ROME – Sky-Italia has unveiled the first episodes of hard-hitting television drama Gomorrah (Gomorra), acquired earlier this month for the U.S. by The Weinstein Company.
Based on the best-selling Neapolitan mob exposé written by Roberto Saviano, as well as the 2008 Cannes Jury Prize-winning film of the same name from Matteo Garrone, the 12-episode series is already earning accolades from critics in Italy, where it will premiere May 6.
Sky-Italia, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, formally presented the series at a gala ceremony Tuesday night in Rome, which included most of the team behind the production.
STORY: The Weinstein Co. Takes Italian ‘Gomorrah’ Series for U.S.
Sky said the series took 30 weeks to film, including the work of three noted film directors: Francesca Comencini, Stefano Sollima and Claudio Cupellini. Producers said that including the U.S. market, the series had been sold in 40 markets worldwide with more deals in the works.
Though it is inspired by the Saviano book and the Garone film, the high-production-quality series tells a new story about two leading crime families.
The name Gomorrah is a play on the biblical city of sin, Gomorrah, and the Camorra, the name of the mob in the southern Italian city of Naples.
Twitter: @EricJLyman
