A new miniseries based on the
second book in Elena Ferrante's bestseller series Neapolitan
Novels will premiere on January 27-29 in movie theaters and on
February 10 on the first channel of State broadcaster RAI.
The miniseries, inspired by Ferrante's The Story of a New
Name (published in Italy by edition e/o), was screened for the
first time this week for a select public at RAI's headquarters
in Rome's Viale Mazzini.
The story resumes where it ended in the first eight-episode
miniseries 'My Brilliant Friend'.
Lila (Gaia Girace) and Elena, called Lenù, (Margherita
Mazzucco) are 16 and feel imprisoned in their lives.
While the first season focused on the pair's childhood, in
the new series director Saverio Costanzo delves deeper into the
girls' complex and changing bond throughout their journey of
self-discovery as the two extraordinary girls become women.
Costanzo has co-written the screenplay with Ferrante and
Francesco Piccolo.
Award-winning director Alice Rohrwacher has directed two out
of the eight episodes of the new miniseries, those set on the
island of Ischia.
The new TV adaptation was produced by Fandango, The Apartment
and Wildside, part of Fremantle, in collaboration with Rai
Fiction, HBO Entertainment and in co-production with Mowe and
Umedia.
The series will air over four nights (with eight
50-minute-long episodes) on Rai1 and online on RaiPlay.
The first miniseries, which began airing in Italy in November
2018, was directed by Costanzo with Oscar-winning director Paolo
Sorrentino as producer.
It gained a high audience and rave reviews for faithfully
recreating the microcosm so masterfully designed by Ferrante,
who has always protected her identity behind a pseudonym and who
can boast over 10 million readers.
Ferrante became an international phenomenon with her four
novels set in Naples: My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a
New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and
The Story of the Lost Child (2015).
The quartet explores the complexities of female friendship as
it interweaves the tales of two women from their poverty and
crime-stricken Naples childhood into adulthood against the
backdrop of Italian postwar history.
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