Scripted series · Rai 1
My Brilliant Friend
A friendship that defined a lifetime.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Margherita Mazzucco
Elena Greco
24 eps
Anna Rita Vitolo
Immacolata Greco
26 eps
Luca Gallone
Vittorio Greco
21 eps
Valentina Acca
Nunzia Cerullo
15 eps
Antonio Buonanno
Fernando Cerullo
15 eps
Antonio Milo
Silvio Solara
6 eps
Alessio Gallo
Michele Solara
18 eps
Francesco Serpico
Nino Sarratore
16 eps
Irene Maiorino
Lila Cerullo
10 eps
Fabrizio Gifuni
Nino Sarratore
10 eps
Federica Sollazzo
Pinuccia Carracci
12 eps
Eduardo Scarpetta
Pasquale Peluso
15 eps
Giovanni Amura
Stefano Carracci
14 eps
Gennaro De Stefano
Rino Cerullo
14 eps
Matteo Cecchi
Pietro Airota
9 eps
Imma Villa
Manuela Solara
14 eps
Mirko Filippi
Spettatore
8 eps
Gaia Girace
Lila Cerullo
25 eps
Alba Rohrwacher
Older Elena (voice)
34 eps
Daria Deflorian
Adele Airota
8 eps
Ludovica Nasti
Raffaella Cerullo (10 years old)
6 eps
Elisa del Genio
Elena Greco (10 years old)
6 eps
Raffaele Nocerino
Gianni Greco (11 years old)
9 eps
Ilenia Zanfardino
4th Child Cappuccio (7 years old)
6 eps
Matteo Taurino
3rd Child Cappuccio (9 years old)
6 eps
Francesca Pezzella
Carmela Peluso
11 eps
Rosaria Langellotto
Gigliola Spagnuolo
13 eps
Fabrizio Cottone
Alfonso Carracci
12 eps
Matteo Castaldo
Peppe Greco (12 years old)
9 eps
Giovanni Buselli
Enzo Scanno
14 eps
Ulrike Migliaresi
Ada Cappuccio
11 eps
Ciro Alario
Card player at Bar Solara
9 eps
Giuseppe Donnarumma
3rd Child Cerullo (9 years old)
8 eps
Emanuele Valenti
Donato Sarratore
6 eps
Consiglia Aprovidolo
Neighbor
9 eps
Valentina Ceriello
Neighbor
8 eps
Fabiana Ciancio
Neighbor
11 eps
Antonella Corsale
Neighbor
8 eps
Anna Cerchia
Neighbor
10 eps
Christian Giroso
Antonio Cappuccio
7 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How My Brilliant Friend actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
My Brilliant Friend reads strongest on Character Depth, Emotional Weight and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
When the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, a now-elderly woman immersed in a house full of books, turns on her computer and starts writing the story of their friendship.
The run
Seasons
4 seasons · 34 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
20188 episodes
7.4IMDbBased on the international best-selling novel, when the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, starts writing the story of their friendship.
Best episode · S01E06 The Island
Season 2 · Complete
The Story of a New Name
20208 episodes
6.9IMDbBased on the second book of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet, 'The Story of a New Name', this second series sees Lila And Elena both feeling dissatisfied with their lives. Longing for escapism, a trip away threatens to destroy the very nature of their friendship and sends the two young women into very different worlds.
Best episode · S02E05 The Betrayal
Season 3 · Complete
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
20228 episodes
6.9IMDbSeason 3 picks up with Elena and Lila, both now grown women, during the great open sea of the 1970s. Lila took her young son and left her husband and a comfortable life to work as a factory worker in the toughest of conditions, while Elena left the neighborhood to study in Pisa, and is now an author of a successful novel that has paved the way to an affluent and cultivated world. They now navigate a scenario of hopes and uncertainties, still united by their strong and ambivalent bond.
Best episode · S03E08 Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay
Season 4 · Complete
The Story of the Lost Child
202410 episodes
8.0IMDb
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E06
The Island
On the island of Ischia, Elena runs into the Sarratore family, reigniting her childhood crush on Nino, who is at odds with his father, the charming Donato. Back in Naples, Lila's resistance to Marcello's pressing courtship reaches a breaking point. On the day of Elena's 15th birthday, an unexpected encounter leaves her shaken.
S01E04
Dissolving Margins
Entering high school, Elena vows to stay ahead of Lila, academically and romantically. Lila eschews a parade of suitors vying for her affection, choosing instead to focus on her ambitions in the shoe shop. Promising a better future for the neighborhood, Stefano Carracci invites Elena, Lila and their families over for New Year's Eve, but things take a dark turn.
S01E05
The Shoes
Elena grows tired of Gino, while Lila rejects two potential suitors at a cost. A rare outing into the city turns violent. Elena worries about not being there for Lila after accepting an invitation to spend the summer away from the neighborhood and her family.
S01E03
The Metamorphoses
Now a teenager, Elena grapples with the onset of puberty, her studies, and her friendship with Lila, who now works in her family's shoe-repair store. After a library awards ceremony reveals what Lila has been keeping secret, Elena learns what her friend's grand plans might be. Lila takes a stand against the dangerous Solara brothers.
S01E07
The Fiances
Elena returns to Naples to find Lila has made a romantic connection with Stefano, despite the looming presence of Marcello. As Lila embraces a more glamorous life at Stefano's side, Elena warns her about what people are saying around the neighborhood. Later, in hopes of keeping up with her friend, Elena encourages one suitor and rebuffs the advances of another.
S03E08
Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay
Elena and Pietro meet Nino's family. Nino gives Elena his feedback on the manuscript, when he discovers that Pietro has not read it he shows hostility towards her, but in a veiled and underhanded way. Pietro's reaction to Nino's passive-aggressive attacks only confirms Elena's doubts about her husband.
- Written by Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
Saverio Costanzo
Showrunner
- Photo unavailable
Elena Ferrante
Creator
- Photo unavailable
Jennifer Schuur
Executive producer
Lorenzo Mieli
Executive producer
Mario Gianani
Executive producer
Paolo Sorrentino
Executive producer
Domenico Procacci
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Elena Recchia
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Guido De Laurentiis
Executive producer
Daniele Luchetti
Executive producer
Francesco Piccolo
Writer
Laura Paolucci
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Jennifer SchuurExecutive Producer
- Lorenzo MieliExecutive Producer
- Laura PaolucciProducer
- Mario GiananiExecutive Producer
- Paolo SorrentinoExecutive Producer
- Domenico ProcacciExecutive Producer
Writing
- Francesco PiccoloWriter
- Laura PaolucciWriter
- Saverio CostanzoWriter
- Elena FerranteWriter
Direction
- Alice RohrwacherDirector
- Saverio CostanzoDirector
- Laura BispuriDirector
- Daniele LuchettiDirector
Cinematography
- Ivan CasalgrandiDirector of Photography
- Fabio CianchettiDirector of Photography
- Hélène LouvartDirector of Photography
Music
- Max RichterOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- HBO Max Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- HBO MaxStreaming
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Never stop watching
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