Netflix’s new Italian original “The Monster of Florence” is making a killing, hitting the No. 1 spot globally on the streaming giant.
The serial killer series, directed by genre specialist Stefano Sollima, rose to the top of Netflix’s non-English-language shows chart with 9.6 million views during the week of Oct. 20-26, according to Netflix figures.
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During the same period, “Nobody Wants This” Season 2 topped Netflix’s English shows chart, but with 8.6 million views, making the Italian “Monster” the streamer’s overall No. 1 TV show last week.
“The Monster of Florence,” which launched on Oct. 22, rose to No. 1 in 44 territories on Netflix around the world and made the top 10 in 85 countries, according to Netflix figures covering the Oct. 20-26 period.
The true crime show’s title is the moniker given to the alleged serial killer, who committed eight double murders over the course of 17 years from the late 1960s to the mid-’80s, preying on couples parked in cars in secluded places around Florence. “The Monster of Florence” always used the same weapon: a .22 caliber Beretta.
These unsolved serial murders have captivated Italians for decades. Now, they are captivating the world.
The four-episode limited series, which was shot largely on location in Florence and its surroundings, reunites Sollima with writer Leonardo Fasoli and ace Italian cinematographer Paolo Carnera, both of whom Sollima worked with on “Gomorrah” and cocaine trafficking drama “ZeroZeroZero.”
“We congratulate Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and our incredibly talented partners at AlterEgo, along with our colleagues at The Apartment, and thank the Netflix team for their unwavering support,” said Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO of continental Europe, in a statement.
“The global success of ‘The Monster of Florence’ on Netflix underlines the power and reach of great storytelling no matter where it emanates from,” Scrosati added.
“The Monster of Florence” is produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Sollima’s AlterEgo shingle. The producers are Lorenzo Mieli, Stefano Sollima and Gina Gardini.
Each of the show’s four episodes tells the story of a man who, at one point in time, investigators believed was the killer.
Sollima — who besides the “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero” series also helmed Hollywood movies such as “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse” — spent more than a year researching the killings. He chose to follow several investigative strands in the cold case, starting with the one known as the “Sardinian lead,” spawned by a Sardinian couple living in Tuscany with infidelity issues.
“Describing the suspects individually allowed us to investigate monstrosity in a broader sense — not just the alleged Monster of Florence, but the monstrosity that some of these characters displayed in their intimate relationships, family relationships and friendships,” the director told Variety in September at the Venice Film Festival, where “Monster of Florence” premiered.
“So suddenly, we realized that the story was becoming much broader and centered not so much on the hunt for the Monster of Florence, but rather an investigation of man and how he is a bearer of evil.”
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