Underplayed Gems

My Brilliant Friend (2018)

My Brilliant Friend poster
Original title
L'amica geniale
Directed by
Alice Rohrwacher, Saverio Costanzo
Genre
drama television series
Country
Italy, United States
Length
4 seasons, 34 episodes
Rated
TV-MA
Rating
8.1 of 10 from 236 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Two girls grow up in a poor 1950s Naples neighborhood and their intense friendship shapes their lives through school, family, and rivalry. The story follows them from childhood into adulthood as they compete and support each other.

intimateearnestslow-burnvisceralnostalgicemotionally starkobservational

What happens

My Brilliant Friend (Italian: L'amica geniale) is a Neapolitan- and Italian-language coming-of-age drama television series created by Saverio Costanzo for HBO, RAI, and TIMvision. Named after the first of four novels in the Neapolitan Novels series by Elena Ferrante, the series is an adaptation of the entire literary work into four seasons. My Brilliant Friend is a co-production between Italian production companies Wildside, Fandango, The Apartment Pictures, Mowe and international film groups Umedia and Fremantle. The first two episodes of the series were presented at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2018. The first season, based on the first novel in the series, premiered on HBO on November 18, 2018, and on Rai 1 and TIMvision on November 27, 2018. In December 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, based on the second novel in the series, The Story of a New Name. The second season premiered on Rai 1 on February 10, 2020, and on HBO on March 16, 2020. The first two episodes of the second season were screened in selected Italian cinemas from January 27 to 29, 2020. In April 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, based on the third novel in the series, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. The third season premiered on Rai 1 on February 6, 2022, and on HBO on February 28, 2022. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, based on the final novel in the series, The Story of the Lost Child. The first two episodes of the fourth and final season made its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on August 20, 2024, and were presented at the 19th Rome Film Festival on October 25, 2024. The ten-episode fourth and final season premiered on HBO on September 9, 2024, and on Rai 1 on November 11, 2024. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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