There is nothing more relaxing than Netflix and chill, is there?
These three Italian series were a hit. And they made people talk, for good or for bad. Also, they are available on Netflix, both with English subtitles or with the translation.
It’s time to discover what they are all about.
Curon
The first season debuted in 2020 and it was an immediate hit. This is a fantasy, supernatural, and scifi show, filled with mystery and inexplicable things. Curon is a tiny mountain town next to the Austrian border. When Anna decides to move back after 17 years, weird things start happening again. Anna moves back with her two teenage twins, Mauro and Daria.
All the elements of a nightmare are there. Including sosia coming out of the creepy, still lake and a haunted, silent hotel. A flooded village, a bell tower with no bells, and still, the bells tolling. And the scary family secret, the one that Anna and her father hide.
The real town
While the supernatural show is fictional, the town of Curon is real. And locals tell the story of the bells ringing, especially during the cold winter nights. Also, there truly is a flooded village to which the bell tower in the middle of the lake belonged. It happened in the 1950s, when a dam was built and the houses destroyed. First by the company responsible and then by the water.
The second season of Curon hans’t been confirmed yet. But, since the first ended on a cliffhanger, fans are hopeful.
Italian series: Baby
This Italian TV on Netflix has already had its finale. Three seasons and 18 episodes for this teen drama. But this is more than teenagers waiting for prom or going to the club. In fact, Baby is based on real life. Specifically, on the scandal of the “baby prostitutes” from the neighborhood Parioli in Rome.
The true story
The website Refinery 29 writes about the Parioli scandal. “In 2013, a 14-year-old and 15-year-old from the Paroli district of Rome were found at the center of a prostitution ring.” Looking for money, the two friends met a pimp online and the clients in a fancy apartment in the wealthy neighborhood. One of the mothers even encouraged her daughter to prostitute. Investigators found 50 wealthy clients and countless proof.
“As of June 2015, 11 clients had received one-year prison sentences and fines. The pimp was sentenced to 10 years in prison; the other to seven. Agnese’s mother was sentenced to six years in prison,” Refinery 29 writes.
The Netflix show
Baby centers on this scandal with two girls, Chiara and Ludovica, who become prostitutes. A wealthy neighborhood with rich clients. For all appearances, a perfect life for the fancy teenagers. But reality is different.
SanPa
Another Italian series based on true facts, SanPa raised criticism. It’s a documentary series that tells the story of the community of San Patrignano.
Real life scandal
The show tells the story of the recovery community for drug addicts in the 1970s. And that time, it was the biggest of its kind in Europe. The entrepreneur Vincenzo Muccioli opened it to welcome people for free. He wanted to cure them with “injections of unconditional love.” Aka herbs, tea, massages, and work ethics.
Slowly but surely, the community becomes a state-city with rules of its own and dictated by Muccioli. The founder turns into a popular figure, appearing on TV shows and during political debates. Outsiders start learning the truth about SanPa. And it almost sounds like a scary and creepy cult. In fact, people talked about isolation cells and chains to punish the boys who tried escaping. Until the murder of Roberto Paranzano.
The series was accused of being partial but still, everyone watched it.
Bonus: another Italian series on Netflix that you can’t miss is Suburra. Find more about it here.
