TV Series on Iran's Last Monarch in the Making

A new series will explore the life of Iran's last monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, in the upcoming series The Last Shah, Variety has learned.

Spanning over four decades, it begins with the Shah's rise to power during World War II and continues until the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the subsequent US embassy hostage crisis.

The series coincides with the current internal turmoil, which began in 2022, such unrest not seen since 1979.

Morrie Rosmarin, who crafted the pilot and serves as the series’ primary writer, emphasized the significance of remembering Iran’s more Western-oriented days before the Islamic Revolution when women had more freedom and life in Iran was more like Europe than the Islamist regime of today.

"Many people today are not aware that prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, during the reign of the Shah, Iran was one of the most Westernized countries in the Middle East.

“In contrast to the belligerent policies of the current religious theocracy of the Islamic Republic, Iran under the Shah was the strongest ally in the region of both the United States and Israel," she said.