At a glittering event held in Rome this Friday afternoon, Netflix announced the launch of its new Italy-centric headquarters in Rome. The streaming giant also announced a brand new Italian slate of series and films, all of them conceived and executed in Italy. The event was attended by Netflix founder and Co-CEO, Reed Hastings, who spoke about Netflix’s recent Italian hit, ‘The Hand Of God’ at the event. Hastings also celebrated the newly announced Italian slate as a testament to Netflix’s growing business in Italy.
Here’s the list of the new Italian series and films announced by Netflix this afternoon –
Series –
1. English adaptation of ‘The Leopard,’ a classic novel written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, set in Sicily. It is a historical drama, centred on the 19th-century Sicilian nobleman, the Prince of Salina. It is a story with elements of family, strife and sensuality. To be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent), written by Richard Warlow.
2. Inganno – Italian adaptation of U.K. series ‘Gold Digger’, centred on the passionate and turbulent relationship between an older woman and a man who is half her age, and how their love disrupts Italian social and family norms.
3. Lotto Gang – A comedy and action series, based on the real-life biggest lottery scam in Italian history. It is centred on a group of antiheroes who pull off a heist in the outskirts of Milan
4. Animated series by Italian graphic novelist Zerocalcare, based on his hit local show, ‘Tear Along The Dotted Line’
5. I Hate Christmas – A Christmas series that follows a young woman on the lookout for love. Stars Pilar Fogliati, of medical drama ‘Cuori’ fame.
Films –
1. Robbing Mussolini – A heist drama, directed by Renato de Maria (The Obscene Life) and starring Pietro Castellitto (Freaks Out), Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) and Isabella Ferrari. The film centres on a heist that aims to rob a treasure chest that Benito Mussolini buried somewhere in Milan before he died.
2. My Name is Vendetta – An action, survival and revenge thriller, written and directed by Cosimo Gomez (Ugly Nasty People) and starring Alessandro Gassman (Though Shalt Not Hate).
3. Love & Gelato – A coming-of-age film, written and directed by U.S. director Brandon Camp. The film centres on a young American girl Lina, in search of herself and her roots in Rome, coupled with lots of gelato.