The feat of the scouts before the Battle of Kursk formed the basis of the series "On the trail of the Beast"

Little-known pages of military history found their embodiment in the TV series "On the Trail of the Beast". It is based on real events that preceded one of the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) — the Battle of Kursk.

Its outcome could have been different if not for the feat of Soviet intelligence officers who disrupt the plans of German saboteurs.

"It's a dynamic, modern film, close to the modern audience, but at the same time, we still rely on the best examples of Soviet cinema. This is not a story about war, it's a story about people," said director Peter Amelin.

The characters are fictional, but this is a kind of collective image of the heroes of their time, who made their personal contribution to the common victory, sometimes sacrificing their feelings.

REN TV will show all episodes of the action-packed series on May 9th.

Mind Games: "On the trail of the beast" will tell about Hitler's plans thwarted by intelligence agents

The REN TV spy drama is based on a real operation before the Battle of Kursk.

On May 5, Medialogia summed up the results of the Russian series rating for the first quarter of 2026. Russian content made up the majority — 63 projects out of 100 and 57.2% of the total index. On-air premieres provided more than 80% of the weight of Russian TV series. The top 5 Russian series ratings for the first quarter included "Very Strange Cases" (15,948 points), "Lilies of the Valley" (8,829 points), "First Division" (7,745 points), "Magic Battle" (6,419 points) and "Sled" (3,563 points).

On May 3, film critic Nikolai Nikulin spoke about the actors of the spy thriller "SMERSH". According to him, Igor Petrenko, who became famous back in 2002 for his role as a reconnaissance platoon commander in the film Zvezda, and Vladislav Kotlyarsky, who played a major and a police lieutenant colonel, have decent cinematic baggage for key roles in an action adventure.