Based on a real-life scandal, Suburra is set in the closing days of Burlusconi’s feckless reign, as a coterie of mafia outfits and corrupt politicians try to make Ostia, the ancient port of Rome, into a Macau-style gambling haven. The cosmology of Italy’s underworld is sordid, byzantine, and endlessly fascinating; here it’s brought to you by the joint efforts of a prominent crime novelist and a reporter from Italy’s left-leaning daily paper, La Repubblica. For added incentive, Suburrra is being developed as a Netflix original series by Cattleya, the production company that adapted Gomorrah from the 2006 Roberto Saviano bestseller.
