First of all, it is best to watch with original audio and subtitles as the dubbing, even though of high quality, cannot grasp the full nuances of Italian speech and manners.
While this may not be the greatest comedy you've ever seen, it's still a source of 6 hours of pure joy and relax, away from the day-to-day life and worries. And this is the main purpose of TV comedy and something that deserves to be appreciated by the viewers. Of course, most of the story line revolves around improbable situations and absurd decisions - if you have watched any other comedies from South Europe, you already know the concept. Just sit down and allow your imagination to dive into this exaggerated reality, and laugh - you do it all the time with fantasy series, with comic-based movie universes, don't be too demanding just because you're watching places that really exists and are not enhanced by CGI ;)
The series makes use and has fun with so many Italian/Mediterranean stereotypes - grown men still living with their mamma, mamma always cooking too much food and fearing it won't be enough, overly gallant italianos in track suits, a mafia boss that loves cooking, shops that do not give receipts, pseudo-philosopher journalists and so on. However, the series also surprises us with denying some stereotypes and showing us that modern Italy is just like the rest of the world - there are people that eat quinoa, there are fake and fabricated news, there are lesbian women who are, still, devoted Christians.
The ending of the second season also makes a very important tribute to the Italian police, to the clean officers who refused to subject to the mafia and dedicated their life to catching even the most dangerous criminals that drowned in blood entire villages and families. I am not sure if the ending was shot before or after the events of January 2023, but what we see in the series is exactly what we saw in the news - the authentic joy and relief of the entire Sicilian community about the end of "an era".
As a conclusion, the show is a well-crafted mix of pure comedy, funny stereotypes and anti-stereotypes, and a few serious topics for the aftermath. Maybe overly dramatic in a few occasions... but it's Italy, after all, you can't expect any other way ;)
While this may not be the greatest comedy you've ever seen, it's still a source of 6 hours of pure joy and relax, away from the day-to-day life and worries. And this is the main purpose of TV comedy and something that deserves to be appreciated by the viewers. Of course, most of the story line revolves around improbable situations and absurd decisions - if you have watched any other comedies from South Europe, you already know the concept. Just sit down and allow your imagination to dive into this exaggerated reality, and laugh - you do it all the time with fantasy series, with comic-based movie universes, don't be too demanding just because you're watching places that really exists and are not enhanced by CGI ;)
The series makes use and has fun with so many Italian/Mediterranean stereotypes - grown men still living with their mamma, mamma always cooking too much food and fearing it won't be enough, overly gallant italianos in track suits, a mafia boss that loves cooking, shops that do not give receipts, pseudo-philosopher journalists and so on. However, the series also surprises us with denying some stereotypes and showing us that modern Italy is just like the rest of the world - there are people that eat quinoa, there are fake and fabricated news, there are lesbian women who are, still, devoted Christians.
The ending of the second season also makes a very important tribute to the Italian police, to the clean officers who refused to subject to the mafia and dedicated their life to catching even the most dangerous criminals that drowned in blood entire villages and families. I am not sure if the ending was shot before or after the events of January 2023, but what we see in the series is exactly what we saw in the news - the authentic joy and relief of the entire Sicilian community about the end of "an era".
As a conclusion, the show is a well-crafted mix of pure comedy, funny stereotypes and anti-stereotypes, and a few serious topics for the aftermath. Maybe overly dramatic in a few occasions... but it's Italy, after all, you can't expect any other way ;)