This open-access volume is the first English-language study of the vibrant contemporary landscape of Italian youth-oriented television. TV shows addressed include internationally popular series such as SKAM Italia, Baby, Summertime, We Are Who We Are, Zero, Prisma, My Brilliant Friend, Mare Fuori, and many others. The collection explores the changing representation of young people, while contextualising these developments historically and industrially. The opening section examines key issues shaping contemporary Italian youth television, such as fashion, place, music, and language, with a focus on how Italian producers and outlets are adapting local practices in response to transnational production models and international distribution networks. The second and third sections offer focused readings of Italian youth TV series in this contemporary landscape, drawing on a wide range of thematic angles, from immigration to queer identities. Finally, the book concludes with interviews with major industry figures, who reflect on recent adjustments in production and distribution practices by public service broadcasters and digital platforms. 

Luca Barra is Professor of Television and Media Studies at the Università di Bologna, Italy. He published widely on TV production and distribution cultures, comedy genres, the global circulation of media products, and the evolution of the contemporary media landscape.

Danielle Hipkins is Professor of Italian Studies and Film at the University of Exeter, UK. She is currently co-authoring Girlhood and the Italian Screen: A Girls’-Eye View of Italian cinema and television.

Catherine O’Rawe is Professor of Italian Film and Culture at Bristol University, UK. Her publications include Stars and Masculinities in Contemporary Italian Cinema (2014) and The Non-Professional Actor. Italian Neorealist Cinema and Beyond (2023).

Dana Renga is Professor of Italian and Dean of Arts and Humanities at The Ohio State University, USA. She has published widely in Italian media studies, in particular on the mafia, and is working on the monograph #CastingStardom in Contemporary Italian Serial Television.

“Contemporary Italian Youth Television is a rich and diverse collection providing a masterly overview of contemporary youth television in Italy.  With rapid transformations in media distribution and markets, this book delivers comprehensive insights into both historical developments and contemporary trends, including the impact of global platforms like Netflix on Italian teen drama and youth representation, responses by national broadcaster RAI, and evolving representations of Italian youth across various platforms. As such it makes a valuable contribution to the expanding field of youth screen cultures.” (Jeanette Steemers, Professor of Culture, Media & Creative Industries, King's College London)

“For some time the expanding array of youth-oriented Italian television series has been a subject in search of a comprehensive English-language study. Contemporary Italian Youth Television remedies that, offering a field-defining survey comprised of over 30 essays by established and emerging scholars of Italian media. With a rich, accessibly written introduction charting the evolution of youth programming and Italian teen television’s global and transnational contexts, as well as interviews with key industry figures, the volume is a welcome and much needed addition to the growing body of works focusing on teen TV outside of the United States and the UK.” (Allison Cooper, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Cinema Studies, Bowdoin College)

“Contemporary Italian Youth Television offers a timely intervention in media and television studies, charting the rise of youth-oriented Italian series within a globalized, platform-driven landscape. Covering series such as SKAM Italia, Baby, Summertime, and Mare fuori, the volume interrogates questions of genre, representation, authorship, and transnational flow. Combining production analysis, audience research, and close textual readings, this collection foregrounds Italian youth television as a dynamic site for examining shifting industry logics, cultural identities, and screen aesthetics in the streaming era.” (Daniela Cardini, Professor of Television Studies, IULM University)

This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access First volume to cover Italian youth TV, including digital platforms, which is increasing in transnational resonance Presented in teachable formats: short, accessible takes drawing on a wide range of methods Broad coverage featuring up-to-date survey of all the major Italian contemporary youth TV series

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