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Klim Kozinsky’s series Noon, based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s 1979 novel Beetle in the Anthill, premiered on Russian streaming platforms Kion and Okko about two weeks before October 15, 2026. The adaptation is the first screen version of the novel and arrives amid renewed Russian interest in the authors’ science fiction, though the reasons for the broader revival remain unclear.
Klim Kozinsky’s series Noon, based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s science-fiction novel Beetle in the Anthill, is now streaming on Russian platforms Kion and Okko. The first screen adaptation of the 1979 novel brings the authors’ 22nd-century world of intelligence agencies, extraterrestrial contact and mistrust to television.
The story follows Maxim Kammerer, an agent for COMCON-2, Earth’s intelligence agency in the novel’s future. Agency chief Rudolf Sikorsky orders him to monitor Lev Abalkin, a Progressor who has returned to Earth after abandoning a mission in space. Abalkin is moving between old acquaintances while trying to uncover a secret, and the agency suspects he may pose a threat.
The novel also looks back at Abalkin’s work on the planet Hope, where Progressors intervene in less advanced societies. The series stars Yuri Kolokolnikov as Kammerer, Maxim Matveyev as Abalkin and Leonid Yarmolnik as Sikorsky. Yarmolnik previously played Don Rumata in Aleksei German’s film Hard to Be a God.
Meduza film critic Anton Khitrov describes the three leads as convincing, while judging the supporting performances and the series’ setting less successful. Khitrov writes that the fictional world “lacks both originality and logic.” Matveyev, meanwhile, told the report’s account of the production that he prepared for Abalkin by studying material about people with post-traumatic stress disorder; the report says his performance drew on that research.
A New Screen Life for the Noon Universe
Noon is one part of a wider return of the Strugatskys’ work to Russian film and television. The adaptation brings a major novel from their Noon Universe to streaming at a time when several other projects based on the brothers’ writing are moving forward. For viewers, it offers a new entry point to a future society that is prosperous but still shaped by surveillance, secrecy and fear.
The series also tests whether a complex literary science-fiction setting can work on screen. The source report says such productions are costly and difficult to make, while audiences are used to the production standards of major international services. A familiar literary title may help reduce commercial risk, but the report does not establish whether Noon has drawn a large audience or whether it will succeed.
Producer Danila Sharapov told Kinopoisk that the project took 18 years to move from concept to premiere. The production’s long development underlines the scale of the undertaking. If the series performs well, its team hopes to adapt other novels in the Noon Universe, though no further adaptation is confirmed in the source report.
Russian sci-fi TV series streaming device
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Strugatsky Adaptations Return
The Strugatsky brothers’ screen adaptations were relatively scarce during the 2010s. Aleksei German’s long-delayed film Hard to Be a God was released in 2013, followed mainly by short films. The report says foreign producers showed limited interest in the authors’ work, and Russian studios often avoided science fiction because of its expense and production demands.
By 2026, several projects had changed that picture. The series Hard to Be a God was due to end on October 15, while Noon had premiered roughly two weeks earlier. A feature adaptation of Dead Mountaineer’s Inn, starring Yevgeny Tsyganov, was scheduled for January, and a series based on Roadside Picnic, titled The Wish Machine, was in development. Alan Taylor, who had previously tried to sell a Roadside Picnic adaptation, is not involved in that project.
The report says no anniversary, public-domain change or single breakout hit explains the cluster of adaptations. It suggests that improved production capacity and the commercial familiarity of the Strugatsky name may be factors, but presents those as plausible explanations rather than established causes.
“The project took 18 years to go from concept to premiere.”
— Danila Sharapov, producer, speaking to Kinopoisk
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Audience Response and Future Adaptations
The source report does not provide viewership figures, platform rankings or audience-response data for Noon, so its commercial performance cannot yet be assessed from the available information. It is also unclear whether the series will lead to adaptations of other Noon Universe novels: the team’s stated hope depends on the show’s success, and no follow-up production is confirmed.
The cause of the broader surge in Strugatsky adaptations remains uncertain. The report notes that the projects have different producers and that no single hit appears to have triggered them. Its explanation—that production capacity has caught up with science fiction’s demands and a known literary property lowers risk—is an interpretation, not a confirmed account from the studios.
adaptation of Beetle in the Anthill DVD
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Possible Continuation Depends on Success
For now, the next marker is the series’ reception on Kion and Okko; the source report gives no date for a decision about further Noon Universe adaptations. Sharapov has said the team hopes to adapt more of the novels if Noon succeeds, but has not confirmed a second season or named a specific next book.
Other Strugatsky projects are also on the calendar: Dead Mountaineer’s Inn was scheduled for release in January, while The Wish Machine remained in development. Those projects may show whether the current run of adaptations continues, but their progress and performance will not by themselves establish why studios have returned to the authors’ work.
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Key Questions
What is Noon based on?
It is based on Beetle in the Anthill, a 1979 science-fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
Where can viewers watch the series?
The series is airing on Russian streaming platforms Kion and Okko, according to the source report.
Who are the main actors?
Yuri Kolokolnikov plays Maxim Kammerer, Maxim Matveyev plays Lev Abalkin and Leonid Yarmolnik plays Rudolf Sikorsky.
Is another Noon Universe adaptation confirmed?
No follow-up is confirmed in the report. Producer Danila Sharapov said the team hopes to adapt other novels if Noon succeeds.
Why are several Strugatsky adaptations appearing now?
The reason is not established. The report suggests that production capacity and the familiarity of the authors’ name may help, but says there is no clear trigger for the revival.
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