Italian TV dramas

This is a list of scripted Italian TV shows. The first section covers shows that are currently, or have previously been, available to watch in the United Kingdom. Subsequent sections cover a selection of other Italian shows – both historic and upcoming – including any that are known to be available with English subtitles in other countries. 

The lists are alphabetical but to find what you want quickly – or to search for the Italian title – use Ctrl and F.

The first section includes current availability and provides a link to where you can watch. We’ve only included paid streaming services (Netflix, Prime Video, Now TV etc.) not services where you can pay for shows individually (itunes, Amazon Video). The initial UK channel is also shown where that differed. On all lists we’ve added links to the relevant imdb page (click on the series name) and given details of availability in Australia and the United States. If we’ve missed any of those let us know.

Note we’ve now added trailers (or clips) for some shows.

Series currently or previously available in the UK

1992 (Miniseries) – Not currently available.
“Follows six people whose lives are intertwined with the rapidly changing political landscape of early 90’s Italy”. See also 1993.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Arts.

1993 (Miniseries) – Sky Box Sets/Now TV.
” The second instalment of the Sky Italia original series following six intertwining stories set in the politically charged landscape of 1990s Italy”. Sequel to 1992.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic.

Baby (1 season) – Netflix.
“Fed up with their families and classmates, two teen girls from a wealthy part of Rome are drawn to the city’s underworld and start leading double lives”.
Current status: Season 2 is in production.

Caribbean Thunder (Angeli & diamanti) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“After a multi-million diamond robbery in Italy, special agents Chiara, Giorgia and Laura travel to the Caribbean to investigate on Giovanni Rossetti, a technology and finance expert, and also a renown diamond thief”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Carlo & Malik (Nero a metà) (1 season) – Netflix.
“A veteran detective must face both his own biases and ghosts from his past when he’s paired up with a star rookie on a string of murder cases in Rome”.
Current status: Season 2 is in production.

Corleone (Il capo dei capi) (Miniseries) – Not currently available.
“Based on the life of Salvatore Riina (‘Totò u Curtu’), a mafioso boss from Corleone, Sicily”.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Arts.

Dark Forest (Il bosco) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“Her mother disappeared in a mysterious forest when she was a child. Nina grew up trying to escape from this traumatising event and her hometown. 20 years later, she returns to investigate her mother’s fate. When a young girl is found dead in the same forest where her mother vanished, Nina’s quest takes a dark turn”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Deadly Game (Donne in gioco) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“A police officer is determined to take down a circle of illegal gambling. She does not know that this underworld can be as addictive as it is dangerous”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Fog and Crimes (Nebbie e delitti) (3 seasons) – Arrow TV.
“A passion for the job makes Franco Soneri Ferrara’s best investigator but also its most difficult. He’s brusque and inscrutable, but he and his team manage to discover what others would like to keep hidden: addictions, pedophilia, secret loves, and even injustices left over from World War II”. Based on the characters from the bestselling crime novels by Valerio Varesi.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).
Current status: Series ended in 2009.

Full Disclosure (Solo per amore) (2 seasons) – Amazon Prime.
“Elena and Pietro are happily married, wealthy and proud parents. When Pietro is kidnapped, Elena’s life becomes a nightmare again: when she was young, she was also kidnapped. The new investigation is led by Giordano Testa, who rescued Elena years ago”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).
Current status: Series assumed to be ended.

Gomorrah (Gomorra: La serie) (4 seasons) – Sky Box Sets/Now TV. Seasons 1 and 2 are also available on Arrow TV.
“Ciro disregards tradition in his attempt to become the next boss of his crime syndicate. The internal power struggle puts him and his entire family’s life at risk”. Italian crime drama based on the bestselling book by Roberto Saviano.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
Current status: Renewed for a fifth and final season.

Inspector De Luca (Il commissario De Luca) (Miniseries) – Arrow TV.
“Between 1938 and 1948, from the height of Italy’s Fascist regime to the end of the tumultuous post-war period, Chief Detective De Luca investigates and solves crimes in the City of Bologna and along the Adriatic coast”.
Originally aired in the UK on BBC Four.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).

Inspector Montalbano (Il commissario Montalbano) (13 seasons (Italy)/6 seasons (UK)/34 episodes) – Arrow TV (2 seasons/22 episodes).
“Drama series, based on the books by Andrea Camilleri, featuring the Sicilian detective, Salvo Montalbano”.
Originally aired in the UK on BBC Four.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).
Current status: Three new episodes confirmed for 2020.

Inspector Nardone (Il commissario Nardone) (Miniseries) – Arrow TV.
“Mario Nardone was a living legend in Milan in the 1950s and 60s. Based on the real-life historical figure who has been likened to an Italian Eliot Ness, Inspector Nardone arrives in Milan shortly after the Second World War, on a forced transfer from Parma where his no-nonsense temperament and innate sense of justice had gotten him into hot water with his superiors”.
Originally available in the UK on Amazon Prime.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).

Lockout (Fuoco amico: Tf45 – Ereo per amore) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“Captain De Santis does not only carry out peace-keeping operations; he is also looking for the truth behind his father’s disappearance in the zone. When he starts untangling a scandalous plot of corruption and death, where pharmaceutical companies, secret services and terrorists are involved, he becomes a target”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Mafia Undercover (Solo) (2 seasons) – Amazon Prime.
“Undercover agent Marco Solo is assigned the mission to infiltrate the Crown, a powerful family of Gioia Tauro’s ‘Ndrangheta. His first day on the job proves to be a decisive one for his destiny in the mafia and as a cop”.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).
Current status: Pending/unknown.

Maltese: The Mafia Detective (Maltese – Il Romanzo de Commissario) (Miniseries) – Walter Presents.
“A detective faces a web of corruption in this elegant crime drama set in Sicily in 1976”.

Medici (I Medici) (2 seasons) – Netflix.
“In 15th-century Renaissance Florence, the visionary Medici dynasty flexes its power in politics and the arts, risking its rivals’ lethal opposition”. English language drama produced by RAI in Italy.
Also available: SBS (Australia) (Season 1).
Curent status: Season 3 has completed filming.

The Miracle (Il miracolo) (1 season) – Sky Box Sets/Now TV.
“In Italy, the lives of the country’s politicians and religious leaders are changed forever when a miraculous occurrence takes place”.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
Current status: Pending/unknown.

My Brilliant Friend (L’amica geniale) (1 season) – Sky Box Sets/Now TV.
“Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels are adapted for the screen in HBO’s Italian drama. A writer recounts her decades-long relationship with Lila, her best friend, and often worst enemy”. Co-production between RAI and HBO.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
Also available: HBO (USA).

Only You (Baciati dall’amore) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“Florist Carlo and biologist Valentina meet one day by chance and their lives change forever. He is the single father of five children, struggling every day with his cumbersome family. Valentina’s life isn’t much quieter. She’s the daughter of a prosecutor in the middle of a major trial against a mafia boss”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Presumed Guilty (Non è stato mio figlio) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“A sudden tragedy shatters the lives of a united and happy family. In the birthday celebration of the Grimaldi’s matriarch, Anna, Barbara his granddaughter commits suicide. All the clues lead to suspect Anna’s son Andrea. Against all odds, he claims his innocence”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

The Reaping (1 season) – Not currently available.
“The peace of a small town is going to be upset. Through a series of coincidences, acts of violence and corruption, unexpected truths will be revealed and the lives of nine people become intertwined thanks to sudden and stunning changes”.
Originally available in the UK on Amazon Prime.
Current status: Assumed ended.

Romanzo Criminale (Romanzo criminale – La serie) (2 seasons) – Arrow TV.
“Explosive Italian crime drama tracing the ruthless exploits of a group of street criminals who embark on a bloody quest to take control of organised crime in 1970s Rome”.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Arts.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA) (Season 2).
Current status: Series ended.

The Salento Murders (Il commissario Zagaria) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“A gang has arrived in Salento to conquer the territory. Detective Zagaria, who spent all his life in Salento, is on the case. He is all about intuition and very little about science. Close to retirement, he finds himself having to work with the young Stefan, who is all about his faith in science”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

The Secrets of Borgo Larici (I segreti di Borgo Larici) (Miniseries) – Amazon Prime.
“1922. Back to his hometown village, Francesco Sormani is determined to discover the truth behind an anonymous letter he received in Paris. Secrets behind his mother’s suicide will cast doubts within the most powerful family in Borgo Larici”.
Also available: Amazon Prime (USA).

Suburra: Blood on Rome (Suburra – La serie) (2 seasons) – Netflix.
“In 2008, a fight over land in a seaside town near Rome spirals into a deadly battle between organized crime, corrupt politicians and the Vatican”.
Current status: Renewed for season 3.

Thou Shalt Not Kill (Non uccidere) (1 season) – Walter Presents.
“Haunting Italian detective drama about a police officer who seems to have a sixth sense”.
Originally aired in the UK on More4 (starting Friday 9 August 2019).
Also available: Walter Presents on PBS Masterpiece (USA) (2 seasons).
Current status: Series has concluded in Italy after 3 seasons (36 episodes).

The Young Montalbano (Il giovane Montalbano) (2 seasons) – Not currently available.
“Prequel series set in the early 1990s giving an insight into the private life and early crime-fighting career of the idiosyncratic Sicilian detective Inspector Montalbano”.
Originally aired in the UK on BBC Four.
Also available: MHz Choice (USA).
Current status: No new episodes announced.

The Young Pope (Miniseries) – Sky Box Sets/Now TV.
“Sky Atlantic and Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino present a landmark series starring Jude Law as the first American pope and his struggle to establish his papacy”. Co-production betwen HBO, Sky and Canal+ filmed mostly in English but with some Italian.
Originally aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
Also available: HBO (USA), SBS (Australia).
Current status: A follow up mini-series: The New Pope has been confirmed. Here are some first look pictures from the set in January.

Other Italian series available in the USA and/or Australia.

Aldo Moro: 55 Days to Death (Aldo Moro – Il presidente) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Italian superstar Michele Placido (The Octopus/La Piovra) stars as Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro in the true story of his 1978 kidnapping by a Communist faction in Rome. Placido gives a moving performance as the complicated man who pleads for his life through letters sent to party leaders, family and Pope Paul VI”.

Anti-Drug Squad (Caccia al re – La narcotici) (2 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Detective Daniele Piazza wants revenge against the drug dealers who killed his wife and left his daughter motherless 13 years ago. As newly appointed chief of the Anti-Drug Squad, he’s got a team of experts to bring down the cartel and its shadowy boss, known only as the Eighth King of Rome”.
Current status: Series ended (2015).

Anti-Mafia Squad (Squadra antimafia – Palermo oggi) (2 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Fighting a modern, fragmented and brutal Mafia, the Sicilian Anti-Mafia Squad seeks to crush the criminal network that holds a death grip on the region. Sophisticated surveillance helps, unless the enemy lies within”.
Current status: Series aired 8 seasons in Italy ending in 2016. A spin-off series Rosy Abate – La Serie is airing a second season in 2019.

The Arrival of Wang (L’arrivo di Wang) (TV Movie) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Inspired by sci-fi classics such as The Twilight Zone, V and The X-Files, directors Marco and Antonio Manetti keep you on the edge of your seat with The Arrival of Wang. An Italian cult classic, it tells the story of an interpreter taken to a secret location by a mysterious government agency. She discovers that the person for whom she was hired is actually an extraterrestrial”.

The Bastards of Pizzofalcone (I bastardi di Pizzofalcone) (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“A ragtag team of misfit detectives solves crimes in Naples. Based on the bestselling mystery novels by Maurizio de Giovanni”.
Current status: Renewed for a third season.

Borsellino, The 57 Days (Paolo Borsellino – I 57 giorni) (TV Movie) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Luca Zingaretti (Detective Montalbano) stars as Judge Paolo Borsellino, who on May 23, 1992, waited in Palermo for a personal visit from his friend Judge Giovanni Falcone. Falcone never arrived, and that day became the beginning of the 57 days in which Judge Borsellino lived and continued working as a marked man”.

Bulletproof Heart (Una pallottola nel cuore) (2 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Investigative journalist Bruno Palmieri throws caution to the wind and decides to overlook his fragile health and live with gusto. He’s ready to tackle new stories, eat good food again and reconnect with the love of his life”.
Current status: Season 3 (6 episodes) aired in Italy in 2018. The series has not yet been renewed for a fourth season.

Camorra Connection (Il clan de camorristi) (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Camorra: the most ruthless mafia organization Italy has ever known. Criminal genius Francesco Russo (“O’ Malese”) rises to leadership through sheer ferocity; Judge Esposito, from the same region as the Camorra, refuses to bend”.
Current status: Series ended (2013).

Cesare Mori (Cesare Mori – Il prefetto di ferro) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Two-part miniseries about the real-life “Iron Governer” who battled the Sicilian Mafia during the early decades of the 20th Century”.

The Charterhouse of Parma (La certosa di Parma) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“After fighting for Napoleon at Waterloo, idealistic young aristocrat Fabrice del Dongo returns to Italy and embarks on a series of amorous adventures at the ducal court in Parma. Based on Stendhal’s classic novel, this French-Italian co-production is a compelling tale of extravagance and daring, political intrigue and romance”.

Donna Detective (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Detective Lisa Milani heads up an investigative squad in Rome, despite the fact that she’s trying to slow down the pace and enjoy her young family. When her husband becomes a murder suspect, it rocks her marriage and causes her to question many of her life choices. Through it all, however, she never loses her good humor or her ability to be a good mother”.
Current status: Series ended (2010). There is a second season of 16 episodes.

Giovanni Falcone (Giovanni Falcone, l’uomo che sfidò Cosa Nostra) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“This two-part miniseries tells the true story of famed Italian anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, from his initial investigations into the gangs of Sicily and New York to his assassination in May, 1992”.

A Good Season (Una buona stagione) (Miniseries) (Acorn TV (USA)).
“Set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Trentino region, this Italian-language drama follows the winemaking Masci family”.

The Homicide Squad (La omicidi) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“A demented serial killer twists Dante’s poetry into pure evil in this blockbuster Italian crime drama from the writer of the seminal Mafia series The Octopus (La Piovra). The ancient meets the modern as the homicide squad scrambles to use the latest forensic technology as well as their own instincts to find the Dante Killer before he closes in on them all”.

Inspector Coliandro (L’ispettore Coliandro) (3 seasons/20 episodes) (MHz Choice (USA))
“He’s one hot cop and Italy’s answer to Dirty Harry – or so he thinks! Giampaolo Morelli (Song of Napoli) stars as lovable doof Inspector Coliandro, one-part Clint Eastwood, one-part Inspector Clouseau, who along with his best friend Gargiulo works the mean streets of Bologna in a series of stylized and comic misadventures”.
Current status: The 3 seasons currently available on MHz Choice actually aired as 5 seasons in Italy. A further 2 seasons (10 episodes) have also aired – making 7 seasons (30 episodes) in total. An eighth season is expected but not yet confirmed.

Inspector Manara (Il commissario Manara) (2 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“The dazzling Guido Caprino stars as Inspector Luca Manara, a dreamy man and a supervisor’s worst nightmare. Offbeat methods endear him to colleagues but drive superiors crazy. It’s murder, love and suspense in Tuscany as Inspector Manara and friends field the cases and surprises that come their way”.
Current status: Series ended (2011).

The Inspector Vivaldi Mysteries (Io e mi figlio – Nuovo storie per il commissario Vivaldi) (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Inspector Federico Vivaldi is an old-school cop in a new world: his son is gay, his wife has left him and an ambitious colleague is angling to take over his position. He may be old-fashioned, but he’s resilient enough to find his way in his new reality”.
Current status: Series ended (2010).

The Ladies’ Paradise (Il paradiso delle signore) (2 seasons) (Acorn TV (USA)).
“Based on the same Émile Zola novel that inspired the hit series The Paradise, this Italian-language import follows Teresa Iorio, a young woman who leaves her rural Sicilian hometown for Milan. Teresa finds work–and much more–at a newly opened department store: The Ladies’ Paradise”.
Current status: Season 3 aired in Italy as a daily soap opera (180 episodes) concluding on 17 May 2019.

Lampedusa (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Maverick Coast Guard Commander Serra will buck orders if they impede his mission of rescuing refugees coming to Italy across the Mediterranean. He may diss the brass, but he has tremendous respect for his colleagues and the brave souls fleeing war and political unrest”.

The Last Godfather (L’ultimo padrino) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Michele Placido (The Octopus, Aldo Moro: 55 Days to Death) stars in this gripping docudrama about Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, who lived as a fugitive for 43 years. Nino Frassica (Don Matteo) and Guido Caprino (Inspector Manara) co-star”.

Luisa Spagnoli (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Two-part miniseries about the world-famous Italian chocolatier and fashion designer who blazed a trail for working women in the early 20th century”.

Mafia Only Kills in Summer (La mafia uccide solo d’estate) (2 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“In this quirky comedy-drama set in 1970s Palermo, nothing escapes the gaze of 10-year-old Salvatore. He sees it all: the Mafia’s oppression, his crazy family dynamic and the magnificence of his first love, Alice”.
Current status: Pending/unknown but probably ended.

Murders at Barlume (I delitti del BarLume) (2 seasons/10 episodes) (MHz Choice (USA))
“From the producers of Detective Montalbano comes a new series of quirky Italian mysteries! In the idyllic town of Pineta on the beautiful Tuscan coast, recently-divorced Massimo Viviani owns the local watering hole, Barlume. He also moonlights as an amateur detective, solving strange crimes with the gossipy gang of eccentric septuagenarians who frequent his bar!”
Current status: 2 new episodes have aired in Italy.

Nero Wolfe (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Curmudgeonly aesthete Nero Wolfe may be one of Rome’s finest investigators, but he’d rather tend to his orchids. Based on the classic novels by Rex Stout”.
Current status: Series ended (2012).

The Octopus (La piovra) (10 seasons) (MHz Choice (USA))
“The Octopus (La Piovra) was a worldwide phenomenon, running for ten seasons from 1984 to 2001. This gritty Mafia thriller broke new ground as it explored wars between law enforcement and the global criminal network based in Sicily”.

Palermo Connection (Il segreto dell’acqua) (1 season) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Angelo Caronia (Riccardo Scamarcio, Burnt) is an arrogant cop who returns to his hometown after years in Rome, reuniting with his estranged brother Blasco (Michele Riondino, The Young Montalbano). When a string of murders surrounding a water crisis terrorizes the city, the heat is on for Caronia and his team to catch the culprits. But can the brothers break free from their father’s Mafia past?”.
Current status: Series ended (2011).

Rocco Schiavone (1 season) (StarzPlay (USA))
“A weed smoking, friend to the underworld, bad behaving vice questore is sent from Rome to Aosta, in the Alps, for unknown reasons”.
Current status: 2 seasons have now aired in Italy and the series has been renewed for a third season.

Song of Napoli (Song ‘e Napule) (TV Movie) (MHz Choice (USA))
“A rookie cop with a degree in classical music goes undercover to infiltrate a cheesy pop band with mob ties”.

Tangled Lies (Scomparsa) (1 season) (Acorn TV (USA)).
“Life in San Benedetto del Tronto, a small town on the Adriatic coast, seems idyllic for Nora Telese and her teenage daughter, Camilla. But when Camilla and a friend don’t return home after a party one night, Nora starts to fear the worst. As the police investigate the disappearances, painful truths come to light that expose the fault lines in the community in this Italian-language thriller”.
Current status: Series ended (2017).

Transatlantic Ties (Boris Giuliano: Un poliziotto a Palermo) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“The gripping true story of Boris Giuliano, a policeman in Palermo who used cutting edge investigative techniques to uncover a vast transatlantic heroin smuggling operation in the 1970s”.

The Vanishing of Pato (La scomparsa di Patò) (Miniseries) (MHz Choice (USA))
“Based on the historical novel by Andrea Camilleri, The Vanishing of Patò is set in Vigàta, the town that Detective Montalbano fans know and love…but it’s1890, Easter weekend. Two rival investigators look into the disappearance of Antonio Patò, a quiet accountant who vanishes after his performance as Judas in the town’s annual Passion Play”.

The Viceroys (I Viceré) (Miniseries) (Acorn TV (USA))
“The wealthy Uzedas, a Sicilian family of Spanish origins faithful to the Bourbon kings. With the Unification of Italy in 1861, and the rise to power of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuele II, the Uzedas begin to lose their power, although Sicily remains in the hands of Consalvo’s father, the tyrannical Prince Giacomo who will do anything to keep his power”.

Upcoming Italian series

1994 – Sky Atlantic
Third and final part of the Italian political trilogy.

Black Moon (Luna Nera) – Netflix
“In 17th century Italy, a teenage midwife accused of witchcraft must choose between a star-crossed love and fulfilling her powerful destiny”.

Curon – Netflix
“The series is about a woman who returns to a mysterious village in Northern Italy where she grew up, only to find her past returning to haunt her and her teenage children”. Announced in March 2019.

Fedeltà – Netflix
“Based on the book by Marco Missiroli the series, which is set in Milan and Rimini is an exploration of desire and betrayal, and their after-effects, through the story of two spouses”. Announced in March 2019.

The New Pope – Sky Atlantic
Sequel mini-series to The Young Pope.

Summertime (Tre Metri Sopra Il Cielo Reboot) – Netflix
“Set against the backdrop of motorbike racing on the Adriatic Coast, an undeniable attraction brings Sally and Ale together from their different worlds”. A new, modern take of a classic Italian story based on the novel by Federico Moccia. Announced in March 2019. Title and casting info. announced in June.

Untitled Italian Original series – Amazon Prime
“Crime drama set in 1980s Milan which tells the story of a shy, insecure teenager who becomes the youngest member of the mafia, not for money, ambition or the desire of power, but to win the love of her father”.

Untitled Russo Brothers series – Amazon Prime
The Russo brothers are creating a “global event multi-series” for Amazon which is described as “an action-packed spy series with a compelling emotional center”. It will begin with an international tentpole series that “will be followed by multiple, connected local-language series”. The first two such series will be set in India and Italy.

Zero – Netflix
“From an idea of Antonio Dikele Distefano, rising star in the Italian publishing scene, Zero tells the story of a shy african origin guy, second generation Italian, who has an incredible super power. A modern superhero who, thanks to his power, will learn how to open up to the world and to love”. Announced in July 2019.

ZeroZeroZero – Sky Atlantic
International co-produced Italian English language series based on the international bestseller novel of the same name by Roberto Saviano. A shipment of cocaine is smuggled from South America to Europe.

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