Premiere of ‘Portobello’ (HBO Max)

1982. Enzo Tortora is at the peak of success. He hosts Portobello, a show that reaches 28 million viewers in prime time, where contestants try to make the parrot —the show’s mascot— talk. Tortora is the king of 1980s television, and the President of Italy, Alessandro Pertini, even names him Commander of the Republic.

During this time, the Irpinia earthquake delivers the final blow to the already fragile balance of the new criminal organization of the Camorra. Giovanni Pandico, a trusted friend of mafia boss Raffaele Cutolo and a regular viewer of “Portobello,” decides to repent. Questioned by judges, he names an unexpected person: Enzo Tortora. When on June 17, 1983, the Italian police knock on the door of Tortora’s hotel room, he believes it must be a mistake — but it’s only the beginning of an ordeal that will drag him from the heights to the abyss.

Directed by veteran Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, the series, the first Italian production for HBO Max, had its world premiere just over a month ago at the Venice Film Festival. Bellocchio is one of Europe’s great filmmakers, director of films such as Devil in the Flesh, Vincere, The Traitor or The Kidnapping, among many others. His previous series, Exterior Night, also had its national premiere at Serielizados.