Italian TV Biz Steps Up With Ambitious Series for Mipcom Market

Nick Vivarelli
·6 min read
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Though Italy hasn’t had a big international breakout show on the scale of “Gomorrah” or “My Brilliant Friend” lately, the country’s TV industry is in high gear with several promising prestige skeins in the pipeline.

As almost everywhere around the world, the change impacting the Italian industry — especially since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 — is the arrival of streaming giants, namely Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and, more recently, Apple TV+.

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Streaming reached 10.1 million households in 2021 in Italy, according to media consulting company ITMedia, compared with 5.9 million in 2019, making broadband TV the leading platform for accessing small-screen content in the country.

But in terms of resources, this seismic shift toward digital hasn’t yet increased the slice of the pie available for most producers.

This year, pubcaster RAI, which remains the country’s biggest scripted-content commissioner, cut the overall budget of its RAI Fiction unit to €160 million ($159 million) down from $189 million in 2021; pay TV outlet Sky,  which took Italian TV to the next level with “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero,” has also cut back a bit; and Mediaset, the country’s largest commercial broadcaster, has trimmed resources for generalist fiction.

While Netflix, Prime Video and Disney are commissioning Italian originals, there are doubts as to whether, compared with the pre-pandemic days, they are generally picking up the slack in terms of resources.

“RAI continues to be the pillar of the Italian TV industry; nobody has ousted them from that role,” says Picomedia producer Roberto Sessa, who is lead-producing high-end RAI Fiction period drama “La Storia,” based on the bestselling novel by Elsa Morante. “My Brilliant Fried” author Elena Ferrante has cited her as a literary role model.

“La Storia,” which is being sold internationally by Beta, follows a part-Jewish woman named Ida and her two sons in Rome during and immediately after World War II. It’s basically about the trauma of fascism and war seen through the prism of a mother experiencing its horrors and nurturing hopes for the future.

Italy’s dark historical past is also set to be serialized in high-end series “M,” which is based on author Antonio Scurati’s bestselling novel “M. Son of the Century.” The book traces the birth of fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent and is currently in prep at Cinecittà, to be directed by British director Joe Wright, produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli’s Fremantle-backed company the Apartment in collaboration with Pathé.

Netflix, meanwhile, has a smaller-scale Ferrante adaptation expected to drop soon, “The Lying Life of Adults,” starring Valeria Golino, and produced by Fandango. The streamer is also in early stages on an adaptation of “The Leopard,” the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, being lead produced by Indiana Prods. “The Leopard” is an Italian historical tapestry with elements comparable to “Downton Abbey” or “The Crown” that has clear aspirations to make a global mark. It was famously adapted into a feature by Luchino Visconti in 1963.

Prime Video in September dropped “Prisma,” an innovative show that probes gender fluidity through the tale of identical adolescent twins in the city of Latina, south of Rome, who challenge gender norms in different ways.

Disney in July started production on its most ambitious Italian original to date, 19th century Sicilian family saga “The Lions of Sicily,” directed by “Perfect Strangers” helmer Paolo Genovese.

But the biggest show that will be coming out of Italy next year is “Ferrari,” penned by “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, to be directed by “Gomorrah” helmer and showrunner Stefano Sollima. Apple TV+ commissioned this biographical series about the visionary Italian auto-racing impresario, who was hellbent on building the fastest racing car in history. “Ferrari,” which is currently in pre-production, is said to have the biggest budget ever invested in TV series out of Italy.

The collective trauma and legacy of Italy’s fascist past, the country’s automaking glory thanks to the Ferrari brand and a feminist rendition of the life of global porn industry icon Rocco Siffredi are among standout shows in the
Italian pipeline.

Following are selected titles of anticipated Italian shows in various stages of production.

La Storia

This Italian period drama about Italy’s final World War II years and what immediately followed is seen through the struggle of Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution. It’s set to be pubcaster RAI’s big 2023 event series. “La Storia,” which is budgeted at €17 million ($16.7 million), is currently in production, directed by Francesca Archibugi, whose latest feature film “The Hummingbird” will open the Rome Film Festival. The cast is led by Jasmine Trinca (“The Gunman”), who play Ida. Also starring are Asia Argento, Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).

M

British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour,” is changing sides and directing this TV series that chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. Shooting will start soon at Cinecittà on this high-end show, produced by Sky Studios and producer Lorenzo Mieli’s Fremantle-backed company the Apartment in collaboration with Pathé. “M” is based on the bestseller “M. Son of the Century” by Antonio Scurati,  tracing  the birth of fascism in Italy and Mussolinia’s ascent with an innovative approach. Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah,” “The New Pope”) wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Davide Serino (“1992”).

Ferrari

Apple TV+ has given a straight-to-series order for this mega-budget drama series about legendary Italian automaker Enzo Ferrari. Stefano Sollima (“Gomorrah” the series, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”) will direct and executive produce the series written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”). “Ferrari” is being produced by Lorenzo Mieli for the Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, in co-production with Nicola Giuliano for Indigo Film and Fremantle.

Supersex

Global porn icon Siffredi is the subject of “Supersex,” a Netflix Italian Original Series currently shooting in Rome. The seven-episode drama is freely inspired by the real life of Siffredi, who has more than 1,500 hardcore films to his name. Siffredi is played by Italian A-lister Alessandro Borghi (“The Eight Mountains”). The series is created and written by screenwriter Francesca Manieri (“We Are Who We Are,” “L’Immensità”).

The Lehman Trilogy

Florian Zeller (“The Father,” “The Son”) will make his TV debut with the adaptation of Stefano Massini’s play “The Lehman Trilogy.” Massini’s epic drama charts the history of one of the global financial institutions that helped spark the 2008 recession. The original production inspired Sam Mendes to stage an English-language version of Massini’s five-hour play. Adapted by Ben Power, the production won five Tony Awards earlier this year, including prizes for Mendes’ direction and for the lead performance of Simon Russell Beale. Zeller will write, direct and co-produce the series under his newly formed Blue Morning shingle. Lorenzo Mieli’s the Apartment has teamed up with Domenico Procacci at Fandango to executive producing the series.

The Lying Life of Adults

Netflix is expected to soon drop this Elena Ferrante adaptation, which is a Netflix Italian Original directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis (“Indivisible”) with Valeria Golino playing a prominent role. The Ferrante book, set in the 1990s, depicts the transition from childhood to adolescence of a young woman named Giovanna in a divided Naples: the upper-crust Naples, and its more vulgar and exciting low quarters, where the protagonist’s intriguingly crass aunt Vittoria (Golino) lives.

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