While her family was on summer vacation in Oslo (Norway), child actress Elisa del Genio landed a role by sheer happenstance after HBO called her mother about scheduling a meeting with her brother Alberto for a part in their TV series. Elisa accompanied Alberto to the audition and director Saverio Costanzo ended up choosing her instead.
The series was filmed in a number of Italian municipalities, including: Acerra (Naples), Casapulla, Maddaloni and Santa Maria Capua Vetere (Campania), and Fondi (Lazio).
According to My True Brilliant Friend, companion documentary to the series, Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace both dreamt about the sets/scenes every single night.
Is very true to the source material, in fact much of the dialogue is taken directly from the novels.