Prime Video Italy is taking a leap “not only at national level but at international level” with its originals strategy, its scripted boss has said.
Davide Nardini was bullish with his confidence in upcoming shows including Costiera from Adam Bernstein and Citadel: Diana, as he addressed attendees on the first day of the AVPSummit in south Italy.
The likes of Costiera, he said, “create a competitive framework for us not only at national level but at international level,” describing its potential to be a “big series devised for international audiences travelling abroad.”
“We asked Adam Bernstein to work on a quintessentially Italian project trying to be strong in the international market,” said Nardini. “This is the type of partnership we would like to build.”
Starring Greys Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, the show from Fargo helmer Bernstein is an Italian action-drama series filmed in English. Williams plays Daniel De Luca, a half-Italian former U.S. marine who returns to Italy, the land of his childhood, as a fixer in one of the world’s most luxurious hotels on the spectacular Positano coastline.
“In a very crowded storytelling market we want to be identifiable and create our identity,” said Nardini. “We are now in a stage of expansion in that respect.”
With that in mind, Nardini spotlighted the “exciting” potential of Citadel: Diana, the Italian version of the Russo brothers’ big-budget TV series franchise led by Italian star Matilda de Angelis.
Nardini talked up the opportunity for co-productions, which are being discussed on several panels at this year’s AVPSummit. On Costiera, he said this allowed Amazon to retain “creative control and be innovative” by signing the likes of Williams as lead and Fargo to helm. The show is an Amazon original but Fremantle is distributing worldwide excluding France, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
“Through these models we can do risky or disruptive things,” said Nardini. “With Costiera, we succeeded in doing what the industry has done for many years but was new for us, building a real co-pro model where we are financiers and originators of the project and then Fremantle deals with worldwide distribution.”
He added: “We come from this American legacy which is an American model because we know how important it is that producers work with us, invest and can be our lifeblood.”
Amazon’s other Italian originals include thriller The Bad Guy and a version of Celebrity Hunted.
The AVPSummit is also hosting talks from the likes of Sony production president Wayne Garvie, Netflix’s Luisa Cotta Ramosino and Sky Studios Italy content boss Emanuele Marchesi.
