10 Exciting Italian TV Shows to Learn and Practice Italian

Italian television can help you hear different voices, accents and registers. These ten programmes range from workplace comedy and sport to crime and political drama. Choose by subject and difficulty rather than assuming they are all suitable for beginners.

Many entries contain violence, strong language or adult themes. Check the programme’s rating and content notes. Streaming rights, subscriptions and available language tracks vary by country and change over time; the publisher links below provide information, rather than guaranteeing access in your location.

1. Rocco Schiavone

The detective created by Antonio Manzini is a Roman vicequestore transferred for disciplinary reasons to Aosta, a city in Valle d’Aosta. His investigations combine crime, grief and caustic humour.

Listening focus: Listen for the contrast between official police vocabulary and informal speech. The show includes strong language and disturbing crimes.

Publisher information about Rocco Schiavone

2. Romanzo criminale – La serie

Based on Giancarlo De Cataldo’s novel, the series fictionalizes the rise and fall of a criminal gang inspired by Rome’s Banda della Magliana. It should not be treated as an exact documentary account.

Listening focus: Roman speech, slang and rapid exchanges can be demanding. Notice how characters address allies and opponents; do not copy insults into ordinary conversation.

Publisher information about Romanzo criminale – La serie

3. Suburra: Blood on Rome

A crime drama about land, organized crime and corrupt political interests around Rome. Netflix’s series has three seasons, rather than the single season stated in the older version of this article.

Listening focus: Expect slang, strong language, violence and mature themes. Work with a short scene and check who is speaking before interpreting pronouns.

Publisher information about Suburra: Blood on Rome

4. First Team: Juventus

A six-part documentary series following Juventus during the 2017–2018 football season, on and off the pitch. Interviews include players, coaching staff and figures from the club’s history.

Listening focus: The football vocabulary gives you a focused topic. For example, la partita is the match and l’allenamento is training. People’s roles in these recordings reflect that season, rather than the current team.

Publisher information about First Team: Juventus

5. Ultimate Beastmaster Italia

The Italian-localized edition of the international obstacle-course competition, with Italian presentation and commentary. It is not a scripted Italian drama or a beginner language course.

Listening focus: Visual action can support comprehension, but excited commentary can be fast. Notice instructions, reactions and numbers; the format and contestant count can differ between seasons.

Publisher information about Ultimate Beastmaster Italia

6. Camera Café

An Italian adaptation of the French sitcom format, built around conversations near an office coffee machine. Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu play its central comic roles.

Listening focus: Short scenes are convenient for repeat listening. Office slang, irony and exaggerated personalities can require context, so distinguish a joke from a neutral expression.

Publisher information about Camera Café

7. Il clan dei camorristi

A fictionalized crime drama inspired by the Casalesi clan and the conflict between organized crime and the institutions fighting it. The broadcaster’s synopsis follows the rise of O’Malese; the series should not be described as a straightforward biography of Antonio Bardellino.

Listening focus: Regional speech and crime vocabulary make this challenging listening. It contains violence and mature themes; use a brief scene rather than expecting every word to be standard conversational Italian.

Publisher information about Il clan dei camorristi

8. Siffredi Late Night Academy

An adults-only reality programme about the adult-entertainment industry. Its explicit sexual content makes it unsuitable for children or shared classroom viewing.

Listening focus: If considering it, check the content description and local availability carefully. For general everyday Italian practice, one of the other programmes here may be a more useful starting point.

9. 1992

A fictional ensemble drama set against the Italian political upheaval and corruption investigations of the early 1990s. It is followed by 1993 and 1994, forming a trilogy.

Listening focus: Political vocabulary and historical references benefit from background reading. Treat invented characters and dramatized scenes as fiction, even when real events are part of the setting.

Publisher information about 1992

10. Gomorra – La serie

The series draws on Roberto Saviano’s book and depicts struggles for power among Camorra clans in and around Naples. The original series has five seasons. Camorristi are members of the Camorra, not simply a synonym for all drug dealers.

Listening focus: Much of the dialogue uses Neapolitan or regional speech. Italian subtitles can help, but they may translate that speech rather than reproduce it word for word. Violence, strong language and mature themes make this a demanding choice.

Publisher information about Gomorra – La serie

Practise with a short scene

Watch a scene once for the general meaning, then replay it with Italian captions if available. Note one useful expression, check its register and say an original sentence using it. A few focused minutes can be more useful than trying to understand an entire season at once.

Which show has helped you notice a new Italian expression? Share the programme and the phrase in the comments.