Netflix Sets New Italian Original Series

Netflix has revealed its latest Italian original series, Zero, the story of a modern superhero.

From an idea of Antonio Dikele Distefano, who is a rising star in the Italian publishing scene, Zero follows a shy guy—a second-generation Italian of African origin—who has an incredible superpower. Thanks to his power, he will learn how to open up to the world and to love.

Produced by Fabula Pictures, Zero explores the Milanese suburbs. Dikele Distefano and Menotti (Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot) are writing the series along with Stefano Voltaggio, Massimo Vavassori, Carolina Cavalli and Lisandro Monaco.

Production is slated for 2020.

Dikele Distefano said: “The idea of Zero comes from my need to put different stories together in order to tell one. The story of a special boy, of a black guy, who thanks to his superpower manages to see the reality behind the appearance of things, people and relationships. Rap will be one of the protagonists of the story because rap is the language of our age, it is capable of describing environments that people do not see, such as the Milan suburbs where the series is set, and it is my language.”

Felipe Tewes, director of international originals at Netflix, said: “Our goal at Netflix is to find new local, unheard voices and give them the opportunity to tell their stories to a global audience. We are really excited to work together with Antonio, Menotti and the Zero pool of writers to bring their unique vision to life in what will be the first superhero show in our offer of Italian original contents.”