Transnational co-production, multiplatform television andMy Brilliant Friend

Abstract

Rai/HBO co-production L’Amica Geniale/My Brilliant Friend (2018–) provides an illuminating example of changing strategies for transnational drama co-production in television’s burgeoning ‘multiplatform’ era. Foregrounding institutional over textual analysis, the article places My Brilliant Friend (MBF) within the industrial, creative and cultural contexts that have facilitated it. Important to these contexts is that transnational co-productions between non-US broadcasters and US-based premium networks are not only increasing but also exhibiting a new degree of cultural diversity. The article examines MBF’s origination as a literary adaptation, its genesis as a ‘cross-platform’ co-production, and its exemplification of changing drama commissioning strategies for Rai and HBO.