1994

After the breakdown of the old government, and with it the First Republic, Italy changed for good in 1994. Spinster Leo is all too aware of this. He pushed hard to see Berlusconi get elected Prime Minister. He knows it's not easy to win power, but holding on to it verges on the impossible. By the same token, it seems equally impossible for populist politician Pietro to change. Even now that he has an office at the Prime Minister's premises in Rome, he still can't cast off his old bad habits. Nor can he forget the only woman he has ever loved. A former TV starlet now turned politician and Congresswoman, Veronica has to decide who the man of her life is going to be. She has realized she no longer wants to be just a woman on the arm of powerful men. It is the start of her own push for power.

1994 (2019) is an Italian political drama miniseries created for Sky Atlantic, a single-season limited series of eight fifty-minute episodes. Set in 1994 Italy after the collapse of the First Republic, it follows Leonardo Notte (Stefano Accorsi), a political operator determined to see Silvio Berlusconi (Paolo Pierobon) win the premiership, while populist politician Pietro Bosco (Guido Caprino) struggles to shed his old habits even inside the Prime Minister's offices in Rome. Veronica Castello (Miriam Leone), a former television starlet turned Congresswoman, pushes to escape her role as a woman on the arm of powerful men and to carve out her own path to power. The engine of the series is the uneasy ambition of people who want influence but cannot easily hold on to it, as personal loyalties and old appetites collide with the new media-driven politics of the era. Each episode is built around shifting alliances, backroom maneuvering and the costs of ambition. Real figures such as Umberto Bossi (Paolo Mazzarelli) appear among the political landscape. The tone is cynical, tense and wry, with a sharp sense of institutional decay. Fans of The Hour, Il Divo and House of Cards will find resonance in its portrait of corruption, media, and power.

• The Hourshared political corruption drama with populist power struggles and recent national history
• Il Divoshared Italian political power satire and corruption tone set against real national figures
• House of Cardsshared prestige political drama focused on ambition, power and personal betrayal

Release Date

2019-10-04

Episode runtime

50 min

Rating

7.5 / 10 (44)

What is 1994 about?

Italian politicians navigate the rise of Berlusconi-era power in the wake of the First Republic's collapse.

What is 1994 like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of 1994 as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is 1994 violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in 1994 as mild.

Which shows are like 1994?

Shows with a similar feel include The Hour, Il Divo, and House of Cards.

How long is 1994?

1994: 1 season, 8 episodes.

Is 1994 still running?

No, 1994 has ended.