Netflix to film school drama Baby in Italy

With scripts produced by a group of five young writers, the series is based on the real-life ‘Baby Squillo’ scandal of 2013 that implicated politicians and business people in a Rome-based prostitution racket involving wealthy high school girls.

“We are proud to continue to invest in original content in Italy, and Baby is representative of the new, edgy programming from talented producers that we cherish,” said Erik Barmack, vice president of international originals at Netflix.

Baby follows Netflix’s involvement with Italian drama Suburra, which charts an epic power struggle in Rome between forces including the Church, property developers and organised crime elements.

Italy has become more popular as an international filming location since overhauling its incentive support. Recent Hollywood shoots have included Wonder Woman, Ben-Hur and Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World.

Netflix announced earlier this year that it had spent $1.75bn on European content since 2012 and had filmed in 18 separate countries on the continent.

In the last few weeks the streaming giant has pledged to increase its spending to around $8bn in 2018.

See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in Italy.

Image: iStock.com/piola666