"A stark dissection of the media circus surrounding Italy's most infamous small-town tragedy."
This is not Hollywood serves as a chilling examination of one of Italy’s most notorious criminal cases. By revisiting the 2010 disappearance of Sarah Scazzi in the small town of Avetrana, the miniseries moves beyond the crime itself to critique the toxic media frenzy that followed. Directed by Pippo Mezzapesa, the production captures the suffocating atmosphere of a community under a national microscope. It avoids the typical tropes of the genre, opting instead for a structured perspective that highlights how private grief was transformed into public spectacle. The show’s arrival on Disney+ marked a significant moment for European true-crime storytelling, forcing audiences to confront the ethics of infotainment. Its legacy lies in its refusal to offer easy closure, choosing to focus on the distorted reality created by the cameras.
| Watched? | # | Air Date | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Oct 30, 2024 | Sarah | |
| E2 | Oct 30, 2024 | Sabrina | |
| E3 | Oct 30, 2024 | Michele | |
| E4 | Oct 30, 2024 | Cosima |
Production Type: Limited Series
This is not Hollywood is a standalone Limited Series designed as a completed, finite historical narrative. This Italian production meticulously reconstructs the 2010 disappearance and murder of Sarah Scazzi, a case that gripped the nation and became a media circus. The series was developed as a comprehensive examination of the events in Avetrana, focusing on the psychological depth of the individuals involved rather than seeking to establish a multi-season procedural format.
Produced with a clear beginning, middle, and end, the show utilizes a shifting perspective narrative structure to explore the different viewpoints of the protagonists across its four episodes. By dramatizing the definitive legal and social outcomes of the case, the creators ensured the production remains a self-contained work. Its conclusion aligns with the factual resolution of the real-world events, leaving no narrative threads for future expansion.