Wildside Preps Drama on Italian Football Star

Wildside has landed a commission from Sky for an original series about the life of Italian football star Francesco Totti.

Based on the book Un Capitano by Totti and Paolo Condò, the series is being produced by Mario Gianani for Wildside, part of the Fremantle group, with Virginia Valsecchi’s Capri Entertainment, The New Life Company and Kwaï.

The six-episode Speravo de Mori’ Prima—The Series about Francesco Totti (working title) will be directed by Luca Ribuoli with a cast that includes Pietro Castellitto as Totti.

Nicola Maccanico, Sky Italia’s executive VP of programming, stated: “Francesco Totti, a unique champion who took the world by storm with a ball between his feet, winning over football lovers and the general public. A youngster who became a sports phenomenon with talent and devotion, capable of talking to people of all kinds, so much so that he eventually becomes a social phenomenon. With this project, in conjunction with Wildside, we want to produce something deep-rooted in Sky’s DNA: to offer an alternative point of view. Thanks to a remarkably talented cast and a script effective in keeping together the irony of the man and the epicness of the athlete, the series will allow us to see the human side of Francesco Totti: as important, engaging and phenomenal as the artist of football everyone had the chance to admire.”

Mario Gianani, CEO of Wildside, added, “We’re delighted to bring to the screen this series dedicated to Francesco Totti and his farewell to football, a moment in the history of sport, and not only that, that has become part of the collective imagination. Narrating the lives of figures that made sports history in the TV series format is a type of challenge that is becoming increasingly widespread. It’s a type of narrative that touches audiences emotionally, beyond the account of athletic achievements. In the hope that we can live up to the task, we’ve engaged a top-notch creative team, with scriptwriters Stefano Bises, Michele Astori and Maurizio Careddu and director Luca Ribuoli, who will work with a cast of young but already highly respected actors.”