her own mind. Nadia escapes the institution and returns to the present, where she finds her family's receipt for the Gold Train. | ||||||
| 12 | 4 | "Station to Station" | Alex Buono | Alice Ju & Lizzie Rose & Natasha Lyonne | April 20, 2022 | |
| After boarding the 6 Train, Alan is taken to East Berlin in 1962, where he attends graduate school in his Ghanaian grandmother's body and dates a man named Lenny. In the present, Nadia and Alan debate the ethics of time travel, with Alan firmly against Nadia's desire to change the past. Nadia brings Maxine to Budapest to help her find her grandmother's home. In 1962, Alan learns Lenny and the other students are planning to tunnel under the Berlin Wall and his grandmother has drawn the plans for them. | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | "Exquisite Corpse" | Alex Buono | Allison Silverman | April 20, 2022 | |
| In 1944, Nadia, as her younger grandmother Vera, decides to find the Gold Train and recover her family artifacts. She discovers the items are kept in a German warehouse, and manages to steal them in a bag and hide them in the sewer. She then goes to a church and finds the German priest (Kiss Laszlo) and asks him to mail the map after the war ends—so an older Vera can retrieve the items. She boards the train, emerges as an older Vera, and recovers the items from the sewer. She and Delia go to sell/pawn them only to find that she will be paid with gold coins—the very same ones that Nora will steal in the future. Realizing that nothing that she has done changed her fate, Nadia is upset and walks through the subway cars, passing through generations with each car. At the end, her water breaks. | ||||||
| 14 | 6 | "Schrödinger's Ruth" | Alex Buono | Cirocco Dunlap | April 20, 2022 | |
| Nadia—as her mother Nora—takes baby Nadia on the 6 Train and returns to present time. She learns Ruth is in the hospital and rushes over only to find several Ruths, and is confused. She walks to the morgue, seeing her own corpses from previous deaths in season 1, and realizes that a time distortion has occurred. Alan, now searching for Nadia, also discovers that time is distorted. The two meet back in the bathroom from her 36th birthday loop, with Nadia holding baby Nadia. | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | "Matryoshka" | Natasha Lyonne | Natasha Lyonne and Alice Ju | April 20, 2022 | |
| Nadia and Alan argue over the broken timeline, and they return to the subway. Horse, in an MTA uniform, directs them into the tunnels and towards her train. They board the train and find it full of her friends on their way to Ruth's wake, saying it is April 30. Alan forces Nadia off the train, saying that they need to take the baby back and fix time. While walking through the tunnel, they are hit by an approaching train and they "wake up" separated. In the void, Alan sees his grandmother as an MTA worker, and the two briefly talk before she urges him to move on. Nadia, carrying baby Nadia, must abandon the bag of gold coins and continues through a door into her void where she meets her mother, Nora. She decides to hand the baby (herself) back over to her mother, and sets the timeline right again, leaving the train with a smile. Nadia then heads over to Maxine's apartment and joins Alan at Ruth's wake. | ||||||