When you’re learning a new language, immersion is key. And there’s no better way to immerse yourself in the Italian language and culture than by watching Italian TV shows on Netflix, Acorn, Amazon, and other streaming services. Historic dramas, crime dramas, dramatic series, and romantic series are all great for improving your Italian vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Luckily, streaming services these days have a much better selection of Italian TV shows to choose from than they did in the past.
Even after thirteen years since my last Italian language immersion experience (I lived in Tuscany for 10 months), I still feel a twinge of nostalgia as well as a sense of familiarity when I listen to people speaking Italian in a similar accent to those I used to know in Tuscany, or using certain phrases I used to love saying (such as ‘cazzo!’ and ‘andiamo!’).
While I certainly won’t get back to the more advanced level of Italian I attained back in 2006 after 10 months of daily classes and daily life lived in Italian, I do feel that I nudge a bit closer to being comfortable in the language again when I watch Italian tv shows and movies.
Here are seven of my favorite Italian TV shows on Acorn, Netflix, and Amazon Prime (note: many Italian tv shows appear temporarily on certain streaming services only to move to a different one a year or two later, or to disappear altogether in the U.S.).
I also watch Spanish movies and t.v. shows to improve my Spanish comprehension.
**If you are in a country where you can’t watch certain movies or series on their version of Netflix or Amazon, or you can’t get a certain streaming service, you can use a VPN to watch anything/everything you want (as well as to do your online banking just like you are in your home country!). My favorite is Nord VPN, which I used while living in Spain and Italy and I still use whenever I travel abroad for a month or more.
An Astrological Guide to Broken Hearts (Netflix)
This is one of the most recently added Italian tv shows on Netflix. It’s a Netflix exclusive and despite this (I have mixed feelings about the exclusive content that Netflix puts out, as much of it is bad) it’s so cute that you can’t not like it. Is it slightly silly? Yes. But in a funny and fun way–and you like all of the characters–and you tell yourself you probably don’t need to keep watching it–but wham! You’re addicted and now you’re bummed it was only two seasons.
There’s the cute, quirky main character, Alice (Al-ee-chay) who’s got a pretty great job, the dopey and hopeless but slightly adorable ex-boyfriend who’s constantly getting himself into sticky situations with women, the fabulous best friend who’s married and has a kid but still makes time for her girls’ nights out, and the hunky boss with eyes like melted chocolate and hidden emotions (ayayay I know…) who’s more than meets the eye.
Phew! Did I cram that all into one sentence? Yikes.
Baby (Netflix)
Set in an elite high school in Rome, Baby is an Italian Netflix series that follows Baby, a wealthy young student, and her risk-taking friend, Ludovica. In an effort to ditch her boring, meaningless, bourgeoise life, Baby follows Ludovica into the at-first-sexy and glamorous but later dangerous and seedy world of prostitution where they encounter increasingly dangerous people and end up drawing others into their web of lies. Will this bored rich girl learn her lesson before it’s too late?
Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery/Incastrati (Netflix)
This is one of the funniest Italian TV shows on Netflix. It focuses on two clueless (and hilarious) Sicilian guys who end up becoming the suspects in the murder of a member of a crime organization, through simple dumb luck. Expect lots of hand gestures (seriously, these guys take talking with your hands to a whole other level beating even my family!) and comedic relief. This isn’t a serious crime drama it’s a comedy.
How will they escape with their lives? Can they convince the local mafia bosses that they are innocent, or do they have to? What about their wives/partners? Will they be safe? You’ll have to watch and find out.
Generation 56k (Netflix)
When the internet finally arrives on the tiny island of Procida, it changes how teenagers from all over Italy communicate with one another. One particular group of friends is rekindled after twenty years via a dating app that accidentally connects two old friends from, Matilda and Daniel. Unfortunately, when they meet again as adults, via a mishap with Daniel’s date, there are obstacles in the way of their potential romance (if I told you what the obstacles were I’d ruin it!). This is a funny, cute, heartwarming series that includes a heavy dose of romance and funny flashbacks to the 90s when the friends were all young and in school together and discovered things like porn for the first time together-focusing on how much the arrival of dial-up internet (which only a couple of local family’s had) changed their lives.
This is one of the newest Italian tv shows on Netflix.
Il Cacciatore/The Hunter (Amazon Prime Italy)
**note that this series is only available on Amazon Prime Italy, so if you don’t have a VPN, you won’t be able to watch this from the U.S.)**
Based loosely on the true-life story of an anti-mafia judge named Alfonso Sabella, Il Cacciatore follows a young magistrate named Saverio Barone who made hunting the mafia (and mafia bosses) down a priority following a series of particularly brutal massacres. Be forewarned, there’s no shortage of violence in this show but no more than most other series that involve crime, gangs, or mafia these days. All three seasons of Il Cacciatore are available on Amazon Prime Italy.
Luna Nera (Netflix)
This Italian show on Netflix takes viewers back to the 17th century in Italy, where midwives were often accused of practicing witchcraft and executed. The story follows one girl, in particular, Ade. She and her grandmother are blamed for being witches and purposely causing problems with the delivery of babies, after a series of problematic deliveries. But is either one of them really a witch? Or are they simple midwives? The villagers want to execute them, but will they catch them?
While there are many, many shows about witchcraft and supernatural powers these days and many of them are not done well, Luna Nera features good actors, cinematography, and characters with a plot that seems to have a deeper focus than some. If you enjoy series like The Witcher, Wheel of Time, etc. you’ll enjoy this Italian show on Netflix.
Paradiso Delle Signore/The Ladies Paradise (Amazon Prime)
This may be my favorite Italian series of all, and when I first found it, it was one of the few Italian tv shows on Acorn TV. The series has since been moved to Amazon.
I’m a sucker for shows that include cute vintage clothing, music, and scenery and that involve a poor but whip-smart, hard-working heroine or hero with enough integrity not to be swayed by good looks and wealth alone…
The star of this show is Teresa, a young, poor, beautiful girl from a tiny village in Southern Italy who arrives in the big city, after having left her cheating fiancee at home in her village, to work at a high-end women’s department store. This show has it all: a handsome, brooding, wealthy owner with a questionable past who is a bit too smooth with the ladies. An adorable, handsome engineer. A group of women that includes a formidable manager as well as a group of female coworkers that includes the jealous and catty one, sweet but naive one, and the seasoned professional sales girl. All against a backdrop of a glamorous high-end department store in the 60s.
Will the feisty, ambitious young girl from the wrong side of the tracks succeed? Or be eaten up by the big city, fall for the wrong man, or be taken down by a jealous competitor?
This Italian TV show on Netflix is very similar (almost a duplicate) to a British series produced a few years earlier on Acorn called The Paradise (a very good series). Both are based on a novel by Emil Zola (one of my favorite 19th-century French authors).
**This series was first aired in the U.S. on Acorn, but now it’s only available on Amazon Prime (where you’ll find two seasons).
The Trial (Netflix)
A hardened, slightly weary, salty, but capable and straight-shooting female detective, a murdered young girl found in a canal. A sexy Italian public prosecutor, and a suspect who says they are innocent. This eight-episode Italian mini-series features strong acting, a good (not too obvious but not overly cryptic) storyline, a touch of romance, and a few surprises.
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