Rai

Raiuno titles

TV movies

Biopics

TV movies have taken the place and the role of the former 2-episode miniseries, feeding the collective memory genre through biographical stories. In addition to Enrico Piaggio (the Season’s most successful TV movie), Raiuno aired two titles dedicated to the world of entertainment (Permette? Alberto Sordi; I ragazzi dello Zecchino d’oro) and a true story on social commitment (Tutto il giorno davanti).

Docufiction

Raiuno has bolstered its biographies and collective memory genres through docufictions. Three titles were aired this Season: Storia di Nilde (the Season’s most successful docufiction,) Giorgio Ambrosoli and Io ricordo. Piazza Fontana.

Collections

The collection C’era una volta Vigata  based on Camilleri’s novelshas been adapted as one TV movie per season. This year’s La concessione del telefono wasa fierce satire less popular than the previous two titles. For the fourth season of the romantic comedy collection Purché finisca bene, two titles were aired.

Source: OFI

Raiuno titles

Primetime series

Source: OFI

Only few series are long-running (Don Matteo and Un passo dal cielo: 10 evenings each). All others are 3-6 evenings per season.

Successful titles can be found within long-running series, (ll commissario Montalbano, Don Matteo), second seasons (L’amica genial,) and also new titles, most of which ranked higher than 20%.

Ratings were lower than expected among second/third season titles. In some cases, limited series, just as the miniseries they’ve come to replace, are built on narrative mechanisms that are difficult to repeat.

Raiuno – New titles

Recurring heroes

Imma Tataranni

A new detective series based on a literary collection (Mariolina Venezia’s novels), adds a successful recurring hero to Raiuno’s library, siding Il commissario Montalbano (Camilleri), I bastardi di Pizzofalcone (De Giovanni), L’allieva (Gazzola).

Doc – Nelle tue mani

With Doc – Nelle tue mani, freely inspired by a real character and his unique story (a selective amnesia that erases 12 years of memory), the hospital genre is successfully back on Raiuno after a few years of absence.

Source: OFI

Raiuno – New titles

Women & the Star System

Come una madre

A new strong and passionate maternal figure tailored to Vanessa Incontrada who extends a personal track-record of successes on Raiuno that began with Un’altra vita (2014) and continued with Non dirlo al mio capo (2016-2018), Scomparsa (2017), Il capitano Maria (2018). 

Vivi e lascia vivere

The star of one of Raiuno’s longest-running and most successful series (Che Dio ci aiuti), Elena Sofia Ricci has temporarily retreated from the role of Sister Angela to give life to a less reassuring and more problematic character but again gifted with charisma and leadership skills.

Source: OFI

Raiuno – New titles

Youngsters and marginalization

Pezzi unici

Two great stars of Italian fiction (Cinzia TH Torrini and Sergio Castellitto) join forces for the first time in a story about a unique cultural clash: the conflictual encounter between a group of difficult foster children and the strict disciplined temperament of a craftsman, owner of a renowned workshop in the heart of Florence. 

Ognuno è perfetto

Inspired by the Belgian series Tytgat Chocolat, with a skillful mix of drama and light-heartedness, this series stages the story of a young man with Down syndrome who manages to be hired in the packaging department of an ancient chocolate shop where other boys with Down syndrome work. Directed by Giacomo Campiotti, former director of Braccialetti rossi.

Source: OFI

Rai – A rising trend

Noir variations

The noir approach, not only to crime stories, but more generally to characters, everyday worlds, and emotional relationships, is an international trend that has found a strong echo in Rai titles this Season, especially on Raiuno.

Come una madre is a melodrama on a mother, Vivi e lascia vivere a story on women empowerment and solidarity, Pezzi unici a series on redemption and Bildungsroman, La strada di casa 2 a family series. These titles share a precise element: the drama is set in motion by a criminal event which then has a substantial impact on the tone and structure of the story, generating noir variations of the classic stories of love and relationships. Noir has replaced melodrama as a tool to accelerate the process of spurring emotions and engaging the audience.

The plot revolves around the burning topic of femicides with a typically British narrative approach: dramatic, far from journalistic edgings and with a strong focus on the genre’s narrative dynamics and character exploration. 

Bella da morire is an emblematic example of the noir thread in Rai titles this season running through thematic storytelling, everyday settings and characters.

Source: OFI

Rai

Specialty channels and streaming platforms

Series based on low budget and concept (relational: kids, comedy, intimate dramas) with short-length episodes were the key choices of the original fiction offer of kids’ network Rai Gulp and the streaming platform Raiplay. Thanks to their agile formats – both from a narrative and productive point of view – these were the first products shot after the lockdown (Jams#UnitiPiùCheMai, Un po’ sto a casa, La mia jungla).