The modern-day monarchy

The opening moments of NBC’s new series Kings (8 p.m. tonight) seem eerily reminiscent of a moment in our own recent history.

A man who has inspired a nation gives a speech to a sea of people in the capital.

Others watch him speak on television from their living rooms, transfixed by his larger-than-life presence.

But, here, the man is not our 44th president; he’s the show’s titular king, Silas Benjamin, who rules over the modern-day kingdom of Gilboa.

His speech marks the rebuilding of Shiloh, Gilboa’s capital city.

This is not the type of ancient monarchy we’re used to seeing in popular culture. It’s a world where the queen spends days searching for her lost cell phone, the paparazzi stalk the young, hard-partying prince, and the outspoken princess fights to advance the quality of public health care.

On the surface, Silas is everything a great leader should be: intelligent, passionate, dedicated to his family and country, and prone to giving rousing, off-the-cuff speeches.

But underneath lies a much more sinister soul, and who better to play the part than “Deadwood’s” Ian McShane?

King Silas doesn’t go around shouting “off with their heads” if he encounters defiance or disrespect. No, he takes care of them in a very modern, very Tony Soprano-esque way: they have “accidents.” NBC is billing this show as a modern retelling of David versus Goliath.

The David to Silas’ Goliath is, well, David — original, guys — an idealistic small-town guy who comes from modest means.

The pair meets two years after Silas’ historic speech in Shiloh. A war is raging between Gilboa and its neighboring nation, Gath, when a skirmish breaks out near the border, and two prisoners are taken. David, now a soldier, defies orders and crosses enemy lines to save the two men, not knowing that one of them is Silas’ son, Jack (Sebastian Stan).

His heroic act is splashed all over the news, and he is suddenly, unwillingly, thrust into the spotlight — and Silas’ unsavory world.

Once there, David elicits different reactions from the royal children. The entitled, bratty Jack is instantly jealous of his savior’s newfound celebrity, while the princess, Michelle, is instantly smitten. I’m telling you, those two are do-gooding soulmates!

As for Silas, he is wary of David, but also realizes his usefulness as a distraction from the war with Gath.

“This court needs a new face to look up to,” he tells one of his men. “We can use him.”

Relative newcomer Christopher Egan plays David, and I spent a good chunk of the show’s two-hour premiere trying to figure out who he reminds me of. I’ve finally settled on a cross between Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon; let me know if you agree.

David is endearing and likeable and, at first, you can’t help but wonder about how he’ll survive among all these sharks. But then he takes a stand against Silas’ latest order, and that’s when the episode really starts picking up steam.

Now I’m just worried that David, like so many others who have defied the king, will suddenly become accident-prone.