What scenario could be richer in emotion than real life? Isn’t it said that reality surpasses fiction? The series love to take on real-life stories. The audience love to shiver, laugh or cry while watching them. On a personal level, I find a selfish comfort in the fact that my life isn’t so bad after all. And when I watch a biopic, I feel like I’m learning something.
Series based on true events can sometimes lack daring in their artistic choices (overly classic adaptations), but they are generally very interesting.
History (from Alexander to the 1980’s)
- Alexander / Netflix / History /A beautiful docu-series focused on the period of the first part of the conquests (Persia and Egypt).
- Marco Polo / Netflix / History / From 1270 to 1272, the first years of the famous explorer at the court of the great Kubilai Khan, in China
- Turn: Washington’s spies / Netflix / Long Island, 1776. A farmer revolted by English occupation becomes a spy. Based on the true story of the Culper ring.
- The Empress / Neflix / History / From 1854, the fate of the famous “Sisi”, empress Elizabeth of Austria. A romantic series, faithful to historical reality
- The English game / Netflix / History – sports / At the end of 19th century, workers’ teams begin to play football against aristocrats. How can the game be fair? [based on the true life of the three main footballers]
- The law according to Lidia Poët / Netflix / History – feminism / Italy, 1883. Based on the true story of the first female advocate, investigating crime in the serie.
- A thousand blows / Disney+ / History – sports & drama / London, 1880. From East End to rich districts, a Jamaican man become a boxing star. By the creator of Peaky Blinders. [based on the life of Hezekiah Moscow, crossed with the real story of a woman gang named the 40 elephants]
- Peaky Blinders / Netflix / History – action / Birmingham, 1920. A ruthless gypsy family takes control of all the city’s trafficking. Beautiful and powerful ! [the characters are fictional, but the gang was real]
- Tapie / Netflix / Politics / France, between 1960 and 1995. The rise and fall of the very charismatic businessman Bernard Tapie
Contemporary
- A man on the inside / Netflix / Comedy / A retired bored professor is hired by a private detective to infiltrate a retirement community. [based on Maite Alberdi’s 2020 documentary The Mole Agent]
- American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden / This documentary shows how the CIA hunted down Bin Laden for almost ten years before finding him
- Apple Cider Vinegar / Netflix / Drama / Australia, 2012-2015. the journey of two young women battling cancer. One of them lies.
- The sticky / Amazon / Comedy / An unlikely trio improvise an unimaginable heist: to steal the maple syrup stock.[the characters are fictional, but this incredible heist did happen!]
- Toxic town / Netflix / Health scandal / Corby, Northamptonshire, in the 1990’s. Several mothers give birth to children with deformities. They will seek justice [the characters are fictional, but the story real]
- The lost station girls / Disney+ / South of France, 1998. The body of a young woman is found horribly mutilated. A long investigation begins.