The drama series Outsource, directed by Dushan Gligorov, has begun production as an original project for the online cinema Okko in collaboration with the production company Sreda, according to the service’s press release.
Set against the backdrop of the mid-1990s, the narrative follows Ivan Yankovsky in the role of guard Kostya, who carries out the death penalty in a private prison. The premise quickly deepens as Kostya contemplates a drastic shift in his duties and makes a fateful choice regarding the punishment he administers.
Rather than fulfilling the original sanction himself, Kostya aims to transfer the executions to those connected to the victims, demanding a substantial financial compensation. This decision draws a circle of people into his orbit—individuals who are prepared to abandon every principle for the sake of money, and whose presence threatens to destabilize the moral balance of the story.
Gligorov describes the project as exploring a core human question: the courage to decide and the responsibility that comes with those decisions. The director notes that when someone consciously takes control of life, that life can feel purposeful and directed, as if steering a vessel through turbulent waters toward a defined horizon.
Among the cast are Eldar Kalimulin, Danil Steklov, Vitaly Kovalenko, Dmitry Sumin, Leonid Telezhinsky, Mila Ershova, Karina Alexandrova, Dasha Kotreleva, Daria Savelyeva, Elizaveta Rufina, Sergey Dyakov, Anton Pakhomov, Vadim Skvirsky, Sergey Umanov, Evgeny Kosyrev, Vasily Brichenko, Dmitry Sutyrin, Olga Lapshina, Serafima Krasnikova, Yulia Marchenko, Oleg Almazov and several others who contribute to the ensemble’s dynamic.
Costume design is headed by Dasha Fomina, known for credits in A Boy’s Word, Blood on the Asphalt, Outbreak and Dyatlov Pass, who brings a distinct visual texture to Outsource and helps establish the period feel of the series.
The project is slated to premiere in 2025 exclusively on the Okko streaming platform, signaling a milestone for both the platform and the composers of the series’ creative team as they bring this mid-90s era to life for contemporary audiences.
Meanwhile, recent industry conversations touched on performances by actress Yulia Takshina in the upcoming Don’t Be Born Beautiful sequel, illustrating a broader trajectory for performers linked to the Outsource project. In related remarks, comments from Julia Roberts have been cited in discussions about taboo themes in cinema, underscoring the ongoing debate about sensitive material in contemporary film and television.
As production advances, audiences can anticipate a tightly wound drama that interrogates moral boundaries, the pressure of personal choices, and the corrosive allure of money against a volatile social backdrop. The series promises to deliver a provocative portrait of power, guilt, and consequence within a landscape shaped by the upheavals of a young decade and the shadows that linger long after the action ends, with each character drawn into a web of motives that tests loyalty, justice, and humanity [citation needed].