HBO and RAI have renewed the drama series My Brilliant Friend for a third season! The eight-episode second season, My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name, based on Elena Ferrante’s bestselling book of the same name, which is the second of the four-part series published in the U.S. by Europa Editions, debuted in the US on Monday, March 16.
Season 3 will be based on Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, Ferrante’s third book in the series and is a The Apartment, Wildside, and Fandango production with Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani producing for Fremantle’s The Apartment and Wildside and Domenico Procacci producing for Fandango.
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“Bringing Elena Ferrante’s exquisite work to life has been such a joy and privilege,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP HBO Programming. “The fact that viewers and critics alike have continued to embrace Elena and Lila’s story makes it all the more gratifying, and we thank the entire team led by Saverio Costanzo for their outstanding work on the second season. We cannot wait to tell the next chapter of Elena and Lila’s lives and friendship.”
“Meeting with success among the Italian and international audience, the great challenge of My Brilliant Friend continues with Rai and HBO announcing the third season, fortifying the ambition to create a complex story and bring the Italian imagination to the world, always keeping the lived experience of our country at the center of the narrative,” added Eleonora Andreatta, Rai head of Drama. “The success of the second series has confirmed the power of Elena Ferrante’s story and its capacity to become a compelling serial loved worldwide with the richness and charm of Saverio Costanzo’s direction.”
My Brilliant Friend is the tale of Elena Greco and the most important friend in her life. She met Raffaella Cerullo, whom she has always called Lila, in the first year of primary school in 1950. Set in a dangerous and fascinating Naples, their story goes on to cover more than 60 years of their lives and explores the mystery of Lila, Elena’s brilliant friend and – in a way – both her best friend and her worst enemy.
Filmed in Italian, the Season 2 finale of My Brilliant Friend will air Monday, May 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO. Starring Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace, the season follows Elena and Lila’s journey into adulthood as they weather romance, heartbreak, success, and betrayal.
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My Brilliant Friend is created by Saverio Costanzo. The project is an HBO-RAI Fiction Series in collaboration with Rai Fiction and HBO Entertainment and in co-production with Mowe and Umedia. The story and screenplays are by Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci, and Saverio Costanzo. Paolo Sorrentino and Jennifer Schuur are the executive producers. Fremantle is the international distributor in association with RAI Com.
