News

“Gomorrah,” the gritty Neapolitan mob series that is Italy’s biggest TV export, is set to return in January of 2026 — albeit in a 1970s-set incarnation — as “Gomorrah – The Series. The Origins.”

Comcast-owned pay-tv service Sky has announced a January release date on the first installment of the “Gomorrah” origins story that, as previously announced, will recount the rise of mobster Pietro Savastano. Savastano, who in “Gomorrah” is the head of the drug-dealing clan that bears his name, is played by 16-year-old Naples native Luca Lubrano in the prequel.

The prequel series is lead-directed by Marco D’Amore, who starred as ruthless central character Ciro Di Marzio in the “Gomorrah” original.

The hotly anticipated show’s lead-producer Riccardo Tozzi during a press presentation said Marco D’Amore drew inspiration for the “Gomorrah” origins show’s tone from Sergio Leone epic “Once Upon a Time in America” about two childhood friends from...

Hulu has unveiled the trailer and key art for The Kollective, the upcoming six-episode series. The A+E Media Group series debuts on June 10, 2025, with all episodes available at launch.

Taking audiences around the world from Budapest to St. Petersburg to London, The Kollective is a gripping thriller about a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a globe-spanning web of government lies and corruption.

Through a dangerous international investigation, the group exposes nefarious activities of rogue governments and discovers the human price of keeping truth alive.

The series boasts a star-studded international cast including Natascha McElhone, Celine Buckens, Felix Mayr, Gregg Sulkin, Grégory Montel, Karel Roden, Cassiopée Mayance, Martha Canga Antonio, and Ralph Amoussou.

Lead director and EP Assaf Bernstein and Randa Chahoud direct The Kollective. Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli write the series.

Furthermore, in the creative team are writer and co-ep Ed Hemming,...

“Gomorrah” writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli are set to explore the string of murders perpetrated by Italy’s so-called White Uno Gang in a gritty crime thriller produced by Riccardo Tozzi (“Gomorrah”) and Pietro Valsecchi (“Quo Vado?”).

The White Uno Gang was a criminal organization made up mainly of police officers with ties to the far right that was active during the 1980’s and the 1990’s. The gang — whose name refers to the Fiat Uno car, which its members frequently used – operated in Italy, mainly in the central Emilia-Romagna region. Between 1987 and 1994, the White Uno Gang pulled off 103 heists, mostly armed robberies, causing 24 deaths and 102 injuries.

Though the gang leaders have been caught and brought to justice, their extreme violence and the fact that many of their heists brought small loot have prompted suspicions that they were in fact terrorists, possibly tied to Italian secret services.

Investigators, including an Italian parliamentary commission,...

Rome’s Mia Market dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films and documentaries kicked off its 10th edition on Monday, with 60 selected projects from 90 countries ready to be unveiled to potential partners.

The Oct. 14-18 pre-Mipcom boutique event – which is celebrating its first decade by continuing to adapt its innovative informal market concept to ongoing industry changes – will also feature a rich roster of panels and keynote speakers, who will help take the global industry’s pulse at a time when business models are changing and co-productions have become more crucial than ever.

As previously announced by Variety, this year’s keynote speakers include Sony Pictures Television Studios president Katherine Pope, who has overseen such global hits as “The Last of Us”; “Ripley” producer Clayton Townsend; and Canadian-American producer Odessa Rae, who was instrumental in the making of Oscar-winning doc “Navalny” about the late Russian dissident.

Ed Havard, who...

Greenlit is the international series showcase at Mia and a spot where juicy new titles are seen, often for the first time. The seven-strong lineup spans big-ticket sequels and prequels – step forward Italian giants Gomorrah and The Law According to Lidia Poët – new originals, adaptations and remakes. Paolo Ciccarelli, Head of Drama at Mia, manages the Greenlit program.

Each project is presented on Mia’s main stage by its producers, commissioners or talent. Gomorrah – The Origins is sure to grab attention. From Sky Studios and Cattleya and for Sky Italia, it was created by Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, and tells the story of Pietro Savastano, from a boy the street who rises up the ranks to become the most important crime boss in Naples. Sandokan is a remake of the cult Italian pirate series produced by Lux Vide and Rai for the Italian pubcaster. Turkish star Can Yaman leads the cast,...

“Gomorrah,” the gritty Neapolitan mob series that became Italy’s biggest TV export, is back — albeit in a different time frame.

Shooting is set to start in early 2025 in Naples on “Gomorrah – The Series. The Origins,” the hit crime drama’s previously announced origin story that will be directed by Marco D’Amore, the actor who played ruthless central character Ciro Di Marzio on the show.

D’Amore, who previously helmed several episodes of the series as well as a prequel feature film to “Gomorrah” titled “The Immortal” – and subsequently further honed his behind-the-camera chops directing Naples-set movies “Napoli Magica” and “Caracas” – officially announced on Tuesday that he will lead-direct this new project in a video to which Variety has been given exclusive access.

“Today I’m here to tell you that we will finally explore the saga’s origins,” D’Amore says in the video, which can be viewed above.

Italy’s Mia market — dedicated to international TV series, animation, feature films and documentaries — is set for its 10th edition with 60 projects from 90 countries ready to be unveiled to potential partners.

The Oct. 14-18 pre-Mipcom event will also feature a rich roster of panels and keynote speakers, which will help take the global industry’s pulse at a time when business models are changing and co-productions have become more crucial than ever.

This year’s Mia panels will be announced later this week, but market director Gaia Tridente revealed to Variety that she has lined up some high-caliber keynote speakers such as Sony Pictures Television Studios president Katherine Pope, “Ripley” producer Clayton Townsend and Canadian-American producer Odessa Rae, who was instrumental in the making of Oscar-winning doc “Navalny” about the late Russian dissident.

Tridente said she’s been surprised at how many projects Mia received this year – 600 submissions to its co-productions call,...

Rome’s Mia film and TV market has selected 60 projects for its co-production market, which runs from October 14-18th.

More than 600 projects were submitted this year from 90 countries worldwide. Of these, 60 will be presented, spanning films, animation, documentaries and scripted TV dramas.

14 feature-length film projects, coming from 10 countries are being presented at Mia’s Film Co-Production Market & Pitching Forum.

They include French director Yves Piat’s Borderline, following on from his Oscar-nominated short Nefta Football Club.

UK director Juliet Ellis also presents coming-of-age feature Braids, following her 2021 debut Ruby.

Carlo S. Hintermann - whose debut film The Book of Vision...

Exclusive: The anticipated prequel series to Italian mega-hit Gomorrah is currently being envisaged as spanning three seasons, we understand from sources close to the project.

The second and third seasons have yet to be formally greenlit by Sky but the creative ambition from those working on the project is for three seasons. The first is due to begin production early next year.

The currently untitled prequel series, set in 1970’s Naples, will chart the origin story and rise to power of crime boss Pietro Savastano and his wife, Imma Savastano, whose family are the subject of the original Sky Italia and Cattleya hit. We understand a number of the characters from the first season of the show are likely to appear as their younger selves and the idea is for the third season to take the story up to events of the original.

Many of the show’s key creators are back,...

Exclusive: Filming is underway on long-gestating European thriller series The Kollective (6 x 60′), which we can reveal will star Natascha McElhone (Californication), Celine Buckens (Showtrial), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends), Cassiopée Mayance (The Clearstream Affair), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic).

Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.

Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.

Company is readying theatrical feature ’Everything We Ever Wanted’ directed by Francesca Comencini.

Cattleya, the Italian film and TV outfit company backed by ITV Studios, has teamed with writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli to launch a new outfit called Dedalus.

Cattleya has previously worked with Fasoli and Ravagli on series such as Gomorrah, ZeroZeroZero, The Immortal and Django.

Dedalus, which will develop and produce films and television series, is working on Francesca Comencini’s feature Everything We Ever Wanted, billed as a a story of love and friendship within the Neapolitan mob, set during two different time periods.

Comencini...

Company is readying theatrical feature ’Everything We Ever Wanted’ directed by Francesca Comencini.

ITV Studios-backed Italian production outfit Cattleya has teamed with writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli to co-found Dedalus.

Rome-based Cattleya has previously worked with Fasoli and Ravagli on shows such as Gomorrah, ZeroZeroZero, The Immortal and Django.

Dedalus, which will develop and produce films and television series, is working on theatrical feature Everything We Ever Wanted, billed as a a story of love and friendship amidst a mid-seventies Neapolitan mob, set during two different time periods and directed by Francesca Comencini, whose credits include 2012 Venice competition...

Gomorrah writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli have launched an ITV Studios-backed Italian indie with Cattleya, as ITV Studios unveils a second season of My Mum, Your Dad UK with Mipcom Cannes kicking off.

The new outfit, Dedalus, is aiming to develop and produce films and television series by building on the approach already seen in the collaboration between Cattleya and Fasoli – Ravagli to date. It said it will “foreground the role of research and innovation alongside that of the writers’ full engagement throughout the creative process.”

Dedalus is already working on two projects: Everything We Ever Wanted, a theatrical feature about a story of love and friendship amidst a mid-seventies Neapolitan mob, set during two different time periods and directed by Francesca Comencini. The second project, Erba, a television series based on one of Italy’s most disturbing crime stories, will look carefully at the context in which...

ITV Studios-owned Italian production company Cattleya is joining forces with Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, Italian writers whose credits include such cross-over TV series as Gomorrah, ZeroZeroZero and Django to launch Dedalus, a new production company which will develop drama projects for the big and small screens.

Dedalus has two projects far along in the pipeline: Everything We Ever Wanted, a theatrical feature about love and friendship set against the world of the 1970s Neopolitan mafia, which Francesca Comencini (Django) will direct; and Erba, a TV series inspired by a horrific crime — the brutal murders of a family of four by their seemingly-ordinary middle-aged neighbors — that shocked Italy in December 2006.

“Over the years we have formed a special bond with Leonardo and Maddalena, based on a unique way of working together which actively involves them at every stage of our shared projects,” said Cattleya founder Riccardo Tozzi, who announced...

Sky Studios is developing prequels to “Gomorrah” and “Crime Novel,” the two widely exported Sky Italia original crime series that are considered Italian TV milestones.

News that Sky and ITV-owned production company Cattleya are looking to reboot these two shows with origin stories was announced as Sky Italia celebrates its 20th anniversary with a big bash in Rome.

Sky Italia first ventured into Italian TV production in 2008 with “Romanzo Criminale,” as “Crime Novel” is known in Italian, which is centered around a real Roman heroin-dealing gang. Besides being a hit in Italy, the story also traveled widely. “Gomorrah” (pictured above), which is based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling Neapolitan mob exposé, launched in 2014. From the outset, this gritty show brought audiences inside the belly of the real Neapolitan criminal underworld, thanks in part to being shot almost entirely in the actual places it portrays. Besides attaining megahit status in Italy,...

Sky Studios is developing prequel series to Gomorrah and Romanzo Criminale.

The pair of shows are widely regarded to be two of the most successful Italian TV series of all time.

Inspired by Roberto Saviano’s bestseller, the untitled Gomorrah prequel from ITV Studios-backed Cattleya will spotlight the criminal rise of boss Pietro Savastano, from when he was a kid on the streets to becoming the most important and ruthless boss in Naples. Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli will once again work on the screenplay.

Gomorrah ran for five seasons on Sky between 2014 and 2021, totalling 58 episodes, while a 2008 film of the same name was loosely based on the book. The TV show starred the likes of Marco D’Amore, Salvatore Esposito and Fortunato Cerlino.

Meanwhile, Romanzo Criminale – La serie will focus on the years before the rise of the Banda della Magliana criminal organization, as recounted in the two seasons of the original series,...

Exclusive: Subscription streaming outlet MHz Choice, which brings prestige international television to North American viewers, has set its summer slate with the U.S./Canada premieres of 15 series and nine returning shows. Included among them are French period mystery Agatha Christie’s Criminal Games: The ‘70s and Don’t Leave Me, an Italian police drama from the creators of Gomorra.

France Television’s Criminal Games debuts on the service June 13. The 10-part series adapts Agatha Christie’s mysteries in the 1970s and is led by three intrepid investigators. Emilie Gavois-Kahn, Arthur Dupont and Chloé Chaudoye star. Creator is Thierry Debroux.

On August 15, Federation Entertainment’s Don’t Leave Me will bring Deputy Chief Elena Zonin (Vittoria Puccini) back to her hometown of Venice to hunt down a network of kidnappers. There, she’s confronted...

Why did the western become arguably the most important genre in post-war filmmaking? From John Ford to Sam Peckinpah, the sweeping vistas and amoral politics lit up the big screen, gifting America a new creation myth. Now, the western is back in a more compact form – and with a transatlantic hue. After Hugo Blix’s excellent The English, Sky Atlantic is rebooting Sergio Corbucci’s Django film franchise as a brooding 10-part stampede through the dawn of the United States.

It’s the Old West, 1872. From the wreckage of the American civil war, John Ellis (Nicholas Pinnock), an almost messianic figure, is building a utopia: New Babylon. His city will be a home to all, regardless of colour or creed, gender or sexuality. Except there’s one man who is apparently unwelcome in this false-front Xanadu. Django (Matthias Schoenaerts) arrives as a drifter, offering himself to the bearpit in a fight to the death.

"Django" is the new live-action 10 episode TV series created by Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, reimagining the 1966 Italian feature, starring Noomi Rapace, Matthias Schoenaerts, Nicholas Pinnock and Lisa Vicari, premiering February 17, 2023 on Sky:

"....the series takes place in the 'Old West' of the 1860s–1870s, as 'Django' finds his way to 'New Babylon', a city founded by 'John Ellis', where all manner of outcasts are welcome regardless of their background or beliefs.

"Eight years earlier, Django's family was killed, but he believes that his daughter 'Sarah' survived and has been searching for her ever since. Django finds her in New Babylon, but she is about to marry Ellis.

"However, Sarah does not want Django to remain in town, fearing that trouble will follow him. Django is determined not to leave her again, and fights to reconnect with his daughter."

Click the images to enlarge...

Exclusive: Dutch producer Submarine’s good week here in Rome at the Mia Market has continued as it unveiled its latest project.

The Amsterdam-, LA- and London-based firm has followed up its Bellingcat journalism thriller drama The Kollective being taken to series by revealing up Esports thriller series A.D.D. — a collaboration with Nick Luddington.

It is billed as a grounded sci-fi thriller about a young, genius gamer who joins the world’s premier e-sports team, A.D.D., in a bid to discover what happened to her older brother – a former A.D.D. megastar who mysteriously disappeared from the spotlight.” She realizes the team is part of a dark neurological experiment and gets sucked into a dangerous rabbit hole of “corporate corruption, data manipulation and social engineering.”

The series will explore how a corporation called Next-Gen could be harnessing the metaverse that the players compete within for more nefarious purposes.

Broadcaster commissioning initiative The European Alliance has put The Kollective, a journalism-based mystery drama from Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli and producer Femke Wolting, into development.

The announcement came during a session at Mia Market in Rome today, where its execs called for producers to pitch ideas for high-end limited series by January 2023. It represents the ninth series to come from the Alliance, which comprises Germany’s Zdf, France Télévisions and Italy’s Rai.

The Kollective runs to six parts and is born out of a meeting between Wolting and The Alliance’s Manuel Alduy, who is also Director of Cinema and International Development France Télévisions, at last year’s Mia Market event.

It will tackle subjects such as fake news, attacks on EU democracy, bottom-up investigations and the freedom of press, “wrapped up in a highly-charged global thriller and a heart-breaking love story.” Its title...

The Alliance, which brings together European broadcasters France Télévisions, Italy’s Rai and Germany’s Zdf in a commissioning partnership, announced the development of a new series “The Kollective” at Rome’s Mia Market on Wednesday.

France Télévisions, Rai and Zdf decided to join forces back in 2018 to develop and co-produce high-end TV dramas aimed at a broad audience. To date, they have produced nine series, ranging from thrillers to science-fiction, including historical drama “Leonardo,” pictured above.

“The idea was to bring together three public broadcasters who are really on a mission to show our audience programs that resonate. Programs that otherwise none of us could afford,” explained Simone Emmelius, senior VP international fiction-coproduction and acquisition at Zdf. Also mentioning that these days, the Alliance is focusing more and more on younger viewers.

“We have a common heritage and common understanding of stories that should be told, even though we...

Click here to read the full article.

Django is back.

The coffin-dragging, quick-draw gunslinger character introduced in Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 Spaghetti Western classic, which inspired dozens of sequels, spinoffs and tributes, most famously Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, has finally arrived on the small screen.

Sky’s 10-episode Django, which has its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 16, is billed as a reimagining not just of Django, but of the Western genre itself.

Set, like the original film, in the period after the American Civil War, the series combines plot elements from both Django and its official 1987 sequel Django Strikes Again, themes from Tarantino’s film — particularly the role of Black people and freed slaves in old West — as well as adding several original ideas of its own. Even Django’s famous weapons-packed coffin makes an appearance, though in a very different setting than the original.

"Where are you running from, stranger?" Sky TV has unveiled a first look teaser trailer for a new Django series, inspired by the original classic spaghetti western from Italy. This new series is created by the Italian filmmakers Leonardo Fasoli & Maddalena Ravagli for Sky and Canal+, though it's an English-language reimagining of the classic 1966 film - with Franco Nero - which was itself a retelling of Akira Kurosawa‘s Yojimbo. This one stars the award-winning Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts as Django, and changes the story around. In this Django, it follows the gunslinger around the Wild West searching for his daughter who he believes escaped the murder of his family eight years ago. The ensemble cast also includes Noomi Rapace, Nicholas Pinnock, Lisa Vicari, Jyuddah Jaymes, Eric Kole, Benny Opoku-Arthur, Tom Austen, and Abigail Thorn. There's no initial debut date set yet, but it's expected by the end of 2022 for streaming via Sky.

An English-language reimagining of the world of Sergio Corbucci’s cult 1966 spaghetti western “Django,” which launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero, is set to launch from the Rome Film Festival in October.

The high–concept TV series, titled “Django,” will play in 2023 exclusively on Sky and its streaming service Now in all countries where Sky operates, including the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria. It will also air on Canal+ in France, Switzerland, Benelux and Africa. The Rome Film Festival runs from Oct. 13-23.

The 10-episode “Django” show stars Matthias Schoenaerts as the iconic gunman who is the title character, alongside Nicholas Pinnock (“For Life”) as John Ellis, described as the “visionary founder” of the town of New Babylon. Lisa Vicari (“Dark”) plays Django’s daughter Sarah and Noomi Rapace (Millennium Trilogy) has the adversarial role of John’s powerful and ruthless enemy Elizabeth Thurman.

In a...

He also revealed a slate of new Italian film and TV projects, including Elena Ferrante’s ‘The Lying Life Of Adults’

Netflix’s founder and co-ceo Reed Hastings opened the streaming platform’s Rome office today and unveiled a slate of Italian films and series, including a series adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s most recent novel ’The Lying Life Of Adults’ that will star Valeria Golino. Fandango is producing and Edoardo De Angelis will direct.

During the event it was revealed the number of Italian subscribers is “nearly five million,” according to the company. This is up on the four...

He also revealed a slate of new Italian film and TV projects, including Elena Ferrante’s ‘The Lying Life Of Adults’

Netflix’s founder and co-ceo Reed Hastings opened the streaming platform’s Rome office today and unveiled a slate of Italian films and series, including a series adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s most recent novel ’The Lying Life Of Adults’ that will star Valeria Golino. Fandango is producing and Edoardo De Angelis will direct.

During the event it was revealed the number of Italian subscribers is “nearly five million,” according to the company. This is up on the four...

Marking a new phase of expansion, Barcelona-based Scenic Rights, the biggest literary rights broker for Spanish-language film and TV series, is set to enter Central and Eastern Europe opening offices in Prague in January 2022.

Further new international offices will be announced shortly, Scenic Rights has announced.

Scenic Rights Cee marks a collaboration with the creative heads of Dramedy Productions, an independent Prague-based film-tv production house that created retro family drama “Wonderful Times” (“Vyprávěj”), a Golden Nymph winner at the Monte Carlo TV Festival. Dramedy also co-produced Italian crime drama “Maltese” with Palomar and Zdf Enterprises, which was written by “Gomorrah” scribes Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli.

Dramedy will manage operations in Central and Eastern Europe, led by its CEO, seasoned showrunner-producer Filip Bobiňski. Martin Porges and Teresa Lacinová, Dramedy International head of production, will also join the team.

Scenic Rights’ Cee branch reflects a broader market perception that Central and...

Sky has unveiled the official trailer for the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” Italy’s cult crime series produced by Sky Studios and ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, which is the show’s international distributor.

“Gomorrah” 5 is set to air locally on Nov. 19 after world premiering as the closing event of the CannesSeries fest on Oct. 13. The show is based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano who wrote a best-selling mob exposé by the same title.

The final instalment of the hyper-realistic skein, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, will bow on Sky in Germany in December, and in the U.K. later this year. “Gomorrah” will soon also be coming to HBO Max in the U.S., home to the previous four “Gomorrah” seasons as well as the show’s spin-off film “The Immortal,” which is an integral part of the narrative.

An awaited English-language reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic 1966 Western, a favorite of Quentin Tarantino, major European series “Django” has released first-look images as its six-month shoot continues in Romania.

Studiocanal, which has worldwide distribution rights, has also drilled down on key creative talent, announcing Friday that David Evans (“Downton Abbey”) and Enrico Maria Artale (“Romulus”) are joining Francesca Comencini (“Gomorrah The Series”) in the directors’ team, with Comencini helming first episodes.

First look images show Matthias Schoenaerts – who has sparked consistently strong notices for his performances in “The Danish Girl,” “The Mustang,” “Bullhead” and “Rust and Bone” – as the eponymous Django.

Famed for “Prometheus” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Noomi Rapace, seen mounted on a horse, plays Elizabeth who is described as a “powerful and merciless enemy” of John Ellis (Nicholas Pinnock), caught in a Wild West bar, who founds with fiancee Sarah New Babylon, a city of outcasts which welcomes everyone,...

Monte-Carlo TV Festival Unveils Competition Lineup

The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has signaled its intention to host an in-person event on June 18-22 by announcing its competition lineup. Some 27 programs from 14 countries have been officially selected to compete, with winners announced at the Golden Nymph Awards Ceremony on June 22 at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. The nominees include Keshet series Line In The Sand and HBO Max/Channel 4’s AIDS crisis drama It’s A Sin. The full lineup can be found here. Laurent Puons, CEO of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, said: “We have wide-ranging and exceptional global content nominated for Golden Nymph Awards. The number of programs participating in the competition, shows the ever-growing interest of productions and talent to claim this trophy, a timeless symbol of internationally recognized quality. This enthusiasm confirms that our event remains the pre-eminent Festival in Europe.”

‘Outlander’s Lauren Lyle Joins ITV’s ‘Karen Pirie...

Noomi Rapace and Nicholas Pinnock are joining Matthias Schoenaerts in the star cast of “Django,” an English-language reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic 1966 Western. Set in the Wild West of the 1860s and ’70s, the project marks one of the biggest high-end European series of 2021.

Star of “Prometheus,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “What Happened to Monday,” Sweden’s Rapace will play Elizabeth, who is described as a powerful and merciless enemy of John Ellis. Along with his fiancee Sarah, John Ellis is the founder of New Babylon, a city of outcasts which welcomes everyone from any background, race or creed.

British actor Pinnock — whose credits include movies such as “The Last Tree” and “Dark Encounter” as well as popular TV dramas “Counterpart,”“Fortitude,” “Marcella and “For Life” — takes the key role of John Ellis. Schoenaerts (“Bullhead”) plays the titular role of Django.

German on-the-rise star Lisa Vicari, Martha Nielsen in “Dark,...

The fourth season of HBO Max’s “Gomorrah” will premiere in the United States on Thursday, May 20. IndieWire is exclusively revealing the trailer for the upcoming season, which can be viewed below.

The Season 4 synopsis reads:

The new season clearly turns the spotlight on Genny (Salvatore Esposito), the lone Savastano dynasty survivor: a character who has shed countless skins in the process of morphing from Don Pietro’s spoiled brat into family boss, husband, and father. In fact, the new season sees him on his best behavior precisely for the sake of Azzurra (Ivana Lotito) and little Pietro: with his own family to protect and an activity to reboot, he feels the need for a major life change, committing to legit business while sneaking out, as best he can, from the world his father had him grow up in.

His interests in Naples are now entrusted to Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) who,...

HBO Max released a trailer for Season 4 of “Gomorrah,” which launches on May 20.

The new season focuses on Genny, who, in order to protect his family, commits to legit business and tries to escape the world in which his father raised him.

“Gomorrah” stars Salvatore Esposito, Ivana Lotito, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Arturo Muselli and Loris De Luna.

Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, “Gomorrah” is executive produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Gina Gardini, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz, Nils Hartman and Sonia Rovai. The series is developed by Saviano and Stefano Bises, alongside Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, who also serve as writers with Enrico Audenino and Monica Zapelli. The fourth season is directed by Claudio Cupellini, Marco D’Amore, Enrico Rosati, Ciro Visco and Francesca Comencini, who is also the artistic supervisor.

Also in today’s TV news roundup:

First Looks

PBS released a trailer for “Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten,...

The 6th edition of MipDrama, launching Friday as part of virtual conference and market event MipTV, showcases new series – most in post-production, a few wrapped – from some of the biggest and most exciting drama series players in the world. Few events will command more attention from buyers. The following are brief profiles of what they’ll be watching:

“Agatha Christie’s Hjerson”

Concept Creator: Patrik Gyllström

Prod Cos: Br•F (Sweden), TV4/CMore(Sweden), Nadcon (Germany), Zdf, Government of Aland, Agatha Christie Ltd.

Distribution Co: Zdfe

Main Broadcasters: TV4/CMore, Zdf

Move over Poirot. The latest Christie sleuth will be a dapper Finnish gourmet who, living in a modern-day Stockholm and hardly concealing his bisexuality, ushers the author and the whodunnit into the 21st century. A light and playful reimagining of a figure who only receives glancing references in Christie’s oeuvre, the series packs a powerful producer punch: Sweden...

Sky is revealing first-look images and footage of the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” the groundbreaking Sky Original series produced by ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano.

The series, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, is currently playing on HBO Max in the U.S. “Gomorrah” to date has played in 190 territories since its 2014 launch.

After kicking off in Riga, the capital of Latvia, filming of “Gomorrah” season five is now underway in Naples with plans to wrap principal photography in May. The premiere playdate of the show’s final season, which will launch on Comcast-owned paybox Sky and its Now TV streaming service, has not yet been set.

The teaser materials show the protagonists of the gritty hyper-realistic crime skein back on set. Salvatore Esposito playing Genny Savastano who was forced into hiding...

The 10-part series will begin production in May.

Matthias Schoenaerts will take on the title role in Django, a new Western series from Canal+ and Sky that will head into production in May 2021.

The 10 x one-hour episode English-language series will be produced by Italian independent company Cattleya and France’s Atlantique Productions, as a Canal+ Création Originale and Sky Original title.

It will be broadcast on Canal+ channels in France, Benelux and Africa and on Sky services in Italy, the UK, Ireland, Austria and Germany. Studiocanal holds worldwide distribution rights.

The series was created and written by Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli,...

Canal Plus and Sky Studios have teamed up on Spaghetti Western TV series “Django” with production set to start in May and Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts (“Bullhead”) in the title role.

Co-produced by Italy’s Cattleya, which is controlled by ITV, and France’s Atlantique Productions, “Django” is being described as a high-concept English-language reimagining of the world of “Django,” the cult 1966 Sergio Corbucci Western that launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero, but with the grit and edginess of today’s premium TV.

The series’ executive producers include Riccardo Tozzi for Cattleya and Olivier Bibas for Atlantique.

The ten-episode show is set in the Wild West in the 1860s and 1870s. “Sarah and John have founded New Babylon, a city of outcasts, full of men and women of all backgrounds, races and creeds, that welcomes everyone with open arms,” reads the synopsis.

“Haunted by the murder of his family eight years earlier,...

The Danish Girl and Bullhead actor Matthias Schoenaerts has been cast in the title role of an ambitious Sky and Canal+ reimagining of classic Italian spaghetti western, Django.

The high-concept English-language series is loosely based on Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 feature, and is being made by Cattleya, the ITV Studios-backed company behind Gomorrah. France’s Atlantique Productions is also producing.

The story is set in the Wild West in the 1860s and 1870s. Sarah and John have founded New Babylon, a city of outcasts, full of men and women of all backgrounds, races and creeds, that welcomes everyone with open arms.

Haunted by the murder of his family eight years earlier, Django is still looking for his daughter, believing she may have survived the killing. He is shocked to find her in New Babylon, about to marry John.

But Sarah, now a grown woman, wants Django to leave, as she...

“The Immortal,” a film prequel to the hit TV series “Gomorrah,” is set for release Thursday on 450 screens in Italy in what its distributors are touting as a unique cross-media experiment.

Helmed by actor-director Marco D’Amore, who plays ruthless central character Ciro Di Marzio on the gritty mob show, “The Immortal” is not just a standalone prequel film, its producers said in Rome on Monday. Instead, the film’s narrative, which crisscrosses in time between Ciro’s origins and his current situation, has been conceived as an essential piece of the puzzle for fans of the show, which is distributed by Germany’s Beta in 190 countries. The film’s storyline connects to the series’ upcoming fifth season, which is expected to air in 2021.

Shot in Naples and Riga, Latvia, “The Immortal” is produced by ITV-owned Cattleya and Sky Italia’s Vision Distribution, in collaboration with Beta Film. The story and...

Exclusive: Undone producer Submarine is developing a Homeland-style terrorism thriller after optioning two books about nuclear weapons expert Abdul Khan.

The company, which has offices in La and the Netherlands, has optioned The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World’s Most Dangerous Secrets…and How We Could Have Stopped Him and Fallout: The True Story of the CIA’s Secret War on Nuclear Trafficking from authors Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz.

The Nuclear Jihadist tells the story of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani father of the Islamic bomb and the mastermind behind a vast clandestine enterprise that has sold nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Khan’s loose-knit organization was and still may be a nuclear Wal-Mart, selling weapons blueprints, parts, and the expertise to assemble the works into a do-it-yourself bomb kit. Amazingly, American authorities could have halted his operation,...

Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, writers on hit Italian drama “Gomorrah,” have signed on to be writers and showrunners on “The Kollective,” another true-life-inspired scripted series.

The show hails from Amsterdam-based producer Submarine. It is inspired by its well-received feature documentary “Bellingcat – Truth in a Post-Truth World,” which was directed by Hans Pool. It followed the citizen journalism collective Bellingcat. The series will follow a fictional U.K.-based group called The Kollective, which is at the cutting edge of investigative journalism.

The Fasoli and Ravagli-penned series will trace events after a member of The Kollective dies in mysterious circumstances in Cairo, Egypt. While investigating what happened, his friends and colleagues find themselves trapped in a plot that threatens global democracy. The series will be predominantly English-language and unfold across various international locations.

“We love investigating what is happening in the world around us and tackling difficult questions through our work,...

Look through cocaine and you’ll see the world… according to the first trailer for drug drama ZeroZeroZero from the team behind Gomorrah.

Sky, Canal+ and Amazon Prime have unveiled the trailer for the eight-part series, which will have its world premiere as a Special Event Out of Competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival on September 5.

The series, produced by Cattleya and Bartlebyfilm, is based on the book by Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano. Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabryel Byrne star in the series, directed by Stefano Sollima, that looks at international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects.

The drama will chart family dynamics, Mexican cartels, the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and corrupt businessmen. The stellar line up of directors also includes Pablo Trapero (The Clan) and Janus Metz (True Detective). After concluding the first weeks of shooting in New Orleans, principal photography moves on to Mexico...

Connect3 Media, Racine Media, and Canadian production and distribution outfit Cineflix Media have attached Gomorrah series writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli to lead the book-to-tv adaptation of WWII crime story The Butchers Of Berlin.

Connect3 Media and Racine Media recently scored the rights to the murder mystery novel, written by Chris Petit, which is set in war-torn Nazi Germany 1943 and centers on financial crime investigator August Schlegel, who is assigned to a homicide case and finds himself immersed in a murky world. The book is the first in a developing series following Schlegel through the plotting and paranoia of the Third Reich. Fasoli and Ravagli are also currently writing crime series ZeroZeroZero for Canal+, Sky, and Amazon.

“Collaborating with the creative duo of Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, and the forces at Racine Media and Cineflix Media to develop a premium drama series for global audiences is incredibly exciting,...

Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, best known as being among the writers of critically-acclaimed crime drama Gomorrah, have been attached to pen the book-to-tv adaptation of The Butchers of Berlin.

Connect3 Media Inc. and Racine Media have secured the television rights to the novel. In partnership with Cineflix Media, the companies will be developing it into a scripted series for the international market.

Written by Chris Petit, The Butchers of Berlin is a murder mystery set in war-torn Nazi Germany 1943 and centers on the story of financial crime investigator August Schlegel, who is assigned to a homicide case and finds ...

Exclusive (with season 3 spoilers): It’s dark. It’s beautiful. It’s addictive. It’s Gomorrah.

Fans of the acclaimed Italian crime series will be glad to hear that with three seasons under the belt and a fourth currently shooting, producers aren’t putting a hit out on the show just yet. Why would they, considering it has sold to 190 markets and is Sky Italia’s flagship show at home where it even outperforms Game Of Thrones.

I checked in with producers Sky Italia and Cattleya and with lead actors Marco D’Amore and Salvatore Esposito to discuss what we can expect from series four and the chances of a series five.

I’m still coming to terms with the epic season three finale, which brought with it a major surprise. “No one is guaranteed safety in Gomorrah,” confirms series producer Riccardo Tozzi, founding partner of Italian powerhouse Cattleya,...

Federation Entertainment has partnered up with production company Paypermoon on “Don’t Leave Me” (“Non Mi Lasciare”), an Italian thriller series written by Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, the pair behind “Gomorra,” and Gideon Yago.

Founded by Pascal Breton (pictured), Federation Entertainment is set to co-produce and handle international sales (except Italy’s first window rights) on the series which will comprise 8 one-hour episodes. “Don’t Leave Me” is being developed by Paypermoon Italia and Rai. Paypermoon will lead produce the series which will shoot in Venice and Rome during the fall and winter.

Besides Fasoli, Ravagli and Yago, the other writers on board for the series are Ivano Fachin, Giovanni Galassi and Tommaso Matano.

Set in Venice, “Don’t Leave Me” is a crime story following Elena Zonin, a deputy commissioner who is a single mother who has just returned with her son to Venice, her hometown, where she manages the homicide department.

The team behind hit Euro crime-drama Gomorrah are underway on new series ZeroZeroZero, which will star Andrea Riseborough (Battle Of The Sexes) — as we broke last month — Dane DeHaan (Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets) and Gabryel Byrne (The Usual Suspects). The Cattleya epic for Sky, Canal+ and Amazon will shoot in English, Spanish, Italian, French, Wolof and Arabic for a whopping eight months in six countries.

Gomorrah director Stefano Sollima is helming the adaptation of the book by Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano about international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects. The plot will chart family dynamics, Mexican cartels, the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and corrupt businessmen. The stellar line up of directors also includes Pablo Trapero (The Clan) and Janus Metz (True Detective). After concluding the first weeks of shooting in New Orleans, principal photography moves on to Mexico and then to Italy and Africa.

Exclusive (with season 3 spoiler alert): Following the blockbuster ratings and box office performance in Italy of the third season of scintillating mafia crime-drama Gomorrah, I can reveal some key updates about season 4.

First off, start of shoot on the next installment in the Sky original hit, which is produced by Italian stalwarts Cattleya and Fandango in partnership with German powerhouse Beta Film, is confirmed for mid-April. Filming on the 12 episodes of the fourth season will take place in Naples, Bologna and London, the producers and Sky have told me. This is a first UK visit for the series, which has previously shot in Bulgaria, Spain and Germany in addition to Italy.

As for the plot, the fourth season of the acclaimed Italian language show about organized crime in the suburbs of Naples will see central characters Genny (Salvatore Esposito) and Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) having to establish a new balance of power,...

ROME -- Two years after her Oscar nomination for "Don't Tell," Cristina Comencini has opted for humor rather than melodrama in examining modern problems in her native Italy. Black and White, her ninth film (and first since the death of her father, Luigi, a beacon of Italian cinema), is a social comedy being referred to as a kind of contemporary, Italian "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Italy is only now dealing with racial issues that have been present for decades in many other European countries (most notably, France and Great Britain) and beyond.

The film should strike a chord with self-declared progressives and liberals of all cultures, who should recognize that we have far to go in dismantling deeply rooted bigotry.

All married couple Elena (Ambra Angiolini) and Carlo (actor/writer/television personality Fabio Volo) have in common is the color of their skin (white) and their 6-year-old daughter. Elena comes from a wealthy family and is dedicated to her job at an African aid organization. Carlo comes from a more modest background and is a computer engineer sick and tired of campaigns against world hunger.

Then Carlo meets Nadine (Aissa Maiga of Bamako), the dissatisfied wife of one of Elena's colleagues (Eriq Ebouaney of Hitman). Their love at first sight wreaks havoc upon their marriages and, more importantly, brings to light a series of prejudices and cliches from the betrayed spouses. (Maiga and Ebouaney are originally from Senegal and Cameroon, respectively, and are respected actors in their adopted country, France.)

Defying political correctness, the film written by Comencini, Giulia Calenda and Maddalena Ravagli chooses not to focus on Italy's poorest (and most numerous) immigrants but on the underlying racism in wealthier, more progressive circles. Here the deepest cut comes not so much from betrayal but the color of one's rival -- in other words, not adultery but sexuality shared with the "other."

However, the writers don't seem to know where their characters' destinies are ultimately headed: Will tradition and cultural pressure win over desire? Thus, they have created a double ending that apparently was rewritten and re-shot several times. Although somewhat confused, the second ending drives home the point that disrupted lives can't be remade as easily as a hotel bed after a night of passion (a scene that serves as a spot-on metaphor in a film that otherwise relies too heavily on dialogue).

Rising screen star Angiolini (the singer-turned-actress of Saturno Contro) is given the most complex role in Elena, who, according to Nadine, feels a burden of guilt. Nadine presumes correctly: Elena grew up in a household with a black maid forced to wear a white apron. Yet Elena's legacy is that of an upper-class family to whom, as in the case of her womanizing father (Franco Branciaroli), loving Africa means collecting trophies, such as objects from endless safaris and in one instance a black lover.

The entire cast is strong and tight and the Italian spoken by French actors Maiga and Ebouaney is impressive indeed, yet it is Anna Bonaiuto who stands out for her temperament and comic timing. The veteran screen and stage star plays Elena's mother, Adua, herself a betrayed wife and a woman full of stereotypes. "They really do have rhythm in their blood," she says while watching Nadine's daughter dance.

And it would be nice to think that her name was no coincidence: the Battle of Adua in the 19th century was the harshest colonial defeat in Italian history.

BLACK AND WHITE

Cattleya, RAI Cinema

Credits:

Director: Cristina Comencini

Screenwriters: Cristina Comencini, Giulia Calenda, Maddalena Ravagli

Producers: Riccardo Tozzi, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz

Director of photography: Fabio Cianchetti

Production designer: Paola Comencini

Costume designer: Antonella Berardi

Editor: Cecilia Zanuso

Cast:

Carlo: Fabio Volo

Elena: Ambra Angiolini

Nadine: Aissa Maiga

Bertrand: Eriq Ebouaney

Adua: Anna Bonaiuto

Alfonso: Franco Branciaroli

Olga: Katia Ricciarelli

Esmeralda: Teresa Saponangelo

Running time -- 102 minutes

No MPAA rating...