Netflix describes the series Italian “Baby” on its platform as “Rich, unreasonably attractive private school students do horrible, scandalous things to each other. Repeatedly.”
The new Netflix show, which aired just a couple of months ago, follows the troubled lives of a group of rich and spoiled teenagers and their journey throughout their enrollment in an elite private school in Rome, Italy.
The main plotline of the series centers upon three students: Ludovica, who is portrayed as the less wealthy of the bunch; she is also quite famous on campus for participating in an “adult tape” that was leaked to the entire school.
Damiano Younes, who is portrayed as the illegitimate child of a Lebanese Ambassador to Italy and who moves in with his father after his mother passes away.
Played by Italian actor Riccardo Mandolini, Damiano is as quite the troublemaker and the “bad boy” of the series. Because when is a Lebanese character not portrayed as one in foreign movies?
And finally, the main character of the series, Chiara, who is battling with her own internal conflicts amidst trying to “fit in” in her school and among her peers.
This recent teen drama, often compared to “Pretty Little Liars” or “Riverdale, combines a bit of dark humor with suspense and high-budget production.
It is also part of Netflix’s swift and sudden global expansion to include more international series and series in multiple languages.
“Baby” is loosely based on the Baby Squillo scandal of 2014 when authorities discovered a teenage prostitution ring in Rome’s affluent Parioli neighborhood.
The series does not completely stick to the storyline of the real scandal but rather reinvents the plotline in order to dramatize events further.
“Baby” makes a number of attempts at infusing the plot with social awareness, the latest advocacy and campaigning trends, as well as to make it relatable and current.
However, it has failed to touch base with a lot of audiences according to multiple critics of the show and viewers’ reviews.
One critic states, “The show aims to keep the audience engaged by raising the stakes to impossible heights, and it uses these serious issues to add to the tension and severity of its drama.”
Nonetheless, wouldn’t you watch a show centered around a scandal, and with a Lebanese twist?
The complete first season of the series is streaming on Netflix without any set date as to the Season 2 premiere date. And it is definitely worth a little binge.