Days are getting shorter and temperatures are getting chillier: as we get deeper into the fall season and inevitably start to spend more time inside, it’s a good time to catch up on past TV series or become hooked up on new ones!
Here are five Italian TV series, some premiering this fall, others from past seasons, to transport you to Italy, and for those so inclined, to practice your Italian.
Vendetta - Guerra nell’antimafia (2021)
This new TV series, which debuted on Netflix on September 24, tells the real story of Telejato, a small Sicilian TV station headed by sui generis journalist Pino Maniaci, who made it famous for its strong anti-mafia stance and for calling out specific members of the mob during newscasts.
The six-episode series focuses in particular on the personal and professional events involving Maniaci and the anti-mafia judge Silvana Saguto. Both involved in controversial situations, they ended up being prosecuted, claiming they were both revenge (vendetta) victims.
Curon (2020)
The first seven-episode season of this supernatural drama premiered in June 2020. Set in the small village of Curon in Alto Adige (northern Italy), famous worldwide for its half-submerged bell tower, the story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Anna, after returning to her hometown of Curon with her two teen children. After she disappears, her 17-year-old twins will embark on a journey that will reveal the many secrets hiding behind the small town.
Curon’s church was submerged in 1950 when the lakes of Resia and Curon were united, flooding the houses which were then rebuilt upstream. According to legend, on some nights you can hear the bells toll. At the heart of the TV series is the duality of the human soul, split between good and evil.
La vita bugiarda degli adulti (coming soon)
As anything related to Elena Ferrante, this new TV series announced by Netflix last year is already creating quite the buzz. Based on Ferrante’s novel, “The lying life of adults,” it tells the story of Giovanna as she transitions from childhood to adolescence in 1990s Naples.
The series portrays two Naples: the one “above,” with a refined and elegant mask, and the one “below,” which pretends to be extravagant and mundane.
The cast is yet to be announced, but we already know that Italian actress Valeria Golino will play Vittoria, Giovanna's aunt.
I Medici (2016-2019)
This Anglo-Italian TV series is available on Prime Video. It aired as a world premiere on Italian TV state channel Rai Uno in 2016. As you can guess from the title, it belongs to the historical genre and tells the story of the Medici family in the course of three seasons, starting from Cosimo de’ Medici up to Lorenzo Il Magnifico, who is the protagonist of the second and third seasons.
The show takes you on a journey through Renaissance Florence as it was ruled by the Medici, bankers of the Pope, exploring the political and artistic landscape of Italy at the time, while highlighting the story of one of the greatest Italian families.
Suburra (2017)
Netflix’s first Italian-language original television series, Suburra is based on the 2015 film Suburra, in turn based on the novel of the same name. Inspired by a real-life political scandal, the Mafia Capitale investigation, Suburra is set in Rome and features a fight over development land in nearby Ostia, involving local criminal families determined to start a bloody struggle for control of the Italian capital. Intrigues and struggles also involve local politicians and the Vatican.
The three-season series is good not just for its twists and for the interesting evolution of its characters, but also for its cast, which includes Alessandro Borghi, Giacomo Ferrara, Claudia Gerini and Filippo Nigro.
