Italy: Luna Park – Netflix series set in 1960s Rome

Rome: Netflix is set to air a new series called Luna Park set in the amusement park of the same name against the backdrop of Rome’s dolce vita era in the 1960s.

The original Italian series will air in 190 countries from 30 September, with Netflix introducing Luna Park like this: “In 1960s Rome, a free-spirited young woman who’s grown up at her family’s circus unexpectedly discovers she belongs to two very different worlds.”

Produced by Fandango, Luna Park was written by Isabella Aguilar, of Baby fame – the series about teen prostitution in Rome – and was directed by Leonardo D’Agostini and Anna Negri.

The story unfolds in six episodes, full of intrigue, love and secrets, and is centred on an encounter between Nora (Simona Tabasco) and Rosa (Lia Grieco), two young women from different social backgrounds.

Set against the vintage atmosphere of a bygone era, in Italy’s oldest amusement park, the story’s unexpected revelations intertwine the girls’ families, with consequences for everyone involved.

Filming for Luna Park, which began in October last year, took place in various areas around Rome, from the river Tiber to the upmarket Prati district.

The real Luna Park, located in the EUR suburb, was recreated in the Parco Lido di Ostia, near the coast, where the Ferris wheel and other rides were reassembled for the show.

The American media services provider has underscored its strong connections with Rome by recently opening a base in the Via Veneto area of the capital.

The villa’s offices host the Italian team – numbering around 40 and previously based in Amsterdam – working in the marketing, public relations and new production sectors.

The US streaming giant – which filmed the hit series Suburra and Baby in the Eternal City as well as movies such as The Two Popes – says it aims to double its number of original Italian series by 2022.

Earlier this year Zero marked the first Italian series focused on the life of young black Italians; then there is Fidelità from the Missiroli novel; in addition to Luna Park.

Generazione 56K revolves around a group of teens “overwhelmed by the arrival of the internet on the threshold of adolescence”; Strappare lungo i bordi di Zerocalcare is a dive into the animated world of the cartoonist Michele Rech; and Guida astrologica per cuori infranti, based on the writings of Silvia Zucca.

However the biggest Netflix investment in Italy is reserved for an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s hit novel La vita bugiarda degli adulti (The Lying Life of Adults) which is scheduled to hit our television screens in 2022.