Netflix is continuing its domination of Black streaming content with the announcement of its fourth Italian original title, Zero, which will follow the lives of Black youth in Italy.
Writer/director Antonio Dikele Distefano has noted the groundbreaking aspect of the series. “For me–a Black kid who is Italian, like Zero, and who owes everything Italy–the most beautiful thing is that this will be the first series in which the protagonists will be Black Italian kids,” he said, as reported by Variety. “I hope that this [series] will open the door to Black actors, creatives, and artists who have not yet had a big break,” he said, adding that the series will “reflect the lives of lots of kids, regardless of what color they are.”
The series will follow a young man named Zero who has the power to know “the reality of things and people that is concealed behind appearances.”
Distefano’s second book will be the jumping-off point for the series, despite the Netflix story and the book’s storyline differing. Distefano also said the series will have rap music because “rap is the language of my generation.”
Italian-born Distefano is a 27-year-old writer and TV music show presenter descended from Angolan parents. Distefano self-published his debut novel, with the translated title meaning “It’s Raining Outside, And Inside As Well. Can I Come And Pick You Up?” Well-known Italian publisher Mondadori republished the book in 2015.
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Photo: Netflix/ Getty Images
