What to watch to learn Italian
Everything one working Italian teacher told us they would actually put in front of a learner, with a note on why each one works and the level it suits.
6
Recommendations
1
Teachers
Picked by
My lessons are about real conversation, so what I recommend to watch is what real Italians actually watch. Most of these are spoken in clear, standard Italian and you can start them once you can follow a normal conversation; the last two are harder, one because of the regional speech and one because it is reading rather than listening. And if a film on this list exists as a remake in your own language, watch both: comparing them is one of the fastest ways to hear how Italian phrases things differently.
See Samuele Cerquetella’s picks
Breaking Italy
Alessandro Masala's news commentary, four days a week and around twenty minutes an episode. He speaks at full speed but very clearly, and he lays out each story before he comments on it, so you get the context you need to keep up.
Intermediate
Il Post
The best journalism in Italy, free to read and written in plain, well-structured Italian across every topic, which makes it reading practice you can steer towards whatever you already care about. Most of its podcasts sit behind a paywall, but several turn up in part on YouTube.
Intermediate
La vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful)
Roberto Benigni's wartime fable, one of the most widely seen Italian films there is. Almost all of it is spoken in clear, standard Italian, which makes it a gentler first film than its subject matter suggests.
Intermediate
Perfetti sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers)
Seven friends at a dinner party agree to read every message and take every call out loud. It is the most remade film in the world, so there is a good chance it exists in your own language too: watch that version first, then the Italian original, and you will follow far more than you expect.
Intermediate
Boris
A satire set on the shoot of a dreadful Italian TV drama: witty, very funny, and the sharpest crash course there is in how contemporary Italy works. The speech carries more regional colour than the rest of this list, so save it until you can already follow a normal conversation.
Intermediate-Advanced
L'amica geniale (My Brilliant Friend)
The Rai and HBO adaptation of Elena Ferrante's Naples novels, and a genuinely good Italian series, which is rarer than it should be. Much of the dialogue is in Neapolitan rather than standard Italian, so keep the Italian subtitles on.
Intermediate-Advanced
Frequently asked
What can I watch to learn Italian?
Samuele Cerquetella of Italian lessons on italki recommends Breaking Italy, Il Post, La vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful) and Perfetti sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers), 6 teacher-chosen picks in total. Each links out to where you can watch or listen, with a note on the right learner level.
What shows can I watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime to learn Italian?
Samuele Cerquetella, who teaches Italian at Italian lessons on italki, recommends La vita è bella (Life Is Beautiful), Perfetti sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers), Boris and L'amica geniale (My Brilliant Friend). These are all TV series and films, so you will usually find them on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Each one links out to where to watch it, with a note on the level it suits.