TV - Once Upon a Time in Londongrad

A timely documentary series Once Upon a Time in Londongrad, directed by Jed Rothstein, comes to Sky Documentaries and NOW from 31st May. Watch the trailer...

Press Release

Investigative reporter Heidi Blake receives a tip on the death of a multi-millionaire property tycoon, leading her to uncover a web of death that entangles Russian oligarchs, 10 Downing Street and Washington, D.C. Set across Vladimir Putin’s two decades in power, Once Upon a Time in Londongrad charts how the UK became reliant on Russian money and missed opportunities to contain the Kremlin. 

The timely series explores fourteen mysterious deaths in the UK with alleged connections to Russia, delving into the hidden underworld of Russian exiles in London to link some of the most internationally significant cases in living memory — including the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, the suspicious death of oligarch Boris Berezovsky and the attempted assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal. Once Upon a Time in Londongrad is both a cautionary tale and an origins story of Russia’s path to eventually invading Ukraine.

The series was commissioned by Jack Oliver, Head of Co-Productions for Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky. The Executive Producer is Teddy Leifer and Series Producer is Guy Horlock for Rise Films. Co-Executive Producers for BuzzFeed Studios are Richard Alan Reid and Karolina Waclawiak. The series will air on Sky Documentaries in the UK and Ireland and will be distributed internationally by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

The six-part series is produced by Oscar® and Emmy® winning production company, Rise Films in association with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, BuzzFeed Studios and Concordia Studio - for Sky Documentaries.

Image - Sky