Watching Italian television can turn language practice into something you look forward to. Instead of studying isolated sentences, you hear people make plans, argue, tell jokes, and explain what they want. Facial expressions and familiar situations help you follow the conversation, even when some words escape you.
However, the best Italian TV series to learn Italian depends on your level. A family comedy offers different listening practice from a crime drama filled with regional speech. Your interests matter too: a series you want to keep watching is more useful than a supposedly perfect choice you abandon after one episode.
This guide brings together ten series, from everyday comedies to more demanding dramas. The suggested levels are editorial recommendations, not official language ratings. Even the easier choices contain natural speech and work best with subtitles and short, repeated scenes.
For more background, explore Italia Mia’s brief history of Italian television and the growing Italian TV section.
Which Italian Series Should You Start With?
If you already understand basic Italian, start with DI4RIES, Un medico in famiglia, or An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts. They offer recognizable situations and useful conversational topics.
At an intermediate level, try I Hate Christmas, Summertime, or Don Matteo. For a greater challenge, choose The Law According to Lidia Poët, Il commissario Montalbano, or The Lying Life of Adults. Suburra: Blood on Rome is better saved for confident listeners who want exposure to Roman speech and slang.
At A1, these are listening supplements rather than self-contained lessons. Start with a brief scene, learn a few expressions, and keep studying the basics alongside your viewing.
1. DI4RIES — Best for School and Friendship Vocabulary
Italian title: Di4ri
Suggested level: A2–B1, with subtitles
Where to check: Netflix
DI4RIES follows young students through school, friendships, and first relationships. Its familiar situations give learners a useful starting point: you can often understand the purpose of a conversation before catching every sentence.
Listen for the language of invitations, preferences, disagreements, and feelings. These topics help you move beyond textbook introductions toward conversations about what people think and want.
The challenge is the pace. Young characters can speak quickly and use informal expressions. Replay a short exchange between two people rather than beginning with a noisy group scene.
Try this: Write down three ways a character agrees, refuses, or changes the subject. Practise using each expression in a sentence of your own.
2. Un medico in famiglia — Best for Everyday Family Italian
Suggested level: A2–B1, with support
Where to check: RaiPlay
This family series offers plenty of domestic conversation, making it a useful choice for learners interested in ordinary Italian life. Family relationships, household problems, and work provide a broad range of vocabulary.
Recurring characters also make listening easier over time. Once you know who belongs to the family and how people relate to each other, you have fewer details to work out during a scene.
Use the series to notice how Italian sounds when people ask for help, complain, reassure someone, or discuss arrangements. Some exchanges overlap or move quickly, so choose calmer scenes first.
Try this: Collect expressions connected with meals, appointments, and household routines. Review whole phrases instead of memorizing only individual nouns.
3. An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts — Best for Dating and Workplace Conversation
Italian title: Guida astrologica per cuori infranti
Suggested level: B1
Where to check: Netflix
This romantic comedy follows Alice as she navigates relationships and takes advice from an astrology enthusiast. Its mixture of dating and workplace situations offers practical listening material for adult learners.
You can practise the language of opinions, uncertainty, attraction, and disappointment. The comedy also encourages you to listen beyond literal meaning: tone often tells you whether someone is sincere, embarrassed, or being sarcastic.
You do not need to learn every astrological term. Focus on expressions you could use when talking about a colleague, making plans, or explaining how you feel.
Try this: Find a scene in which Alice describes a problem. Summarize it aloud in three simple Italian sentences.
4. I Hate Christmas — Best for Relationships and Social Plans
Italian title: Odio il Natale
Suggested level: B1
Where to check: Netflix
I Hate Christmas is an Italian romantic comedy about a young woman looking for love. Its social and family situations create useful opportunities to hear contemporary conversational Italian.
Pay attention to how people ask personal questions, give advice, and talk about expectations. These exchanges contain vocabulary you can reuse when discussing relationships or arranging to see friends.
Humor may be harder to understand than the main story. If a joke passes you by, keep watching until you understand the situation, then return to the line with that context.
Try this: Identify one invitation, one excuse, and one expression of surprise. Repeat them with the speaker’s rhythm.
5. Summertime — Best for Informal Contemporary Italian
Suggested level: B1–B2
Where to check: Netflix
Set against the Adriatic coast, Summertime combines relationships, friendships, and decisions about the future. It is a useful option for learners who want informal conversation in a contemporary setting.
Listen for how the characters discuss plans, explain doubts, and react to each other. Scenes involving relationships can help you recognize language for wishes, possibilities, and things that have already happened.
The attractive setting makes the series enjoyable, but the dialogue still requires attention. Natural speech can be quick, quiet, or emotionally charged.
Try this: After a scene, explain what one character wants and what another character thinks about it. Keep your summary simple enough to say without reading.
6. Don Matteo — Best for Following a Familiar Story Structure
Suggested level: B1–B2
Where to check: RaiPlay
Don Matteo combines investigations with community life and recurring characters. The familiar mystery structure can support your comprehension: someone asks questions, different accounts emerge, and the investigation develops.
You will encounter vocabulary connected with police work, but ordinary conversation is useful too. Look for scenes about relationships, misunderstandings, and daily concerns.
Following a whole mystery requires more concentration than understanding one conversation. Start by identifying who is speaking and what they are trying to find out.
Try this: Make two short lists: facts you understood and questions you still have. Update them as the story progresses.
7. The Law According to Lidia Poët — Best for Expanding Your Vocabulary
Italian title: La legge di Lidia Poët
Suggested level: B2
Where to check: Netflix
This period legal drama offers a more demanding step beyond everyday conversation. Its investigations and arguments introduce language connected with evidence, rights, institutions, and social expectations.
The historical setting means some vocabulary is less immediately useful for modern small talk. However, it provides good practice in following explanations and understanding how people defend a position.
Focus first on the argument: what does a character believe, and why? You can return later to unfamiliar legal terms.
Try this: Write a short summary using perché, però, and quindi—because, however, and therefore—to connect your ideas.
8. Il commissario Montalbano — Best for Exploring Sicilian Speech
Suggested level: B2–C1
Where to check: RaiPlay
Based on Andrea Camilleri’s novels, the series follows police commissioner Salvo Montalbano in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata. Its appeal includes investigations, memorable personalities, and a strong sense of place.
For learners, the important challenge is its mixture of Italian and Sicilian-influenced speech. Some characters are much easier to understand than others. Standard Italian subtitles, when supplied, may also smooth out regional wording rather than reproduce it exactly.
Treat unfamiliar expressions as an opportunity to explore Sicily’s linguistic character. Check which phrases are widely used in Italian before adopting them yourself.
Try this: Compare one regional expression with its standard Italian equivalent. Keep both in your notes, clearly labeled.
9. The Lying Life of Adults — Best for Nuanced Dialogue
Italian title: La vita bugiarda degli adulti
Suggested level: B2–C1
Where to check: Netflix
Adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel, this drama explores adolescence and adult relationships in Naples. It suits learners who want to work on emotional meaning as well as vocabulary.
The language moves between Italian and Neapolitan speech. Understanding a scene may depend on recognizing tension, implication, and differences between how characters express themselves.
Do not assume that an unfamiliar line reveals a gap in your standard Italian. It may contain regional language. Subtitles and repeated viewing are particularly helpful here.
Try this: Describe how a character feels, then explain which words, tone, or gestures support your interpretation.
10. Suburra: Blood on Rome — Best for Advanced Listening and Roman Slang
Italian title: Suburra – La serie
Suggested level: C1 listening challenge
Where to check: Netflix
Suburra is a crime drama that provides demanding listening practice through Roman speech, slang, and intense exchanges. It is better suited to learners who already understand a substantial amount of spoken Italian.
The series also contains strong language and violence. Some expressions are aggressive or highly specific to their context, so understanding them does not mean you should use them in everyday conversation.
Choose calmer exchanges for your first study sessions. Once you know the characters and their relationships, more complicated scenes become easier to follow.
Try this: Mark new expressions as neutral, informal, vulgar, or regional. If you are uncertain, check with a teacher or a reliable dictionary.
How to Learn Italian While Watching TV
You can enjoy a complete episode, but keep deliberate study focused on one short scene. A manageable routine is easier to repeat.
- Watch for meaning. Use English subtitles if you need them to understand the situation.
- Replay with Italian subtitles, when available. Connect the sounds with the written words.
- Choose three useful phrases. Prefer expressions you could imagine saying yourself.
- Replay a few lines without subtitles. Listen for words you now recognize.
- Speak aloud. Repeat a line, then adapt it to your own life.
Italian subtitles do not always match the audio word for word. They may shorten a sentence or translate dialect into standard Italian. Use them as support while continuing to listen carefully.
Between episodes, build your vocabulary with Italia Mia’s Italian Word of the Day. For more cultural expressions, explore the Italian proverbs guide.
Where to Watch Italian Series in Italy and Abroad
The links above lead to official Netflix or RaiPlay pages checked for this guide. A listing does not guarantee that every episode is playable in your country. Catalogs, viewing rights, and subtitle options can change.
If you watch from the United States or another country, open the title in your own account before subscribing. Confirm that Italian audio is offered and check whether Italian subtitles are available. Netflix’s English-language title may differ from the Italian title, so try both when searching.
For RaiPlay, check the individual episode: international access can depend on rights restrictions. A series page alone does not confirm overseas playback.
Above all, choose a show you enjoy. Return to familiar characters, notice expressions as they recur, and give yourself time to understand more. A few useful phrases learned consistently can turn entertainment into a lasting Italian habit.
External Sources
- Netflix: DI4RIES
- RaiPlay: Un medico in famiglia
- Netflix: An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts
- Netflix: I Hate Christmas
- Netflix: Summertime
- RaiPlay: Don Matteo
- Netflix: The Law According to Lidia Poët
- RaiPlay: Il commissario Montalbano
- Netflix: The Lying Life of Adults
- Netflix: Suburra: Blood on Rome
