Photo courtesy of Netflix
The Lowdown
Netflix has a new Italian dark comedy for December. The Good Boss, a six-episode series starring Luca Zingaretti, premieres Dec. 2, and its official trailer arrived on Nov. 4 (Netflix (press release)).
Key Takeaways
- The Good Boss premieres Dec. 2, only on Netflix, with six episodes (Netflix (press release)).
- Zingaretti plays Giulio Zagni, the beloved owner of a steering-wheel factory in Italy’s Motor Valley (Netflix (press release)).
- It’s based on Fernando León de Aranoa’s film El Buen Patrón; León de Aranoa also wrote the series concept (Netflix (press release)).
- Roan Johnson directs the first three episodes and Niccolò Falsetti the last three (Netflix (press release)).
- Cattleya, part of ITV Studios, produces (Netflix (press release)).
The Story
Netflix sells Giulio as “the perfect boss,” the man who rules both his factory and his family. When employees, friends or relatives go off track, he fixes it, whatever it costs. Then the machine breaks down, and his work and home life spiral at the same time (Netflix (press release)).
Netflix lists a supporting cast that runs from Sara Drago and Francesco Colella to Giovanni Esposito, Alessia Giuliani, Carmine Buschini and Alberto Boubakar Malanchino. There are cameos too: the singer Nek, plus Olympic sprinter Filippo Tortu as a guest star (Netflix (press release)).
The writing team is Davide Lantieri, head writer Michele Pellegrini, Marco Pettenello, Serena Patrignanelli and Virginia Virilli (Netflix (press release)).
The Pit Take
In our view, this is a smart adaptation pick. El Buen Patrón worked because its boss is charming and monstrous at the same time, and Zingaretti, who played Inspector Montalbano for more than two decades, knows how to make an audience like a man in charge. Six episodes is the right size for a satire like this. Put it on your December list next to Trinity. More in TV & Streaming.
The Background
El Buen Patrón (The Good Boss), starring Javier Bardem, was Spain’s 2021 film about a factory owner trying to keep up appearances before an awards visit. The Netflix series moves that idea to Italy’s auto-parts country. The production had support from the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission (Netflix (press release)).
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