Netflix’s new Italian original, The Monster of Florence, directed by Stefano Sollima, has reached the No. 1 spot worldwide on the streaming platform. The series topped Netflix’s non-English-language chart with 9.6 million views during the week of 20–26 October, according to figures released by the streamer. In the same period, Season 2 of Nobody Wants This took the top spot among English-language series with 8.6 million views, making The Monster of Florence Netflix’s most-watched show overall last week.
Launched on 22 October, The Monster reached No. 1 in 44 countries and made the top 10 in 85, according to data for the period 20–26 October. The four-part miniseries, filmed largely in Florence and its surroundings, reunites Sollima with screenwriter Leonardo Fasoli and cinematographer Paolo Carnera CCS, long-time creative collaborators. As reported by Variety, Andrea Scrosati, COO of the Fremantle Group and CEO for Continental Europe, said: “We extend our congratulations to Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and our incredibly talented partners at AlterEgo, together with our colleagues at The Apartment, and we thank the Netflix team for their constant support.”
Sollima devoted over a year to researching the case, choosing to follow the various investigative leads, starting with the one known as the “Sardinian trail”. “By portraying each of the suspects individually, we were able to explore monstrosity in a broader sense – not only that of the alleged Monster of Florence, but also the kind that some of these characters revealed within their intimate, family and friendship relationships,” the director explained to Variety last September at the Venice Film Festival, where The Monster premiered. «We then realised that the story was expanding, becoming not so much a hunt for the Monster of Florence as an inquiry into humanity itself and its capacity to embody evil».
Read our interview with cinematographer Paolo Carnera:
A constant drawing closer to the heart of the story, without ever reaching it. A conversation with Paolo Carnera CCS about Il mostro , a cura di Lorenzo Lamberti, realizzata nell’ambito del progetto casa Chiaroscuro Venezia82
