“Gomorrah” writers Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli are set to explore the string of murders perpetrated by Italy’s so-called White Uno Gang in a gritty crime thriller produced by Riccardo Tozzi (“Gomorrah”) and Pietro Valsecchi (“Quo Vado?”).
The White Uno Gang was a criminal organization made up mainly of police officers with ties to the far right that was active during the 1980’s and the 1990’s. The gang — whose name refers to the Fiat Uno car, which its members frequently used – operated in Italy, mainly in the central Emilia-Romagna region. Between 1987 and 1994, the White Uno Gang pulled off 103 heists, mostly armed robberies, causing 24 deaths and 102 injuries.
Though the gang leaders have been caught and brought to justice, their extreme violence and the fact that many of their heists brought small loot have prompted suspicions that they were in fact terrorists, possibly tied to Italian secret services.
Investigators, including an Italian parliamentary commission, have yet to shed light on how and why the White Uno Gang pulled off some of the most heinous crimes perpetrated in post-war Italy.
Now in development, the still-untitled series, is produced by Camilla Nesbitt’s company Camfilm, and Moontrip, a new banner set up by Tozzi’s Cattleya, which is owned by ITV Studios, with Fasoli and Ravagli who will also serve as producers on the ambitious series.
The high-end show “aims to unravel the mysteries and unresolved questions that still linger over this dark chapter in Italian history,” according to a joint statement issued by the producers.
“We are aiming to reconstruct the events while exploring the personalities of both the criminals and those around them,” Fasoli and Ravagli said in the statement, noting that “the investigative narrative” will unfold in parallel to the story of the atrocious crimes that were committed. “Justice won in this case, and now we want to tell that story,” they concluded.
“The real events are so extreme they feel like fiction,” said Tozzi, a crime series specialist who, besides “Gomorrah,” which is Italy’s most widely exported TV show, also produced cocaine-trafficking drama ZeroZeroZero and Netflix’s first Italian original, “Suburra.” “We are deeply passionate about this project and thrilled to be bringing it to life with Pietro Valsecchi.”
“This project represents a crucial step in retelling a highly dramatic story packed with tension and authenticity,” said Valsecchi, whose credits include Italy’s all-time top-grossing movie “Quo Vado” and a French remake of concept comedy “Perfect Strangers” titled “Le Jeu.” “It will captivate both Italian and international audiences,” he added.
Valsecchi previously produced a TV series on the White Uno Gang in 2001 that scored stellar ratings on Italy’s Mediaset but did not travel. This iteration will attempt to take the story to another level.
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