Made in Italy: The international Circulation of Italian Film and Series and the Role of Pay TV

Abstract

The international circulation of audiovisuals, films and TV series constitutes an important field of research, especially in the European context, historically characterized by a limited ability of cultural and media products to cross national borders and obtain success in other non-national markets. Italy suffers from a traditional difficulty in exporting its media content, with the exception of films that manage to earn a kind of “prestige value” thanks particularly to festivals and awards (such as the Oscars), and a few other exceptions. During the 2000s, however, and in particular in the last decade, there were signs of change, that affected
particularly series production more than films: titles such as Romanzo criminale – La serie, Gomorrah – La serie, The Young Pope/The New Pope, Suburra – La serie, My brilliant friend, Devils, to name the most notable, seem to radically change the attitude of the national television system to create fictional content intended only for local audiences. At the origin of this mutation, several factors have contributed to restoring the centrality of the audiovisual “made in Italy”. One of the important factors is undoubtedly the emergence, starting in 2008, of an unprecedented production model built by the pay or subscription based TV. This essay
analyzes what can be defined as a “Renaissance” of Italian TV fiction and presents an original research dedicated to the role of Italian “premium seriality”.