My Brilliant Friend, the Italian television adaptation of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, returned to free-to-air television in Spain on Sunday, January 23, when RTVE's La 2 channel aired the first three episodes of its debut season in prime time.
The series premiered in the United States on November 18 through HBO and a week later on Italian public broadcaster RAI, quickly becoming an international hit, echoing the success of Ferrante's novels on which it is based. Elena Ferrante is the pen name of an Italian author whose identity remains unknown to the public.
The show had already aired in Spain once before, on the now-defunct Paramount Network channel, and had also been available on RTVE's streaming service, RTVE Play. Even so, its return to La 2 drew a strong response from viewers.
Audience share climbs through the night
The opening episode, titled "Las muñecas" (The Dolls), drew 497,000 viewers and a 5.3% share. Audience share then rose to 5.9% for the second episode before spiking to 8.5% for the third and final episode of the night.
That third episode aired in the same slot as its main rival, Josep Pedrerol's El Chiringuito on Cuatro, which averaged a 7.1% share and 258,000 viewers over the same period.
Four seasons adapting Ferrante's quartet
My Brilliant Friend runs to 32 episodes across four seasons of eight episodes each, with each season adapting one book of Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet: My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child.
The story opens in the present day, when an elderly Elena Greco decides to write her own biography and that of Lila, her inseparable best friend since childhood, after learning that Lila has vanished without a trace. From there, the plot moves back to 1950s Naples to trace a complex friendship that swings between unconditional affection and relentless rivalry.
Across the four seasons, the two women take opposing paths. Elena works to build a future through her studies and university, while Lila must contend with a suffocating marriage. Jealousy, loyalty and mutual need drive a period story spanning more than 60 years about the search for one's own identity.
A cast that changes with time
To reflect the passage of time, the production used different actresses for each stage of the characters' lives. Elisa Del Genio and Ludovica Nasti played the two friends as children, before handing the roles to Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace for adolescence and early adulthood. In the final stretch, the leads were played by Alba Rohrwacher and Irene Maiorino.
The supporting cast includes Eduardo Scarpetta, Luca Gallone and Antonio Milo, who play residents of the Naples neighborhood where the story is set.
