Suburra, a dark, gripping ten episode organised crime series set on the Roman coast will premiere globally on Netflix in 2017.

The first Italian production from Netflix, the world’s leading Internet TV Network, will be created by Cattleya, the independent film and television producer behind successful TV productions including Gomorrah the series and Romanzo Criminale, in collaboration with RAI, the Italian public service broadcaster. Suburra is a captivating story that involves politics, the Vatican, the mafia, corruption, money laundering, drugs and prostitution.

Following the success of Gomorrah and Romanzo Criminale, the saga of Suburra starts with a feature film slated to be in theatres throughout Italy on Oct. 14. Netflix will debut the film, directed by Stefano Sollima, the same day in the Americas with Italy following in May 2016.

The film, produced by Cattleya with Rai Cinema, tells the story of a grueling battle over a seaside town outside of Rome which is to be developed into a gambling paradise. The story involves a corrupt member of Parliament, Filippo Malgradi (Pierfrancesco Favino), Number 8 (Alessandro Borghi), the head of a powerful family that runs the territory, and Sebastiano (Elio Germano), a young event organizer, as well as corrupt religious leaders and rival Mafiosi, including the “Samurai” (Claudio Amendola) who represents the most feared faction of Roman organized crime, all revealing an endemic system of corruption and rampant illegality on an international scale.

“Being on Netflix means a lot to me,” said film director Sollima. “Not only will my film be part of a selection of high-quality feature films and groundbreaking TV series of which I am a huge fan, but it will also have the opportunity to reach a wide international public. I am proud and excited that on Oct. 14th, Suburra will be seen in the Americas, simultaneously with its release in Italian theaters”.

Cattleya has already begun development of the series, production is planned to start in the second half of 2016. Following the example of Gomorrah, which had theatrical success worldwide with the subsequent series airing around the globe, the series of Suburra will premiere on Netflix everywhere Netflix is available. RAI will air the series after the debut on Netflix in Italy.

“Netflix has revolutionized how we watch television and what we watch. To partner with them is an extraordinary opportunity for Cattleya to engage audiences around the world and to contribute to further developing the medium,” said Cattleya founder Riccardo Tozzi.

“RAI is proud to partner with Netflix, the Internet TV leader, for the production of the Suburra TV series” said RAI’s Director General Antonio Campo Dall’Orto.‎ “This collaboration demonstrates our new strategic direction to innovate and compete in Italy and abroad. Television is transforming, we need to stay on the forefront and redefine our role. The Suburra series testifies to the strength of the growing Italian production industry, from cinema to fiction, and its ability to be a player at the highest international level.”

“Suburra is an enthralling story that will appeal to Netflix members in Italy and worldwide,” said Erik Barmack, vice president at Netflix. “We are thrilled to partner with RAI and Cattleya and to be working with some of the best storytellers in Italy to deliver not only their film but also a series that will be among the best of television.”

Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini, authors of the Suburra book, added: “Our novel is a journey into the black heart of Rome, uncovering and bringing to light many of the current scandals, well in advance of their making headlines in the international press, from the New York Times to the BBC to the Guardian. Now, thanks to Stefano Sollima’s feature, to Netflix and to Cattleya we are happy to know that our investigation will reach an even larger global audience.”

Suburra is part of the rapidly expanding Netflix Original programming effort that brings high quality, exclusive programming from around the world to its members everywhere.