My Brilliant Friend (Season 1)
# My Brilliant Friend (Season 1)

My Brilliant Friend (Italian: L'amica geniale) is an Italian- and Neapolitan-language coming-of-age drama television series created by Saverio Costanzo for HBO, RAI and TIMvision. The series is named after the first of four novels in the Neapolitan Novels series by Elena Ferrante, and the first season is based on the first novel, also named My Brilliant Friend.

My Brilliant Friend is a co-production between Italian production companies Wildside, Fandango, The Apartment, Mowe and international film groups Umedia and Fremantle. The first two episodes were presented at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, in 2018. The first season premiered on HBO on November 18, 2018, and on Rai 1 and TIMvision on November 27, 2018.

## Cast and Characters

* Elisa Del Genio (as a child), Margherita Mazzucco (as a teenager) as Elena "Lenù" Greco, a girl from a poor neighbourhood in the outskirts of 1950s Naples. Alba Rohrwacher also narrates the events of the series from the point of view of adult Elena Greco. The character is also portrayed by Elisabetta De Palo (guest season 1) as a senior, and by Ingrid Del Genio (guest season 1) as a very young child.
* Ludovica Nasti (as a child) and Gaia Girace (as a teenager) as Raffaella "Lila" Cerullo, Elena's best friend and, later, Stefano Carracci's wife
* Anna Rita Vitolo as Immacolata Greco, Elena's mother
* Luca Gallone as Vittorio Greco, a porter and Elena's father
* Imma Villa as Manuela Solara, Silvio Solara's wife, Michele and Marcello's mother
* Antonio Milo as Silvio Solara, owner of the Bar Solara
* Alessio Gallo as Michele Solara, Silvio and Manuela's son. The character is also portrayed by Adriano Tammaro as a child.
* Valentina Acca as Nunzia Cerullo, Lila's mother
* Antonio Buonanno as Fernando Cerullo, a shoemaker and Lila's father
* Dora Romano as Miss Oliviero, Elena and Lila's elementary school teacher
* Nunzia Schiano as Nella Incardo, Miss Oliviero's cousin

## Episodes

{{Series overview | auxA = Subtitle

| color1 = #FFFACD | link1 = #Season 1 (2018) | auxA1 = — | episodes1 = 8 | start1 = November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18) (HBO) November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) (Rai 1) | end1 = December 10, 2018 (2018-12-10) (HBO) December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18) (Rai 1)

### Season 1 (2018)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S./Italy viewers (millions) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | "The Dolls" "Le bambole" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18) (HBO) November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) (Rai 1) | 0.242 and 7.458 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Money" "I soldi" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | November 19, 2018 (2018-11-19) (HBO) November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) (Rai 1) | 0.128 and 6.729 |
| 3 | 3 | "Metamorphoses" "Le metamorfosi" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | November 25, 2018 (2018-11-25) (HBO) December 4, 2018 (2018-12-04) (Rai 1) | 0.244 and 7.302 |
| 4 | 4 | "Dissolving Boundaries" "La smarginatura" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | November 26, 2018 (2018-11-26) (HBO) December 4, 2018 (2018-12-04) (Rai 1) | 0.151 and 6.725 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Shoes" "Le scarpe" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | December 2, 2018 (2018-12-02) (HBO) December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11) (Rai 1) | 0.291 and 6.699 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Island" "L'isola" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03) (HBO) December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11) (Rai 1) | 0.210 and 6.699 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Fiancés" "I fidanzati" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | December 9, 2018 (2018-12-09) (HBO) December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18) (Rai 1) | 0.318 and 6.974 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Promise" "La promessa" | Saverio Costanzo | Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo | December 10, 2018 (2018-12-10) (HBO) December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18) (Rai 1) | 0.228 and 6.620 |

* ↑ Moylan, Brian (February 9, 2016). "Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels set for TV adaptation". The Guardian. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
* ↑ Yoshida, Emily (September 2, 2018). "HBO's My Brilliant Friend Adaptation Should Have Been an Anime". Vulture.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
* ↑ "My Brilliant Friend Debuts Sunday, Nov. 18 on HBO". HBO. September 13, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
* ↑ Patterson, Troy (November 15, 2018). ""My Brilliant Friend," Reviewed: A Prada Ad for Working-Class Gloom, but with Shades of Humble Tenderness". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
* 1 2 Evans, Greg (March 14, 2018). "HBO Unveils First-Look Photos Of 'My Brilliant Friend' Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 20, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.18.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018.
* 1 2 "Ascolti TV | Martedì 27 novembre 2018. Boom per l'esordio de L'Amica Geniale (29.3%), disastro per Il Ristorante degli Chef (2.8%)". DavideMaggio.it. November 27, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 20, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.19.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.25.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018.
* 1 2 "Ascolti TV | Martedì 4 dicembre 2018. Ancora boom per L'Amica Geniale (30.1%). La Mummia 9.1%. Male La Vita in Diretta (14%–1,7 mln) che si fa acchiappare da Geo (13.9%–1,8 mln) e surclassare da Pomeriggio Cinque". DavideMaggio.it. December 4, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (November 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.26.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 4, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.2.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018.
* 1 2 "Ascolti TV | Martedì 11 dicembre 2018. L'Amica Geniale 28.7%, Canale 5 al 7%". DavideMaggio.it. December 11, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 4, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.3.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 11, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.9.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018.
* 1 2 "'L'amica geniale' chiude in bellezza, straordinario successo con quasi 7 milioni di spettatori". Repubblica.it (in Italian). December 19, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
* ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (December 11, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.10.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
* 1 2 HBO listings translate the titles of episodes 3 and 4 as "The Metamorphoses" and "Dissolving Margins", respectively.
