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Season 1 – The Lying Life of Adults

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The Lying Life of Adults Jan 2023 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Giovanna navigates her passage from childhood into adolescence as she experiences the different sides of Naples during the 1990s.
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The Lying Life of Adults — Season 1

The Lying Life of Adults — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Adapted with the same patient rhythms as Elena Ferrante's novel, The Lying Life of Adults is a coming of age epic with genuine wisdom and sweep.

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Critics Reviews

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Judy Berman TIME Magazine 02/02/2023
A coming-of-age drama set in 1990s Naples, Life traces the quietly cataclysmic fallout of one apparently trivial moment in the life of a middle-class family. Go to Full Review
Sophie Gilbert The Atlantic 01/17/2023
At times, it’s maddening. But it’s also stunning in a way that nothing has really been since Mad Men, with each frame its own tightly composed showpiece. Go to Full Review
Steve Greene IndieWire 01/05/2023
B+
Even though most of The Lying Life of Adults hinges on the most basic ideas of jealousy and betrayal, that background gives all of those developments a grander feel. Go to Full Review
Rhea Candy Film Companion 02/06/2023
By the end of the show, we’re presented with the idea of “beautiful lies”, which suggests lying is a creative and vital exercise for surviving adulthood... Go to Full Review
César Pradines Clarín 01/17/2023
3/4
Pure and hard '90s for an adolescent in love with break dancing. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Ezequiel Boetti Otroscines.com 01/13/2023
3.5/5
... A beautiful and melancholic series, subtle in outlining the contours of those characters crushed by the passing of time and captures the period in which a teenager becomes an adult. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Allan K @RT66717814 08/05/2023 Not much to see that hasn't been seen. Nothing to say that hasn't been said. Nothing doing that hasn't been done, only better. The acting is good if somewhat predictable. And at the end I'm left wondering, yeah - so what? A series that tells me little about other people, about film making or about myself. Three episodes too long. See more Kris I @Krisd 02/02/2023 The second half really made zero sense to me. It did look good but I kind of saw it as a study of italian macho behavior, but clearly not a critical one. Beautifully shot but even in this there was arrogance by the producers & director. See more Judith K @ziqiongmom 02/02/2023 This is a fairly drawn out six episode series that should have been much shorter. But even then the plot seems fairly pointless. Our upper class teenage heroine discovers a lower class aunt that her parents disdain, and this series traces her relationship with her aunt and the people in her poor neighborhood. Our heroine thereupon rejects her upbringing - ending in a ridiculous and inconclusive flight, seemingly to nowhere. I love Elena Ferrante. But this is nowhere near as good as the HBO serialization of My Brilliant Friend. See more Tom S @Acewrite13 01/09/2023 Beautifully under-stated coming-of-age story. See more Read all reviews
The Lying Life of Adults — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Beauty After Giovanna overhears her father's comment comparing her to his estranged sister, the teen travels to a rough part of Naples to meet her aunt. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Resemblance Giovanna accompanies Vittoria to Enzo's grave and learns about their family's falling out; a conversation about passion awakens something in Giovanna. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Bitterness Giovanna's friends clash with Vittoria on a visit to the slums; the bracelet Vittoria gifted Giovanna as a baby turns up in an unexpected place. Details Episode 4 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Loneliness A secret gets out and unravels two families; Giovanna fails out of school and has her first sexual encounter; Vittoria demands her bracelet back. Details Episode 5 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Love Giovanna's interest in a charming young religious scholar rankles her wordly father; it also irritates Vittoria, who is wary of the teen's intentions. Details Episode 6 Aired Jan 4, 2023 Truth On a trip to Milan to visit Roberto, Giovanna wrestles with wanting to be seen as the scholar's equal or something else. Details
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Season Info

Director
Edoardo De Angelis
Screenwriter
Laura Paolucci, Francesco Piccolo, Elena Ferrante
Network
Netflix
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date
Jan 4, 2023