The fourth and final TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend series has earned a spot on The New York Times‘ “TV to Love” list for 2024.
Television critic James Poniewozik praised the Rai-HBO collaboration as “a marvel from start to finish” but expressed surprise at its lack of a large audience in the United States. “It’s a mystery to me why the hypnotic adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s hugely popular novels has never built a big audience here in the United States,” he wrote.
A Celebrated Finale
The final season, Story of the New Name, premiered in August at the Museum of Modern Art as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. It began airing on Italy’s Rai 1 on 11 November.
The series chronicles the decades-long friendship of Elena “Lenù” Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, intertwined with 60 years of Italian history. In the fourth season, their adult lives take centre stage, as they navigate motherhood, betrayals, threats, and reunite in their old neighbourhood amidst natural disasters.
A Year of “TV to Love”
My Brilliant Friend joined nine other titles on the New York Times list of shows to cherish this year, including English Teacher, Fantasmas, The Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A., Say Nothing, Shogun, Somebody Somewhere, and Peacock’s Paris Olympics coverage.
Poniewozik noted that while 2024 has delivered much “good television,” these top selections stand out as programmes to truly adore.
Earlier this year, My Brilliant Friend was voted the best book of the 21st century (to date) by the New York Times. Another of the Neapolitan quartet The Story of the Lost Child, placed 80 on the list.
