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I suppose Adoration is one of the most run-of-the-mill teen crime shows I’ve seen in a while. When Vanessa’s rebellious best friend Elena goes missing one day, Vanessa worries something’s gone wrong, but nobody really thinks there’s a mystery to solve here; it’s only an attention-seeking girl being herself. When Elena doesn’t return for two days and is found dead, all the teens of the city get entangled in the mess. There are many hidden truths, not only involving the kids but parents as well, and this story isn’t simply about Elena but about all the kids she knew. Adoration is essentially a coming-of-age show that happens to double as a murder mystery. For the most part, it plays out like a regular teen show, which can be in a way a disservice to the subject matter. But I guess that’s how...

Netflix is putting toxic masculinity under the comedy microscope.

The streamer has ordered Maschi Veri, an eight-part comedy series from Italy in which four alpha male friends in their forties find themselves facing their own prejudices and the paradigms of toxic masculinity in a world that is moving towards social and gender equality. Without losing themselves, they are forced to rediscover their place in society and their relationships.

Maurizio Lastrico, Matteo Martari, Francesco Montanari and Pietro Sermonti star as the friends in the show, which is from Banijay’s Italian drama house Groenlandia. Furio Andreotti, Giulia Calenda and Ugo Ripamonti are the writers, with Groenlandia’s Matteo Rovere producing. Matteo Oleotto and Letizia Lamartire are directing.

Thony, Sarah Felberbaum, Laura Adriani, Alice Lupparelli, Corrado Fortuna and Nicole Grimaudo complete the cast. Show is slated for a 2025 launch.

For Netflix, the series is its latest out of Italy that explores contemporary masculinity.