Disney + throws the gauntlet to Netflix.
Competition between streaming platforms is also igniting in Italy, which with the persistence of the pandemic, and therefore the closure of entertainment venues, are the queens of entertainment.
In pursuit of Netflix - over 200 million subscribers, of which 8.51 million arrived in the last three months of last year, as of January 20 - Disney +, the galaxy of the Disney world, which reached 94 in a year, was also launched. , 9 million subscribers.
"An exciting result when we think that the target for 2024 was between 60 and 90," said Kathryn Fink, General Manager Media.
Now from February 23 in Italy Disney plus launches the attack with Star, the sixth brand of the Mickey Mouse platform (alongside Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic): more than 400 films and 6,000 TV episodes arrive in the first year and opens up to new original Italian productions too.
Three titles are announced today in the launch event by Alessandro Saba, Director Original Production.
The cult title for an entire generation of viewers, namely BORIS, six episodes of satire and fun written and directed by Giacomo Ciarrapico and Luca Vendruscolo with the heart turned to the prematurely deceased Mattia Torre, produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment (Fremantle) and set this time, with the same cast as then, right in the new world of platforms.
The series from another cult title, THE IGNORING FAIRIES, on which Ferzan Ozpetek himself is working: "I give myself airs, I work for Disney - said the Italian-Turkish director who attended the event - and I'm working day and night. There will be eight episodes of which half with my direction and the other half with Gianluca Mazzella at the debut. I will be showrunner of the entire series that will overcome the theme of sexuality to talk about betrayal ".
"It will be a renewal for me too, as well as being my first series. There will be a lot of Italianness, light, opera", he continued.
Top secret the cast: "someone thinks they will be the same as in the film 20 years ago - Accorsi, Buy, Garko, Ylmaz - then there will be others. I also want to surprise the audience and an episode will be shot in my Istanbul".
Third title for Star Original is a chilling mafia drama, ideally dedicated to Lea Garofalo's sacrifice: THE GOOD MOTHERS, six episodes in international co-production (House Productions and Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Wildside), written by Stephen Butchard, based on the book by Alex Perry to tell from a different, feminine angle, the true story of three clan women of the 'Ndrangheta, who decide to collaborate with a courageous magistrate (Alessandra Cerreti) to destroy it.
Disney Italia CEO Daniel Frigo reiterated the programming line: in addition to the production of content exclusively for the platform, there will be "content that will follow the traditional release path, arriving first in cinemas and on linear channels and then land on the group's streaming service ".
Among the titles streamed only on Disney + and available from February 23 on Star will be: the crime thriller Big Sky, created by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies and The Undoing);
Love, Victor, the spin-off series of Tuo, Simon written by original screenwriters Isaac Aptaker (This Is Us) and Elizabeth Berger (This Is Us);
the animated sitcom Solar Opposites, co-created by Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty) and Mike McMahan (former assistant writer at Rick & Morty);
in addition to the drama series Helstrom and Godfather of Harlem, written by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein, starring Forest Whitaker.
A plus can make the difference: the parental control system.
Alongside the children's profile (for children under seven) already present on the platform, the Star brand will have a sophisticated and customizable access for age groups and a dedicated pin, so that any content visible even in the absence of parents will be guaranteed in safety (6+, 9+, 12+, 14+, 16+ and 18+).
Andrea Pirlo will be the face of the new Disney launch campaign and with Stefano Fresi will guide viewers to discover Star, whose subscription is included in Disney + without any price increase until the first renewal after 22 August.
(HANDLE).