Investment in original content production continues to grow in Italy where resources across all genres reached a total of €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) thanks to increased investments from U.S. streamers. But linear TV remains the Italian industry’s main driver.
That’s the main takeaway from the annual report on local production presented on Friday by Italy’s TV producers’ association APA at Rome’s Mia market
The $1.9 billion pot of cash poured into Italian productions of all types in 2022 represented only a small increase over 2021, which is when local originals were boosted by a 55% post-pandemic growth spurt, according to figures from the APA report.
Film and TV product currently account for 55% of these investments with an increase in resources now going into documentaries and animation product mostly destined for streaming play.
“The constantly growing investment from streamers is currently worth almost a third of the total TV market,” said APA chief Chiara Sbarigia.
That’s the main takeaway from the annual report on local production presented on Friday by Italy’s TV producers’ association APA at Rome’s Mia market
The $1.9 billion pot of cash poured into Italian productions of all types in 2022 represented only a small increase over 2021, which is when local originals were boosted by a 55% post-pandemic growth spurt, according to figures from the APA report.
Film and TV product currently account for 55% of these investments with an increase in resources now going into documentaries and animation product mostly destined for streaming play.
“The constantly growing investment from streamers is currently worth almost a third of the total TV market,” said APA chief Chiara Sbarigia.
- 10/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Speaking at a panel held at the Mia Market in Rome, Netflix execs laid out a European strategy based on cultural and regional specificity alongside wider international format exchange.
“We want to create stories that are really rooted in our country’s culture and tradition,” said Italian content VP Eleonora Andreatta. “[And in order] to be authentic, that means recognizing the differences between one part of the country to the other.”
While Netflix’s recently wrapped adaptation of “The Leopard” is steeped in Sicilian history, the Matilda De Angelis-led returning series “The Law According to Lidia Poët” finds female emancipation in 19th century Turin. And if both titles look backward, both also share an impetus to shade Italian history in a more modern light.
Per Andreatta, Italian cinema’s glorious dolce vita boom had also left a bitter aftertaste by way of cultural stereotypes that lingered for years. Andreatta and her Rome-based...
“We want to create stories that are really rooted in our country’s culture and tradition,” said Italian content VP Eleonora Andreatta. “[And in order] to be authentic, that means recognizing the differences between one part of the country to the other.”
While Netflix’s recently wrapped adaptation of “The Leopard” is steeped in Sicilian history, the Matilda De Angelis-led returning series “The Law According to Lidia Poët” finds female emancipation in 19th century Turin. And if both titles look backward, both also share an impetus to shade Italian history in a more modern light.
Per Andreatta, Italian cinema’s glorious dolce vita boom had also left a bitter aftertaste by way of cultural stereotypes that lingered for years. Andreatta and her Rome-based...
- 10/13/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix on Tuesday unveiled four new Italian originals – two feature films and two series – that confirm its continued investment in Italy as local subscribers grow. The new projects also bolster the fact that the bulk of the streamer’s Italian productions are not high end and have a primarily local focus.
During a Rome presentation Eleonora Andreatta – affectionately known as Tinny – who is Netflix’s VP of Italian originals, said that Netflix remains “committed to our investment in Italy and Italian stories with conviction, continuing our long-term commitment to the country and its creative community.”
Andreatta, who owing to having caught Covid-19 was speaking remotely to the packed room, described Netflix’s lineup as being characterised by “Authentic stories, able to speak to the present [and] about the present and [which can] emotionally touch the audience on issues closest to the lives they live.”
According to data released last month by Italy’s...
During a Rome presentation Eleonora Andreatta – affectionately known as Tinny – who is Netflix’s VP of Italian originals, said that Netflix remains “committed to our investment in Italy and Italian stories with conviction, continuing our long-term commitment to the country and its creative community.”
Andreatta, who owing to having caught Covid-19 was speaking remotely to the packed room, described Netflix’s lineup as being characterised by “Authentic stories, able to speak to the present [and] about the present and [which can] emotionally touch the audience on issues closest to the lives they live.”
According to data released last month by Italy’s...
- 9/19/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Eleonora Andreatta, Netflix’s VP of Italian originals who oversees the streaming giant’s local output of series, movies, and non-scripted shows, will receive the Ittv International Award during the Venice Film Festival from the Los-Angeles based Italian Television Festival.
Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster Rai, she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as the Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020, Andreatta recently shepherded another well-received series based on Ferrante’s novel, “The Lying Life of Adults” directed by Edoardo De Angelis, who happens to also be the helmer of Venice’s opening film “Comandante.”
Netflix’s next high-profile show out of Italy is “The Leopard,” based on the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which...
Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster Rai, she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as the Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020, Andreatta recently shepherded another well-received series based on Ferrante’s novel, “The Lying Life of Adults” directed by Edoardo De Angelis, who happens to also be the helmer of Venice’s opening film “Comandante.”
Netflix’s next high-profile show out of Italy is “The Leopard,” based on the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which...
- 8/25/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has released first-look images of limited series “The Leopard,” based on the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa that marks the streamer’s most ambitious Italian original to date.
Production on the lavish historical tapestry with elements comparable to “Downton Abbey” or “The Crown” – and potential to make a global mark – is currently underway in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Syracuse and Catania. The show is a modern take on the sensual Sicilian saga famously adapted into a film by Luchino Visconti starring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster. The movie, now an Italian cinema classic, won the 1963 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Published posthumously in 1958, “The Leopard” chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the 19th century unification of Italy, known as the Risorgimento. It became the top-selling novel in modern Italian literature of its day and was translated into more than 40 different languages.
Production on the lavish historical tapestry with elements comparable to “Downton Abbey” or “The Crown” – and potential to make a global mark – is currently underway in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Syracuse and Catania. The show is a modern take on the sensual Sicilian saga famously adapted into a film by Luchino Visconti starring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster. The movie, now an Italian cinema classic, won the 1963 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Published posthumously in 1958, “The Leopard” chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the 19th century unification of Italy, known as the Risorgimento. It became the top-selling novel in modern Italian literature of its day and was translated into more than 40 different languages.
- 7/10/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been another challenging year in the world of content creation and the climate has arguably demanded more gumption and savviness from its leaders than ever before. With the business increasingly looking beyond U.S. shores for revenues and opportunities for growth, Deadline’s International Disruptors column continues to highlight some of the key executives and companies shaking up the offshore marketplace. These are the leaders who are thriving in the midst of the tidal changes so take a look back at 2022’s standouts below.
Arik Kneller
Founder of Israeli talent agency The Kneller Agency, Arik Kneller represents more than 250 clients across television, film, theatre and advertising with clients including two-time Oscar nominee and co-creator/director of HBO Series Our Boys Joseph Cedar, Fauda writer and Our Boys co-creator Noah Stollman and Shtisel writers and co-creators Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. When founding the company more than 25 years ago,...
Arik Kneller
Founder of Israeli talent agency The Kneller Agency, Arik Kneller represents more than 250 clients across television, film, theatre and advertising with clients including two-time Oscar nominee and co-creator/director of HBO Series Our Boys Joseph Cedar, Fauda writer and Our Boys co-creator Noah Stollman and Shtisel writers and co-creators Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. When founding the company more than 25 years ago,...
- 12/31/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster Rai she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as Rai/HBO’s Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020 as VP of Italian originals, Andreatta oversees the output of original series, movies, and non-scripted shows in the country where the streaming giant is on track to reach five million subs as it steadily increases investment.
The latest Ferrante adaptation, “The Lying Life of Adults,” is set to drop on Netflix on Jan. 4. The series marks the most ambitious Italian project at the streamer under Andreatta’s watch.
“Lying Life,” which is directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis (“Indivisible”), stars Valeria Golino in the role of the crass and enigmatic Neapolitan aunt of the story’s young protagonist,...
The latest Ferrante adaptation, “The Lying Life of Adults,” is set to drop on Netflix on Jan. 4. The series marks the most ambitious Italian project at the streamer under Andreatta’s watch.
“Lying Life,” which is directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis (“Indivisible”), stars Valeria Golino in the role of the crass and enigmatic Neapolitan aunt of the story’s young protagonist,...
- 12/21/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The novel ‘The Lying Life of Adults’ by Elena Ferrante has been adapted into a six-episode series. The trailer of the streaming show was unveiled on Tuesday by Netflix, which has set its premiere date as January 4, 2023.
‘Lying Life’, which is directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis, stars Valeria Golino in the role of the crass and enigmatic Neapolitan aunt of the story’s young protagonist, named Giovanna, played by newcomer Giordana Marengo, reported Variety.
The Ferrante’s book depicts Giovanna’s transition from childhood to adolescence during the 1990s in a Naples that is actually two kindred cities that fear and loathe one another: the upper-crust Naples of the high quarters, hiding behind the the mask of refinement, and the Naples of its more vulgar and exciting low quarters, where her intriguing aunt Vittoria lives.
According to Variety, Giovanna vacillates between these two sides of the city, neither one offering answers or escaping.
‘Lying Life’, which is directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis, stars Valeria Golino in the role of the crass and enigmatic Neapolitan aunt of the story’s young protagonist, named Giovanna, played by newcomer Giordana Marengo, reported Variety.
The Ferrante’s book depicts Giovanna’s transition from childhood to adolescence during the 1990s in a Naples that is actually two kindred cities that fear and loathe one another: the upper-crust Naples of the high quarters, hiding behind the the mask of refinement, and the Naples of its more vulgar and exciting low quarters, where her intriguing aunt Vittoria lives.
According to Variety, Giovanna vacillates between these two sides of the city, neither one offering answers or escaping.
- 11/8/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
While the boom of local content has seen increased ambition from streaming platforms to compete with local broadcasters, local industry events with strong regional focuses are increasingly becoming attractive destinations for U.S. companies and executives and Rome’s Mia market is no exception.
The innovative Italian event, which stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market, has fast become Italy’s key film and TV market since its inception eight years ago. The market, which runs October 11-15 alongside the Rome Film Festival (which kicks off October 13), has already confirmed a 120 increase in registrations year-on-year with delegates from companies like Disney+, Paramount+, CAA, Fremantle, Sundance Institute, Sky, Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Networks, Wild Bunch, StudioCanal and Banijay all confirmed to attend.
Its new director Gaia Tridente, who was previously head of scripted at the event, tells Deadline that she believes this upcoming edition looks set to be its most dynamic edition yet.
The innovative Italian event, which stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market, has fast become Italy’s key film and TV market since its inception eight years ago. The market, which runs October 11-15 alongside the Rome Film Festival (which kicks off October 13), has already confirmed a 120 increase in registrations year-on-year with delegates from companies like Disney+, Paramount+, CAA, Fremantle, Sundance Institute, Sky, Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Networks, Wild Bunch, StudioCanal and Banijay all confirmed to attend.
Its new director Gaia Tridente, who was previously head of scripted at the event, tells Deadline that she believes this upcoming edition looks set to be its most dynamic edition yet.
- 9/15/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking to Netflix VP of Italian Originals Eleonora “Tinny” Andreatta. The veteran exec was pivotal in bringing shows such as My Brilliant Friend to audiences during her 25-year career at public service broadcaster Rai and here she speaks to Deadline about the local and global strategy for her newest role.
When Netflix hired former Rai director Eleonora Andreatta in 2020 as vice president of Italian Original series, it was a monumental coup for the mega-streamer and a clear sign that the company was taking its presence in Italy very seriously.
Andreatta was seen as the most influential commissioning editor in Italy. Her distinguished 25-year career at public service broadcaster Rai saw her deliver around 500 hours of TV drama per year across its three main...
When Netflix hired former Rai director Eleonora Andreatta in 2020 as vice president of Italian Original series, it was a monumental coup for the mega-streamer and a clear sign that the company was taking its presence in Italy very seriously.
Andreatta was seen as the most influential commissioning editor in Italy. Her distinguished 25-year career at public service broadcaster Rai saw her deliver around 500 hours of TV drama per year across its three main...
- 3/9/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
A new Netflix Italian original series titled “Fedeltà,” which translates as “Faithfulness,” has begun shooting in Milan. The relationship drama follows a couple in their thirties contending with the consequences of presumed betrayals.
The six-episode show is based on a bestseller by author Marco Missiroli, who won Italy’s top literary prize, the Premio Strega, in 2019. That year it was optioned by Netflix who then took the project to veteran Italian producer Angelo Barbagallo who is producing via his BiBi Film shingle.
Barbagallo recruited a writing team comprising rising star writer-director Elisa Amoruso (“Chiara Ferragni Unposted”), Alessandro Fabbri (“The Trial”) and Laura Colella. Matilde Barbagallo is executive producing
Netflix in a statement announced that rising Italian talents Lucrezia Guidone (“Doc – in Your Hands”) and Michele Riondino (“The Young Montalbano”) are playing the leads (see first-look image) in this tale of a middle-class couple whose amorous bond grows strained when they begin desiring other people.
The six-episode show is based on a bestseller by author Marco Missiroli, who won Italy’s top literary prize, the Premio Strega, in 2019. That year it was optioned by Netflix who then took the project to veteran Italian producer Angelo Barbagallo who is producing via his BiBi Film shingle.
Barbagallo recruited a writing team comprising rising star writer-director Elisa Amoruso (“Chiara Ferragni Unposted”), Alessandro Fabbri (“The Trial”) and Laura Colella. Matilde Barbagallo is executive producing
Netflix in a statement announced that rising Italian talents Lucrezia Guidone (“Doc – in Your Hands”) and Michele Riondino (“The Young Montalbano”) are playing the leads (see first-look image) in this tale of a middle-class couple whose amorous bond grows strained when they begin desiring other people.
- 1/21/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As 2020 comes to a close, Italy’s TV industry is mourning the recent death of Sara Melodia, who was head of drama at Italy’s prominent TV production company Lux Vide, the outfit behind “Medici,” “Devils” and the upcoming high-end “Leonardo” series.
Melodia, who died of cancer on Dec. 2 at 46, had been instrumental to the quantum leap that Lux — and, by extension, Italian TV as a whole — has made in the international market over the past decade.
Born in Milan, where she studied screenwriting and production at the Università Cattolica, Melodia started out at Lux in 1999 as a junior story editor, cutting her teeth first on ancient Rome mini-series “Augustus” and then on “Don Matteo,” the hit local show about a crime-busting priest that launched in 2000 and still reaps stellar ratings on public broadcaster Rai 20 years and 12 seasons later.
In 2007, when Lux was seeking to break out of national confines...
Melodia, who died of cancer on Dec. 2 at 46, had been instrumental to the quantum leap that Lux — and, by extension, Italian TV as a whole — has made in the international market over the past decade.
Born in Milan, where she studied screenwriting and production at the Università Cattolica, Melodia started out at Lux in 1999 as a junior story editor, cutting her teeth first on ancient Rome mini-series “Augustus” and then on “Don Matteo,” the hit local show about a crime-busting priest that launched in 2000 and still reaps stellar ratings on public broadcaster Rai 20 years and 12 seasons later.
In 2007, when Lux was seeking to break out of national confines...
- 12/29/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian state broadcaster Rai has announced the appointment of writer, journalist and top media industry executive Maria Pia Ammirati as its head of drama, ending the bureaucratic impasse hampering the local industry since her predecessor Eleonora Andreatta left to become vice president of Italian Original series at Netflix in June.
Rai’s board has officially announced that Ammirati will replace Andreatta as head of Rai Fiction, the unit that produces roughly 70% of Italy’s scripted content, churning out about 500 hours of TV drama annually for Rai’s three main channels and, more recently, also its Rai Play streaming platform.
Ammirati, similarly to Andreatta, represents a rare case of a woman who has risen to the top ranks of Italy’s media industry.
She has held several prominent management positions at Rai, including deputy director of the flagship Rai 1 channel and head of the public broadcaster’s vast Rai Teche...
Rai’s board has officially announced that Ammirati will replace Andreatta as head of Rai Fiction, the unit that produces roughly 70% of Italy’s scripted content, churning out about 500 hours of TV drama annually for Rai’s three main channels and, more recently, also its Rai Play streaming platform.
Ammirati, similarly to Andreatta, represents a rare case of a woman who has risen to the top ranks of Italy’s media industry.
She has held several prominent management positions at Rai, including deputy director of the flagship Rai 1 channel and head of the public broadcaster’s vast Rai Teche...
- 11/11/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Rome’s Mia Market for TV series, feature films and documentaries wrapped Sunday after four days of dealmaking, project presentations and panels done both in person and online. Given coronavirus constraints it constituted a minor miracle.
On the final day of the Oct. 14-18 event organizers announced a total 1,800 industry executives from 50 countries who registered for the new concept market, 700 of which on average physically attended the Rome market each day, they said.
About one-third of participants were non-Italian. Roughly 300 international execs made the trek.
Though last year’s Mia edition gathered 2,600 physical participants, this year’s widely-expected decrease in onsite attendees was counterbalanced by intense activity on the Mia digital platform, organizers said.
Mia director Lucia Milazzotto pointed out that this year saw a significant rise in industry exec accreditations taking place during the event. This means that, as Mia got underway, it was generating buzz, she noted.
Mia...
On the final day of the Oct. 14-18 event organizers announced a total 1,800 industry executives from 50 countries who registered for the new concept market, 700 of which on average physically attended the Rome market each day, they said.
About one-third of participants were non-Italian. Roughly 300 international execs made the trek.
Though last year’s Mia edition gathered 2,600 physical participants, this year’s widely-expected decrease in onsite attendees was counterbalanced by intense activity on the Mia digital platform, organizers said.
Mia director Lucia Milazzotto pointed out that this year saw a significant rise in industry exec accreditations taking place during the event. This means that, as Mia got underway, it was generating buzz, she noted.
Mia...
- 10/18/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Production of TV dramas is back on track in Italy after a pandemic-prompted pause just as several hot new Italian shows, such as Luca Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are,” are hitting international screens and markets.
Pay-tv platform Sky Italia, which partnered with HBO on Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are,” has a slew of shows in various stages, including two very different ancient Rome skeins. One is “Romulus,” the mythical tale of Rome’s founding by twins Romulus and Remus — which was shot in archaic Latin — that will air in Italy in November; ITV Studios is selling it internationally.
The ancient Rome-set series is “Domina,” looking at Roman history from a female prism. Drama stars Kasia Smutniak (“Devils”) as Livia Drusilla, the wife of Emperor Augustus, played by Liam Cunningham (“Game of Thrones”). “Domina” had shut down production in early March but resumed in July and recently wrapped.
Pay-tv platform Sky Italia, which partnered with HBO on Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are,” has a slew of shows in various stages, including two very different ancient Rome skeins. One is “Romulus,” the mythical tale of Rome’s founding by twins Romulus and Remus — which was shot in archaic Latin — that will air in Italy in November; ITV Studios is selling it internationally.
The ancient Rome-set series is “Domina,” looking at Roman history from a female prism. Drama stars Kasia Smutniak (“Devils”) as Livia Drusilla, the wife of Emperor Augustus, played by Liam Cunningham (“Game of Thrones”). “Domina” had shut down production in early March but resumed in July and recently wrapped.
- 10/12/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Shooting started Monday in Sardinia on season three of pubcaster Rai’s TV drama “The Hunter” about a Palermo prosecutor with a killer instinct for tracking down top Mafiosi. The widely-exported Italian show is set for a major twist since the lead will transition from a male magistrate to a female mobster hunter.
Rising local talent Linda Caridi, seen recently in Venice fest opener “The Ties” – where she plays the illicit lover who unties a marriage – has been cast as magistrate Paola Romano. During the course of the new season of “The Hunter” she will eventually replace her colleague Saverio Barone, played by Francesco Montanari, and become the new anti-Mafia prosecutor at the show’s center.
Montanari, incidentally, won the best performance prize for that role at Canneseries in 2018 where “The Hunter,” which is sold by Beta Film, made an international splash.
“I am really happy because this third season...
Rising local talent Linda Caridi, seen recently in Venice fest opener “The Ties” – where she plays the illicit lover who unties a marriage – has been cast as magistrate Paola Romano. During the course of the new season of “The Hunter” she will eventually replace her colleague Saverio Barone, played by Francesco Montanari, and become the new anti-Mafia prosecutor at the show’s center.
Montanari, incidentally, won the best performance prize for that role at Canneseries in 2018 where “The Hunter,” which is sold by Beta Film, made an international splash.
“I am really happy because this third season...
- 9/24/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
While lots of summer events around the world are opting to go online due to the coronavirus crisis, the Filming Italy Sardegna fest will be holding a physical edition on the island of Sardinia in the Forte Village resort near the capital city of Cagliari, where all guests will undergo complimentary Covid-19 tests upon arrival.
“We consulted with a medical committee and decided to follow a protocol combining two very fast non-invasive [coronavirus] tests to all our guests,” says Tiziana Rocca, the former Taormina Film Festival chief who two years ago launched this international event, which combines film and TV with a strong accent on women in the biz.
Rocca says she never really considered canceling and “talked to lots of U.S. talents” during the lockdown.
Among these is Matt Dillon, who this year is the fest’s honorary president and, luckily is in Italy, so will be able to attend.
“We consulted with a medical committee and decided to follow a protocol combining two very fast non-invasive [coronavirus] tests to all our guests,” says Tiziana Rocca, the former Taormina Film Festival chief who two years ago launched this international event, which combines film and TV with a strong accent on women in the biz.
Rocca says she never really considered canceling and “talked to lots of U.S. talents” during the lockdown.
Among these is Matt Dillon, who this year is the fest’s honorary president and, luckily is in Italy, so will be able to attend.
- 7/17/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has poached Eleonora “Tinny” Andreatta as its vice president of Italian original series after she had a distinguished 25-year career at Italian public service broadcaster Rai.
Andreatta will take up her new role in July and will report to Kelly Luegenbiehl, vice president of original series at Netflix in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Felipe Tewes, the current director of Italian original series, is taking on a new, soon-to-be-announced role at the streamer.
Andreatta will be responsible for helping Netflix grow its slate of Italian shows following the launch of series including Suburra and Baby, both of which are heading into their third seasons. Netflix moved into Italian originals in 2017 and it is aiming to commission 10 new series a year by 2022.
Andreatta was most recently Rai’s director of fiction, producing and co-producing 500 hours of TV drama a year. Her other roles at the broadcaster have included being...
Andreatta will take up her new role in July and will report to Kelly Luegenbiehl, vice president of original series at Netflix in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Felipe Tewes, the current director of Italian original series, is taking on a new, soon-to-be-announced role at the streamer.
Andreatta will be responsible for helping Netflix grow its slate of Italian shows following the launch of series including Suburra and Baby, both of which are heading into their third seasons. Netflix moved into Italian originals in 2017 and it is aiming to commission 10 new series a year by 2022.
Andreatta was most recently Rai’s director of fiction, producing and co-producing 500 hours of TV drama a year. Her other roles at the broadcaster have included being...
- 6/22/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has hired Eleonora "Tinny" Andreatta, the head of drama at Italian public broadcaster Rai, as its new vp of Italian originals.
She will join the streaming giant, which has been increasing its investment in originals in Italy and other countries, in July.
Netflix has previously said it plans to open a Rome office.
Andreatta will report to Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix’s vp for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea) original series.
Meanwhile, Felipe Tewes, who has served as the global streamer’s director of Italian original series, will get a new role within Netflix that will be ...
She will join the streaming giant, which has been increasing its investment in originals in Italy and other countries, in July.
Netflix has previously said it plans to open a Rome office.
Andreatta will report to Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix’s vp for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea) original series.
Meanwhile, Felipe Tewes, who has served as the global streamer’s director of Italian original series, will get a new role within Netflix that will be ...
- 6/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
“My Brilliant Friend” will air its Season 2 finale on Monday, May 4, but fans of the critically acclaimed series can rest easy as HBO and Rai have renewed the show for a third season.
The ongoing Italian coming-of-age drama, which is co-produced by HBO, Fremantle, and Italian broadcaster Rai, is based on the Neapoliton Novels series by Italian author Elena Ferrante. The upcoming third season of “My Brilliant Friend” is based on Ferrante’s “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” the third book in the series.
“Bringing Elena Ferrante’s exquisite work to life has been such a joy and privilege,” Francesca Orsi, Evp of HBO programming, said in a statement. “The fact that viewers and critics alike have continued to embrace Elena and Lila’s story makes it all the more gratifying, and we thank the entire team led by Saverio Costanzo for their outstanding work on the second season.
The ongoing Italian coming-of-age drama, which is co-produced by HBO, Fremantle, and Italian broadcaster Rai, is based on the Neapoliton Novels series by Italian author Elena Ferrante. The upcoming third season of “My Brilliant Friend” is based on Ferrante’s “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” the third book in the series.
“Bringing Elena Ferrante’s exquisite work to life has been such a joy and privilege,” Francesca Orsi, Evp of HBO programming, said in a statement. “The fact that viewers and critics alike have continued to embrace Elena and Lila’s story makes it all the more gratifying, and we thank the entire team led by Saverio Costanzo for their outstanding work on the second season.
- 4/30/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
Here’s a first look at Irish “Poldark” star Aidan Turner as legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci in upcoming international co-production “Leonardo,” set to be released next year.
The first glimpse of Turner as da Vinci shows him learning his craft as a young apprentice and then reaching for greatness with his commission to paint The Last Supper.
The first look was compiled from original footage directed by Dan Percival and Alexis Sweet and is accompanied by a score from series composer John Paesano.
The high-end drama is produced by Lux Vide with Rai Fiction and Big Light Productions in association with France Télévisions and Rtve, and co-produced and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television.
The series was created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson, and is directed by Daniel Percival (“The Man in the High Castle) and Alexis Sweet (“Don Matteo”)
Giancarlo Giannini plays Leonardo’s master Andrea del Verrocchio,...
The first glimpse of Turner as da Vinci shows him learning his craft as a young apprentice and then reaching for greatness with his commission to paint The Last Supper.
The first look was compiled from original footage directed by Dan Percival and Alexis Sweet and is accompanied by a score from series composer John Paesano.
The high-end drama is produced by Lux Vide with Rai Fiction and Big Light Productions in association with France Télévisions and Rtve, and co-produced and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television.
The series was created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson, and is directed by Daniel Percival (“The Man in the High Castle) and Alexis Sweet (“Don Matteo”)
Giancarlo Giannini plays Leonardo’s master Andrea del Verrocchio,...
- 4/15/2020
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Italian state broadcaster Rai, the country’s long-time major film and TV industry driver, is seeking to placate concerns being voiced by the country’s producers as it navigates the coronavirus crisis amid mounting criticism and shrinking resources.
As the pandemic paralyzes the economy in Italy — which at present is suffering the world’s highest coronavirus death toll, at upwards of 16,500 — the mammoth pubcaster, which has more than 13,000 employees, has revealed that its long-gestating organizational overhaul and 2020 budget approval have been frozen.
Meanwhile, Rai’s ratings are oscillating as it scrambles to reprogram slots of its more than 20 channels amid appeals to provide the country’s captive audience in lockdown more “culture” and “quality” programming, as veteran film director Pupi Avati (“Il Signor Diavolo”) put it in a recent open letter to national daily Corriere della Sera.
In another appeal to Rai’s top management, last week Italy’s indie documentary producers org.
As the pandemic paralyzes the economy in Italy — which at present is suffering the world’s highest coronavirus death toll, at upwards of 16,500 — the mammoth pubcaster, which has more than 13,000 employees, has revealed that its long-gestating organizational overhaul and 2020 budget approval have been frozen.
Meanwhile, Rai’s ratings are oscillating as it scrambles to reprogram slots of its more than 20 channels amid appeals to provide the country’s captive audience in lockdown more “culture” and “quality” programming, as veteran film director Pupi Avati (“Il Signor Diavolo”) put it in a recent open letter to national daily Corriere della Sera.
In another appeal to Rai’s top management, last week Italy’s indie documentary producers org.
- 4/7/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
“My Brilliant Friend – The Story of a New Name,” the second season of Italian pubcaster Rai and HBO’s TV series based on Elena Ferrante’s bestselling “Neapolitan Novels,” was unveiled on Tuesday in Italy where the hotly anticipated show will start airing on Rai in February.
“New Name” will launch on Rai on Feb. 10, after a 3-day event release in Italian movie theaters, just as Ferrante-fever is being stoked. The mysterious Italian author has a new book out, “The Lying Life of Adults,” which has become an immediate bestseller since its November publication locally. The English translation of Ferrante’s new novel will reportedly be hitting international bookstores in June.
The second serving of the Ferrante show will air in the U.S. on HBO in March.
In the show’s second season protagonists Lila and Elena, now more grown up, venture out of Naples’ Luzzati quarter, where most...
“New Name” will launch on Rai on Feb. 10, after a 3-day event release in Italian movie theaters, just as Ferrante-fever is being stoked. The mysterious Italian author has a new book out, “The Lying Life of Adults,” which has become an immediate bestseller since its November publication locally. The English translation of Ferrante’s new novel will reportedly be hitting international bookstores in June.
The second serving of the Ferrante show will air in the U.S. on HBO in March.
In the show’s second season protagonists Lila and Elena, now more grown up, venture out of Naples’ Luzzati quarter, where most...
- 1/21/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Television has joined Italy’s Lux Vide and Rai Fiction as co-producer and international distributor of Frank Spotnitz’s high-end TV series about Leonardo da Vinci, which started shooting Monday in Rome.
The eight-episode “Leonardo” (working title) stars Aidan Turner (“Poldark”) in the title role and Freddie Highmore (“The Good Doctor”) as Stefano Giraldi, a fictional Milanese police officer investigating Leonardo as the suspect in a murder case. Highmore is also on board as executive producer. It is being directed by Dan Percival (“The Man in the High Castle”).
Other key cast members include Italy’s Matilda de Angelis as Milanese noblewoman and Leonardo muse Caterina da Cremona and Giancarlo Giannini in the role of Renaissance master Andrea del Verrocchio, of whom Leonardo was a student.
The plan is for the English-language series to play next year to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death. “Leonardo” is...
The eight-episode “Leonardo” (working title) stars Aidan Turner (“Poldark”) in the title role and Freddie Highmore (“The Good Doctor”) as Stefano Giraldi, a fictional Milanese police officer investigating Leonardo as the suspect in a murder case. Highmore is also on board as executive producer. It is being directed by Dan Percival (“The Man in the High Castle”).
Other key cast members include Italy’s Matilda de Angelis as Milanese noblewoman and Leonardo muse Caterina da Cremona and Giancarlo Giannini in the role of Renaissance master Andrea del Verrocchio, of whom Leonardo was a student.
The plan is for the English-language series to play next year to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death. “Leonardo” is...
- 12/3/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian TV is traveling around the world as never before, and giving audiences a deep dive into the country’s locations. They range from storied cities such as Rome, Venice, Naples and Milan to classic countryside backdrops, including Tuscany and Umbria. There is also the southern sensuality found in Apulia and Sicily, and, of course, the Mediterranean coastline and the Alps.
Almost all of which are making their way into long-form narratives of different scopes.
Stefania Ippoliti, who heads the Tuscany Film Commission and concurrently presides over umbrella group Italian Film Commissions, says the org’s 17 member regions have joined forces “to make our services more homogenous, even in terms of [streamlining] applications.”
Besides on-the-ground assistance, Italy’s film commissions also manage local funds of different types and sizes that offer up roughly €60 million ($66 million) a year in soft money on top of Italy’s 30% cash-back tax credit with a $22 million cap.
Almost all of which are making their way into long-form narratives of different scopes.
Stefania Ippoliti, who heads the Tuscany Film Commission and concurrently presides over umbrella group Italian Film Commissions, says the org’s 17 member regions have joined forces “to make our services more homogenous, even in terms of [streamlining] applications.”
Besides on-the-ground assistance, Italy’s film commissions also manage local funds of different types and sizes that offer up roughly €60 million ($66 million) a year in soft money on top of Italy’s 30% cash-back tax credit with a $22 million cap.
- 9/20/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With the advent of streaming, European television has successfully solidified its place in Hollywood, conquering international audiences with shows such as “Gomorrah,” “Medici” and “Suburra: Blood on Rome,” all Italian dramas available on Netflix, in addition to HBO’s “My Brilliant Friend” and the Italian-French-Spanish thriller “The Young Pope.”
And now, the first-ever Italian Television Festival, spearheaded by Good Girls Planet and Marco Testa Los Angeles, will showcase quality Italian content to Hollywood.
Ahead of this year’s Emmys, the event will take place Sept. 19 at Soho House and will feature screenings and trailers, an awards ceremony, plus an informative panel focused on the future of Italian television. The industry event will wrap up with a red carpet and poolside bash at the London Hotel in West Hollywood.
“The point of this festival is that Italy is producing so much content with really, really good talent, and it’s starting to be recognized internationally.
And now, the first-ever Italian Television Festival, spearheaded by Good Girls Planet and Marco Testa Los Angeles, will showcase quality Italian content to Hollywood.
Ahead of this year’s Emmys, the event will take place Sept. 19 at Soho House and will feature screenings and trailers, an awards ceremony, plus an informative panel focused on the future of Italian television. The industry event will wrap up with a red carpet and poolside bash at the London Hotel in West Hollywood.
“The point of this festival is that Italy is producing so much content with really, really good talent, and it’s starting to be recognized internationally.
- 9/18/2019
- by Anna Tingley
- Variety Film + TV
This summer there is lots of action on the Italian peninsula.
“No Time to Die, ” the latest James Bond film, is shooting amid cave dwellings in the ancient southern town of Matera, while Christopher Nolan’s latest, “Tenet,” is encamped in Ravello, a jewel overlooking the Amalfi coast. Terrence Malick is in Anzio, a central seaport, where cameras are rolling on his drama “The Last Planet,” which will reportedly depict passages in the life of Christ.
A little further north, on the grounds of Rome’s Cinecittà World theme park, Sky’s high-end Rome-origins skein “Romulus,” filming in archaic Latin, is in the midst of a 28-week shoot, while Luca Guadagnino’s HBO/Sky show “We Are Who We Are,” set on a U.S. Army base, is about to go into production in Padua.
“There is a production surge under way,” says “Romulus” producer Riccardo Tozzi, chief of ITV-owned Cattleya.
“No Time to Die, ” the latest James Bond film, is shooting amid cave dwellings in the ancient southern town of Matera, while Christopher Nolan’s latest, “Tenet,” is encamped in Ravello, a jewel overlooking the Amalfi coast. Terrence Malick is in Anzio, a central seaport, where cameras are rolling on his drama “The Last Planet,” which will reportedly depict passages in the life of Christ.
A little further north, on the grounds of Rome’s Cinecittà World theme park, Sky’s high-end Rome-origins skein “Romulus,” filming in archaic Latin, is in the midst of a 28-week shoot, while Luca Guadagnino’s HBO/Sky show “We Are Who We Are,” set on a U.S. Army base, is about to go into production in Padua.
“There is a production surge under way,” says “Romulus” producer Riccardo Tozzi, chief of ITV-owned Cattleya.
- 8/23/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Two of the U.K.’s most acclaimed creative talents, Ricky Gervais and Sharon Horgan, are headlining the inaugural Variety European TV Summit, which takes place on June 13.
Gervais, the creator of global successes including “The Office” and “Afterlife,” and Horgan, the creator of hit comedies “Catastrophe” and “Divorce,” are taking part in keynote discussions at the conference.
Both Gervais and Horgan reflect a growing industry trend for top talent to not only star in shows, but to write and produce, too — delivering programs that bear the clear hallmarks of their creators.
At the summit, they will explore the business from a creative’s point of view, sharing their thoughts about the opportunities and challenges they face at a time of ever increasing demand for top level talent by both streamers and traditional TV broadcasters.
The one-day summit will focus on the intersection of content and tech within the TV industry.
Gervais, the creator of global successes including “The Office” and “Afterlife,” and Horgan, the creator of hit comedies “Catastrophe” and “Divorce,” are taking part in keynote discussions at the conference.
Both Gervais and Horgan reflect a growing industry trend for top talent to not only star in shows, but to write and produce, too — delivering programs that bear the clear hallmarks of their creators.
At the summit, they will explore the business from a creative’s point of view, sharing their thoughts about the opportunities and challenges they face at a time of ever increasing demand for top level talent by both streamers and traditional TV broadcasters.
The one-day summit will focus on the intersection of content and tech within the TV industry.
- 6/4/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Eleonora Andreatta, director of Rai Fiction and one of the most influential TV executives in Italy, will head the Italian delegation at this month’s Conecta Fiction 3, the Europe-America TV series co-production and networking event which takes place this year in Pamplona.
This year, Conecta Fiction has selected as its European Focus Country, an initiative which will see the event analyzing the Italian drama series industry, its particularities and potential as a TV co-producer partner, and the talent of local creators.
Italy joins Chile, already announced by Conecta as its American Focus Country.
Running June 17-20, Conecta Fiction 3 will kick-off with an inaugural gala at Pamplona’s Teatro Gayarre, with the screening of Finnish-Chilean series “Invisible Heroes,” a co-production between Finland’s Kaiho Republic and Chile’s Parox that was pitched two years ago as a project at Conecta’s Pitch Copro Series.
The political drama-thriller, set during Chile’s 1973 military coup,...
This year, Conecta Fiction has selected as its European Focus Country, an initiative which will see the event analyzing the Italian drama series industry, its particularities and potential as a TV co-producer partner, and the talent of local creators.
Italy joins Chile, already announced by Conecta as its American Focus Country.
Running June 17-20, Conecta Fiction 3 will kick-off with an inaugural gala at Pamplona’s Teatro Gayarre, with the screening of Finnish-Chilean series “Invisible Heroes,” a co-production between Finland’s Kaiho Republic and Chile’s Parox that was pitched two years ago as a project at Conecta’s Pitch Copro Series.
The political drama-thriller, set during Chile’s 1973 military coup,...
- 6/3/2019
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Lille, France — Series Mania’s Forum wrapped Wednesday, the festival proper on Saturday night. Here are 10 takeaways on events to date at the biggest edition ever:
1.Netflix: No In-house Production In France, But Beyond?
The role of the independent producer in an Over-the-Top platform world proved the No. 1 talking point of Series Mania.
Producers fears are double-fold: Not retaining any rights to what they produce: being totally sidelined by streaming giants’ producing talent directly. If Series Mania served to suggest one thing, it is that the jury is still out on how this issue will play out. Especially with more Ott players coming online, nothing seems written in stone. At one of the TV festivals key panels, Developing French Content for and with Netflix, asked whether Netflix would in-house produce in France. Damien Couvreur, director international originals France, said that Netflix was “doing it in the U.S., to...
1.Netflix: No In-house Production In France, But Beyond?
The role of the independent producer in an Over-the-Top platform world proved the No. 1 talking point of Series Mania.
Producers fears are double-fold: Not retaining any rights to what they produce: being totally sidelined by streaming giants’ producing talent directly. If Series Mania served to suggest one thing, it is that the jury is still out on how this issue will play out. Especially with more Ott players coming online, nothing seems written in stone. At one of the TV festivals key panels, Developing French Content for and with Netflix, asked whether Netflix would in-house produce in France. Damien Couvreur, director international originals France, said that Netflix was “doing it in the U.S., to...
- 3/28/2019
- by John Hopewell, Jamie Lang and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Alliance, the new partnership formed by leading European pubcasters to counter the growing power of Netflix and other players, is revving up with two new international dramas, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Mirage.”
The Alliance was formed last year by France Televisions, Germany’s Zdf and Italy’s Rai. The partners unveiled their two new ambitious shows Wednesday at Series Mania in Lille, France.
For France Televisions in particular, the series are part of a wider move into high-end international drama that also includes French series like “Germinal,” based on Emile Zola’s classic novel, and the adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s bestseller, “La jeune fille et la nuit,” both of which France Televisions is developing outside of the Alliance.
The French pubcaster’s push has been spearheaded by Nathalie Biancolli, an industry veteran who helped created Snd, the commercial division of M6 network, and worked at...
The Alliance was formed last year by France Televisions, Germany’s Zdf and Italy’s Rai. The partners unveiled their two new ambitious shows Wednesday at Series Mania in Lille, France.
For France Televisions in particular, the series are part of a wider move into high-end international drama that also includes French series like “Germinal,” based on Emile Zola’s classic novel, and the adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s bestseller, “La jeune fille et la nuit,” both of which France Televisions is developing outside of the Alliance.
The French pubcaster’s push has been spearheaded by Nathalie Biancolli, an industry veteran who helped created Snd, the commercial division of M6 network, and worked at...
- 3/27/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
John Turturro and the producers of “The Name of the Rose” unveiled their ambitious English-language TV adaptation of Umberto Eco’s murder mystery in Rome on Thursday ahead of its global rollout, which will kick off March 4 on Italy’s Rai.
Producers and the Italian pubcaster have high hopes the show will expand the international footprint of Italy’s high-end dramas following “My Brilliant Friend,” based on a more recent bestseller. The $30 million, eight-episode series is produced by Rome-based companies 11 Marzo and Palomar and Rai Fiction, and will go out in the U.S. via AMC on May 1.
John Turturro, who plays the central character of Franciscan monk William of Baskerville, said that Eco’s novel, which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide since first being published in 1980, was very relevant today.
“There is a power structure – the church – which also represents the government or politics,” he said. “Then there is suppression of women.
Producers and the Italian pubcaster have high hopes the show will expand the international footprint of Italy’s high-end dramas following “My Brilliant Friend,” based on a more recent bestseller. The $30 million, eight-episode series is produced by Rome-based companies 11 Marzo and Palomar and Rai Fiction, and will go out in the U.S. via AMC on May 1.
John Turturro, who plays the central character of Franciscan monk William of Baskerville, said that Eco’s novel, which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide since first being published in 1980, was very relevant today.
“There is a power structure – the church – which also represents the government or politics,” he said. “Then there is suppression of women.
- 2/28/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With its international rollout well underway, the critically acclaimed TV series “My Brilliant Friend,” based on the first of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s bestselling “Neapolitan Novels,” is scoring strong ratings at home in Italy, and is also playing well in the U.S. and U.K.
The show, which explores the bounds of female friendship, is being hailed as a milestone in Italian television following its primetime premiere Nov. 27 on pubcaster Rai, which earned about a 29% share, pulling in more than 7 million viewers and becoming the highest-rated drama of the country’s current season.
Those ratings have remained relatively stable. On Tuesday, the series finale – Rai’s third consecutive broadcast of back-to-back episodes – scored a 28.7% share on Rai-1. On the previous Tuesday, ratings soared past a record-breaking 30% share.
Eleonora Andreatta, chief of fiction for Rai, has called the show a winning gamble and noted in a statement that its...
The show, which explores the bounds of female friendship, is being hailed as a milestone in Italian television following its primetime premiere Nov. 27 on pubcaster Rai, which earned about a 29% share, pulling in more than 7 million viewers and becoming the highest-rated drama of the country’s current season.
Those ratings have remained relatively stable. On Tuesday, the series finale – Rai’s third consecutive broadcast of back-to-back episodes – scored a 28.7% share on Rai-1. On the previous Tuesday, ratings soared past a record-breaking 30% share.
Eleonora Andreatta, chief of fiction for Rai, has called the show a winning gamble and noted in a statement that its...
- 12/13/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With TV changing by the day, Italy’s Rai has been one of the quickest public broadcaster to adapt. Rai’s head of fiction Eleonora Andreatta has been at the helm, shifting the network towards a strategy of internationalization, creating series that appeal to Italy’s core audience, while also developing projects that can succeed globally.
Rai traditionally delved in international co-productions for film-influenced two-episode miniseries, such as a series of shows on the Bible co-produced with Lux Vide and Beta Film.
Its first-ever international co-produced series was Medici: Masters of Florence, a show developed by U.S. showrunner Frank Spotnitz ...
Rai traditionally delved in international co-productions for film-influenced two-episode miniseries, such as a series of shows on the Bible co-produced with Lux Vide and Beta Film.
Its first-ever international co-produced series was Medici: Masters of Florence, a show developed by U.S. showrunner Frank Spotnitz ...
- 10/18/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Italy’s state broadcaster Rai is leading the way in the country’s international TV boom.
Though pay-tv Sky Italia and Netflix are churning out some edgier Italian shows for the international marketplace, the bold Italian pubcaster is now riding high after making a splash at the Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of HBO/Rai’s powerful female friendship saga “My Brilliant Friend,” based on the first of Elena Ferrante’s globally best-selling novels.
Next up are its buzzed-about “The Name of the Rose” series, starring John Turturro, and the third season of Frank Spotnitz’s hit “Medici” saga, currently shooting in Italy.
“My Brilliant Friend,” which Rai fiction chief Eleonora Andreatta started developing before the book’s big success, marks a milestone for Italy’s TV industry because unlike Sky’s crimer “Gomorrah” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope,” it’s classic highbrow TV of the...
Though pay-tv Sky Italia and Netflix are churning out some edgier Italian shows for the international marketplace, the bold Italian pubcaster is now riding high after making a splash at the Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of HBO/Rai’s powerful female friendship saga “My Brilliant Friend,” based on the first of Elena Ferrante’s globally best-selling novels.
Next up are its buzzed-about “The Name of the Rose” series, starring John Turturro, and the third season of Frank Spotnitz’s hit “Medici” saga, currently shooting in Italy.
“My Brilliant Friend,” which Rai fiction chief Eleonora Andreatta started developing before the book’s big success, marks a milestone for Italy’s TV industry because unlike Sky’s crimer “Gomorrah” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope,” it’s classic highbrow TV of the...
- 10/17/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Europe’s pubcasters have joined forces to combat such streaming giants as Netflix and Amazon in the international TV market — and the first projects from this collaboration are under way.
Continental Europe’s leading public broadcasters — Italy’s Rai, France Televisions and Germany’s Zdf — in March forged a scripted content co-production pact called the Alliance with the stated goal of co-financing innovative, higher-profile, and generally bigger TV series for viewers in Europe and the rest of the world.
Meant to give participants greater firepower against the Netflixes of this world, the Alliance has spawned several projects, including a high-end “Leonardo” skein, with Frank Spotnitz on board and Rai in the leading role. It is the first of the projects expected to hit screens, in 2019.
“There are so many available platforms these days that local audiences are getting used to seeing the best of what’s out there day-and-date with the rest of the world,...
Continental Europe’s leading public broadcasters — Italy’s Rai, France Televisions and Germany’s Zdf — in March forged a scripted content co-production pact called the Alliance with the stated goal of co-financing innovative, higher-profile, and generally bigger TV series for viewers in Europe and the rest of the world.
Meant to give participants greater firepower against the Netflixes of this world, the Alliance has spawned several projects, including a high-end “Leonardo” skein, with Frank Spotnitz on board and Rai in the leading role. It is the first of the projects expected to hit screens, in 2019.
“There are so many available platforms these days that local audiences are getting used to seeing the best of what’s out there day-and-date with the rest of the world,...
- 10/16/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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