This New Netflix Mafia Series Looks Like Your Next Binge Watch
If you're feeling bereft after finishing the latest season of Narcos, don't worry—Netflix has a new gang for you to lose sleep over.
Enter, Suburra: The Series, an Italian Netflix Original which is based on a book by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo de Cataldo. The series is set over 20 days and the 10 episodes explore the power structures between state, church, and crime, all of whom vie for power in Rome.
The series name is taken from the area in the eternal city where prominent figures in politics, religion, and crime met in secret.
The series is set around six main characters, each of whom is seeking power with the aim of transforming their standing within the community. Of these characters, three young men with different backgrounds, ambitions, and passions realise they must forge alliances across divides to get what they want.
A film of the same name and premise was released last year and received widespread positive reviews as well as earning a impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian made the case that, "It's a film that could conceivably have worked as well, or better, as a boxset binge on TV," which gives us high hopes for the forthcoming series.
Gina Gardini, who produced the film of the same name and has now worked on developing the series commented, "The movie is dark and melancholic, the series instead is emotional. Though I worked on it for two years, once finished I was still surprised how much of the story is driven by feelings. That is easy to understand considering how a two-hour movie has to compress events and twists, compared to a ten hour series, which has more time to explore the characters."
"You have to imagine the power of Washington DC, with the economic force of New York City and the biggest mega-church in the world, all working and plotting together in a very small city," she added.
Although it has drawn comparisons to crime series Gomorrah, Gardini points out that, "Gomorrah has no irony. Its characters are monsters, you don't want to feel any sympathy for them. Suburra on the other hand has lighter moments, and that's typical of Rome."
Suburra will be ready for binging on October 6. Here's the trailer until then.
This story originally appeared on Esquire.co.uk.
* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
