Coming to Sky M – The Son of the Century, the series based on the novel of the same name by Antonio Scurati, winner of the Strega Prize and an international bestseller, which tells the story of the birth of fascism in Italy and the rise to power of Benito Mussolini. This highly anticipated title will have its world premiere, out of competition, at the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival before debuting on Sky. Playing the Duce is one of the most appreciated Italian actors, Luca Marinelli, winner of the David di Donatello, the Nastro d’Argento, the Coppa Volpi in Venice and the prestigious Shooting Stars Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
The series, which will be shown at the Lido in Venice in all eight episodes, is directed by Joe Wright (Darkest Hour, Atonement, Cyrano) and produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment, a Fremantle group company, in co-production with Pathé, in association with Small Forward Productions, in collaboration with Fremantle, CINECITTÀ SpA and Sky.
M – The Son of the Century: the plot
Like the novel, the series will tell the story of a country that surrendered to dictatorship and the story of a man who was able to rise from its ashes many times. It will retrace history from the foundation of the Italian Fasci in 1919 to Mussolini’s infamous speech in Parliament in 1925, after the murder of socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti. It will also offer a glimpse of Mussolini’s private life and his personal relationships, including those with his wife Rachele, his lover Margherita Sarfatti and other iconic figures of the time.
Written by Stefano Bises (Gomorra – The Series, The New Pope, ZeroZeroZero, Speravo de muore prima) and Davide Serino (1992, 1993, Il Re, Esterno Notte), with series plot and episode plots by Stefano Bises, Davide Serino and Antonio Scurati, the series will recount the events with historical accuracy, with every event, character, dialogue and speech historically documented or witnessed by multiple sources.
M – Son of the Century: The Soundtrack
The soundtrack is composed by Tom Rowlands, also known as part of the British electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers, among the pioneers who brought big beat to the forefront of pop culture, climbing the charts around the world. Multi-award winning, they have 6 Grammy Awards, 1 Brit Award, 1 MTV Europe Music Award and an NMA Award.
M – The Son of the Century: the cast
Alongside Marinelli in the cast are Francesco Russo (Call My Agent – Italy, A classic horror story, Freaks Out), who plays Cesare Rossi; Barbara Chichiarelli (Suburra – The series, The Good Mothers, Bad Tales) as Margherita Sarfatti; Benedetta Cimatti (Remember?, Tina Anselmi – A life for democracy) as Donna Rachele; Federico Majorana (Prisma, Bad Tales, Padre Pio) as Amerigo Dumini; Lorenzo Zurzolo (EO, Prisma, Baby) as Italo Balbo. And again Federico Mainardi (The Return of Casanova, Mammone) who plays Albino Volpi; Maurizio Lombardi (The Young Pope, The New Pope, 1992, Ripley) as Emilio De Bono; Gianmarco Vettori (The Beast, Brigands, Our Father) as Dino Grandi; Gaetano Bruno (Martin Eden, Indivisible, The Hunter, Doc – In your hands) who plays Giacomo Matteotti; Paolo Pierobon (Kidnapped, Night Outside, Here I Laugh, 1994) as Gabriele D’Annunzio; Elena Lietti (The Miracle, Anna, The Sun of the Future, Drought) as Velia Titta, Giacomo Matteotti’s wife; Gianluca Gobbi (Fabrizio De Andrè – Free Prince) as Cesare Maria de Vecchi; Gabriele Falsetta (I Am Love) as Roberto Farinacci. Vincenzo Nemolato (The Chimera, Everything Asks for Salvation, Supersex) as Vittorio Emanuele III.
M – The son of the century: when is it released?
M – The Child of the Century will arrive in 2025 exclusively on Sky and streaming only on NOW in all territories where Sky operates in Europe. International distribution is by Fremantle.
M – The son of the century: the teaser
