My Brilliant Friend: Season 1

"The plot matters, but the relationship is the main event, and with this story, that's exactly as it should be."

"There's nothing new about seeing portrayals of the Italian mafia on film, but rarely has it seemed so organic as it does here."

"For all of its inspired touches, the wisest among them are the casting of newcomers Elisa Del Genio and Ludovica Nasti as the younger versions of main characters Elena and Lila..."

"You can almost taste the streets' dust and dirt."

"It is a period piece, but it is timeless, and it is a more honest and vivid portrait of the lives of young girls than I can recall seeing on TV."

"The weight... falls on young Elena - often called Lenù - who is played by Elisa del Genio, with limpid-eyed, devastating effect. Young Lila is played by Ludovica Nasti, similarly devastating, though for an entirely different reason."

"When there are dozens of new shows every month clamouring for your time, My Brilliant Friend is that rare find that should rocket to the top of your watchlist."

"Fundamentally, I couldn't figure out whether this was meant to be a tale tight or sprawling; about two girls or about their environment."

"There's certainly a sense of innocence coming to an end. The physical violence - and threat of it - has been more intense onscreen than I seem to recall from reading the books."

"My Brilliant Friend is often at its best when it invokes this same crisis of knowledge, of growing up where everyone knows your business and no one can admit the truth. It's about the escape hatch that clever girls squeeze through."

"Along these lines, My Brilliant Friend displays an intoxicating mastery of perspective."