The crime series has gone under the radar but is a hidden gem on Netflix.
Fans of gangster movies and TV shows, from the likes of Peaky Blinders to HBO’s masterpiece Boardwalk Empire and Martin Scorsese classic Casino, can’t afford to miss out on this show which has received rave reviews from audience members. The series has been highly praised on IMDb and has a 7.9/10 rating on the platform.
One avid viewer posted in their 9/10 review: “Amazing acting, amazing characters, addictive plot! Rome as you’ve never seen it before.” They went on to say: “A must watch for every mafia-related movie fan!” While an 8/10 review hailed the show “just about perfect”. The audience member went on to praise the “great actors” and the scenery as “wonderful”. They concluded: “I think Netflix is on to something good here.”
A 10/10 review showered further praise on the series: “Having seen the amazing Gomorrah, I started this saying it can never be as good. Well, we have just watched the final episode and even my husband was affected by it.” They urged new viewers to “stick with it” because it “gets better and better”. The fan went on to admit that “it will be a long time before I can forget about this series” and promised: “Watch this and love it all – you won’t regret it!”
Someone else wrote in their 8/10 review: “Truly great television the likes of which you won’t find elsewhere.” The elaborated that the narrative was “epic storytelling at its finest” with a “cohesive” plot and “extremely well-written dialogue”. The reviewer noted: “There are precious few film projects that are as well done as this series.”
Another 9/10 review stated: “Great plot lines with corrupt politicians, rival drug gangs, seedy Vatican dealings….. and with that you’ve got something you can use to build great story lines.” They praised the “first rate acting” and said the backdrop added to the viewing experience. The reviewer concluded: “Great series, enjoy yourself watching it!”
While a third 9/10 review described it as “one of the best Italian series” and “strongly advised” others to watch the show. They went on to tease the complex plot: “Every character’s story is tangled with the other’s.” The reviewer finished by telling others: “There’s no risk of getting bored, every episode has a “coup de théâtre” and the result is a binge watching of all the 10 episodes.”
Suburra: Blood on Rome is an Italian crime drama based on the 2015 film Suburra. The movie itself was inspired by the novel 2013 of the same name by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo. The Netflix TV show initially served as a prequel to the film for its first two seasons, before its third and the final outing took a new direction.
Suburra was set the Italian capital of Rome and drew inspiration from real-life events of the Mafia Capitale investigation, which looked into corrupt city government officials. These individuals were stealing money and carrying out other criminal activity, including money laundering and bribery. The TV show explored the corruption and links between the mafia, politicians, members of the church, and ordinary people, blurring the lines between good and bad.
Season one focused on a power struggle over a lucrative piece of land in the Ostia district. Various factions were vying for the land, including ordinary people and various gangsters. The series also showed the struggle between rival mafia families: the Anacletis and the Adamis. Audiences saw the push and pull between the different forces play out.
The programme was led by star Alessandro Borghi as gang member Aureliano Adami and also featured Giacomo Ferrara as Alberto ‘Spadino’ Anacleti, Eduardo Valdarnini as Gabriele ‘Lele’ Marchilli, Francesco Acquaroli as the head the organised crime in Rome and a Sicilian Mafia member ‘Samurai’, Filippo Nigro as politician Amedeo Cinaglia, Claudia Gerini as financial auditor Sara Monaschi, and Adamo Dionisi as Sinti gang member Manfredi Anacleti, among others.
Suburra was Netflix’s first Italian-language Original, with season one getting a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 94 percent on the Popcornmeter. The novel which inspired both the films and the TV show has been billed on Amazon as a “fast-paced crime thriller set in Rome: Gomorrah meets House of Cards” and has received positive reviews.
One person awarded the novel 5/5 stars and poured praise on it: “This is more than just a crime novel it is an important exposé of Italy’s criminal underbelly. The corruption of every facet of society is portrayed in Suburra and the scale is staggering and horrifying. The novel is the epic story of modern Rome and the people who manipulate it’s destiny.” While a second top-tier review described it as a “superb novel” and said the authors had written a “masterpiece that brilliantly weaves the lives of Suburra’s characters into a page-turner”.
Suburra: Blood on Rome is streaming on Netflix now
