My Brilliant Friend () is a Neapolitan- and Italian-language coming-of-age drama television series created by Saverio Costanzo for HBO, RAI, and TIMvision. Named after the first of four novels in the Neapolitan Novels series by Elena Ferrante, the series is an adaptation of the entire literary work into four seasons. My Brilliant Friend is a co-production between Italian production companies Wildside, Fandango, The Apartment Pictures, Mowe and international film groups Umedia and Fremantle.
The first two episodes of the series were presented at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2018. The first season, based on the first novel in the series, premiered on HBO on November 18, 2018, and on Rai 1 and TIMvision on November 27, 2018. In December 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, based on the second novel in the series, The Story of a New Name. The second season premiered on Rai 1 on February 10, 2020, and on HBO on March 16, 2020. The first two episodes of the second season were screened in selected Italian cinemas from January 27 to 29, 2020.
In April 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, based on the third novel in the series, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. The third season premiered on Rai 1 on February 6, 2022, and on HBO on February 28, 2022. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, based on the final novel in the series, The Story of the Lost Child. The first two episodes of the fourth and final season made its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on August 20, 2024, and were presented at the 19th Rome Film Festival on October 25, 2024. The ten-episode fourth and final season premiered on HBO on September 9, 2024, and on Rai 1 on November 11, 2024.
Cast and characters
Main Elisa Del Genio (season 1; guest season 2), Margherita Mazzucco (seasons 1–3), Alba Rohrwacher (season 4; cameo season 3; narration seasons 1–4), and Elisabetta De Palo (featured season 4; guest season 1) as Elena "Lenù" Greco Ludovica Nasti (season 1; guest season 2), Gaia Girace (seasons 1–3; special appearance season 4), and (season 4) as Raffaella "Lila" Cerullo Anna Rita Vitolo as Immacolata Greco Luca Gallone as Vittorio Greco Imma Villa as Manuela Solara (seasons 1–3) Antonio Milo as Silvio Solara (season 1; recurring season 2) Valentina Acca as Nunzia Cerullo (seasons 1–2, 4) Antonio Buonanno as Fernando Cerullo (seasons 1–3; recurring season 4) Dora Romano as Miss Oliviero (seasons 1–2) Alessio Gallo (seasons 1–3) and Edoardo Pesce (season 4) as Michele Solara Nunzia Schiano as Nella Incardo (seasons 1–2) Giovanni Amura as Stefano Carracci (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1) Gennaro De Stefano (season 2; recurring season 1) and Salvatore Striano (season 4) as Rino Cerullo Francesco Serpico (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1) and Fabrizio Gifuni (season 4) as Giovanni "Nino" Sarratore Federica Sollazzo as Pinuccia Carracci (season 2; recurring season 1) Clotilde Sabatino as Professor Galiani (seasons 2–3) Ulrike Migliaresi as Ada Cappuccio (season 2; recurring season 1) Christian Giroso as Antonio Cappuccio (season 2; recurring season 1) Eduardo Scarpetta as Pasquale Peluso Giovanni Buselli (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1) and Pio Stellaccio (season 4) as Enzo Scanno Giovanni Cannata as Armando Galiani (seasons 2–3) Francesco Russo as Bruno Soccavo (seasons 2–3) Bruno Orlando (seasons 2–3) and Stefano Dionisi (season 4) as Franco Mari Daria Deflorian as Adele Airota (seasons 2–4) Matteo Cecchi (seasons 2–3) and Pier Giorgio Bellocchio (season 4) as Pietro Airota Giulia Mazzarino (season 3; recurring season 2) and Sonia Bergamasco (season 4) as Maria Rosa Airota Gabriele Vacis as Guido Airota (season 3; recurring seasons 2, 4) Maria Vittoria Dallasta as Silvia (season 3) Riccardo Palmieri as Gino (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2) Giorgia Gargano as Nadia Galiani (season 3; recurring season 2, featured season 4) Fabrizio Cottone (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2) and Renato De Simone (season 4) as Alfonso Carracci Rosaria Langellotto as Gigliola Spagnuolo (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2) Pina Di Gennaro as Melina Cappuccio (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2, 4) Francesca Pezzella as Carmela "Carmen" Peluso (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2) Sofia Luchetti (season 3), Vittoria Cozza (season 4) and Ludovica Rita Di Meglio (season 4) as Adele "Dede" Airota Salvatore Tortora as Gennaro "Gennarino" Carracci (season 3) Elvis Esposito (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2) and Lino Musella (season 4) as Marcello Solara Francesca Montuori (season 3) and Claudia Tranchese (season 4) as Elisa Greco Chiara Celotto as Eleonora Sarratore (season 3) Sophia Protino (season 3), Fatima Credendino (season 4) and Adriana Trotta (season 4) as Elsa Airota
Featured The following actors are credited in the opening titles of a single episode of the series:
Antonio Pennarella as Don Achille Carracci (season 1) Edu Rejón as Juan (season 3) Giulia Pica as a doctor (season 3) Claudio Lardo as Giuntini (season 3) Mirko Setaro as Lila's cardiologist (season 3) Vittorio Ciorcalo as Lila's neurologist (season 3) Giovanni Toscano as Mario's friend (season 3) Eugenio Di Fraia as Mario Gioia (season 3) Rebecca Fanucchi as Clelia (season 3) Iacopo Ricciotti as Maria Rosa's boyfriend (season 3)
Episodes
Season 1 (2018)
Season 2: The Story of a New Name (2020)
Season 3: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2022)
Season 4: The Story of the Lost Child (2024)
Production
Commissioned by Rai Fiction, HBO and TIMvision, the first season was produced by Italian production companies Wildside and Fandango and international film group Umedia. TIMvision withdrew from the project after the first season, while production companies The Apartment Pictures and Mowe joined production for the second season.
On February 18, 2020, Gaia Girace announced that she would leave the series after playing Lila in three episodes of the third season, as a new and older actress would be cast for the following episodes. However, the director of the third season, Daniele Luchetti, later opted to retain Girace and Mazzucco for the duration of the season.
Music The score of the series was composed by Max Richter.
Season 1
The soundtrack album for the first season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on December 7, 2018, for digital download. It was preceded by the release of the single "Elena & Lila" on November 30, 2018.
Track listing
Additional music The first season features additional material from Richter's solo discography.
Season 2
The soundtrack album for the second season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on May 1, 2020, for digital download. The soundtrack features material from Richter's solo discography.
Track listing
Season 3
The soundtrack album for the third season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on March 4, 2022, for digital download. The soundtrack features material from Richter's solo discography.
Track listing
Season 4
The soundtrack album for the fourth and final season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on September 27, 2024, for digital download. The soundtrack features material from Richter's solo discography.
Track listing
Reception Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 93% rating with an average score of 8.4 out of 10 based on 57 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "My Brilliant Friend is an expansive epic that gleans rapturous beauty from the most desolate of circumstances, but it is the intimacy between the central duo – and the remarkable performances that bring them to life – that audiences will remember most vividly". On Metacritic, it has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 20 reviews. Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett of The Guardian stated "How revolutionary it still feels to see female friendship explored onscreen in this way. It goes without saying that it takes the Bechdel test and turns it into ragù."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 100% rating with an average score of 9.5 out of 10 based on 15 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Gorgeously shot and full of incredible performances, My Brilliant Friends second season expands its small world with rich results." On Metacritic, it has a score of 92 out of 100 based on 8 reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a 100% rating with an average score of 9.2 out of 10 based on 13 reviews. On Metacritic, it has a score of 96 out of 100 based on 6 reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has a 100% rating with an average score of 9 out of 10 based on 5 reviews.
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ciak d'oro 2019 Serial Movie My Brilliant Friend Critics' Choice Awards 2019 Best Drama Series My Brilliant Friend 2023 Best Foreign Language Series My Brilliant Friend 2025 Best Foreign Language Series My Brilliant Friend Diversity Media Awards 2019 Best Italian Series My Brilliant Friend Dorian Awards 2022 Best Non-English Language TV Show My Brilliant Friend Globo d'oro 2019 Best TV Series My Brilliant Friend Best Breakthrough Actress Ludovica Nasti 2020 Best TV Series My Brilliant Friend Gotham Awards 2019 Breakthrough Series – Long Form My Brilliant Friend Il Luogo della Lingua Festival 2019 Placito Capuano Award Saverio Costanzo Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2019 Best Drama TV Series My Brilliant Friend Nastro d'Argento 2022 Best TV Series My Brilliant Friend Best Supporting Actor Eduardo Scarpetta 2025 Icon of the Year Alba Rohrwacher Best TV Series – Drama My Brilliant Friend Best Actress Irene Maiorino Best Actor Fabrizio Gifuni Best Supporting Actress Anna Rita Vitolo Peabody Awards 2019 Entertainment HBO Entertainment in association with Rai Fiction, TIMvision and Wildside, Fandango and Umedia Premi Flaiano 2019 Presidency Award Elisa Del Genio, Ludovica Nasti 2022 Best Director Daniele Luchetti Premio Biagio Agnes 2020 Fiction My Brilliant Friend Premios Ondas 2020 International Television My Brilliant Friend RdC Awards 2018 Navicella TV Award My Brilliant Friend Serial Awards 2021 Scripted Series of the Year My Brilliant Friend Best Lead Actor Gaia Girace, Margherita Mazzucco Best Director Alice Rohrwacher Best Screenplay Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci, Saverio Costanzo Best Kiss Gaia Girace, Francesco Serpico Crossing Borders Saverio Costanzo 2022 Scripted Series of the Year My Brilliant Friend Best Lead Actor Gaia Girace, Margherita Mazzucco Best Director Daniele Luchetti Best Screenplay Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci, Saverio Costanzo Best Villain Francesco Serpico Look and Feel My Brilliant Friend Shanghai Television Festival 2019 Best Foreign TV Miniseries My Brilliant Friend 2020 Best Foreign TV Series My Brilliant Friend Sichuan Television Festival 2023 Best Television Series My Brilliant Friend Best Actress in a Leading Role for a Television Series Margherita Mazzucco Best Actress in a Supporting Role for a Television Series Anna Rita Vitolo Best Screenplay for a Television Series Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci, Saverio Costanzo
Home media On April 2, 2019, HBO Home Entertainment released the first season on DVD and Digital in Region 1.
Notes
References
External links