Netflix doubles down in Italy with new Rome office

Netflix Rome Office Opening  Event, Rome, 6th May 2022, FEDERICO CESARI, PILAR FOGLIATI, GIOVANNI BOSSETTI, ALESSANDRO GASSMAN, MATILDE GIOLI, SARA FURIO, VALERIA GOLINO, REED HASTINGS, ISABELLA FERRARI, TINNY ANDREATTA, MICHELE RECH

Netflix has unveiled a new slate of Italian productions across scripted, unscripted and film, after officially opening its new Rome office last week.

Situated in the heart of the Italian capital, the office will home around 70 members of staff and join existing European bases for the streamer in countries such as UK, Spain and France.  Netflix said that the new base cements their “long-term commitment to the country, the creative community, and Italian consumers.”

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings, who was in attendance, said that the “breadth and variety of our Italian slate perfectly represents our ambitions – new series, films, documentaries and unscripted shows from Italy’s most prestigious creatives and exciting new voices.”

Among the new Italian series announced by Netflix is a show inspired by the novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), which is being produced by Indiana Production and Moonage Pictures. Director Tom Shankland will bring “a modern perspective” to the story of Prince of Salina and his family, going  deeper into characters and stories from the book.

Inganno (working title) from Cattleya is described as a “sentimental thriller” that plays with suspense, taboos, and uncomfortable truths about love. The series follows the passionate and turbulent relationship of an older woman and a young man who is half her age. Their relationship undermines social and family norms of the Mediterranean culture.

Lotto Gang (working title) from BIM Produzione and Feltrinelli Originals is meanwhile based loosely based on the true story of the biggest lottery scam in Italian history, Lotto Gang follows a group of antiheroes on a heist in the outskirts of Milan in the mid-90s.

I Hate Christmas from Fremantle-owned Lux Vide, will star Pilar Fogliati in what is Netflix’s first Italian Christmas series – a comedy about a young woman looking for love.

An untitled new animated series by cartoonist Zerocalcare, with Movimenti Production and Bao Publishing, is also in the works, with six half hour episodes that will explore themes dear to the Roman author.

Tinny Andreatta, Netflix VP of Italian language Series, commented: “The Italian series that we announced today, and which will come to Netflix in the coming years, reflect our ambitions to work with our Italian production partners to tell a variety of quality Italian stories.  Together, we will create a breadth of stories, working with visionary creators and new voices who break barriers, take creative risks, and tell stories that have never been told before.”