Apple TV+ announced a straight-to-series order for the new racing drama “Ferrari.”
The biographical series on the late Italian race car driver and eponymous entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari is from Academy Award nominee Steven Knight, with Oscar-winning “The Hand of God” filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino set to executive produce.
“Ferrari” is inspired by the bestselling biographical novel “Ferrari Rex” by Luca Dal Monte, named by The New York Times as the “definitive biography” on the famed figure. The series traces Ferrari’s highs and lows, following the tragic death of his first son Dino in 1956 and what he considered to be a large betrayal by his lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio, which led him to assemble a new all-star team of five promising drivers.
“Five years. Five drivers. Five deaths. One trial. In the name of passion, in the pursuit of pure speed. At the center of it all a titanic man, complex and multifaceted, who dedicated his genius to the mission of building the fastest racing car in history. Enzo Ferrari: his name became a boast, an aspiration, and ultimately legend. But there was a trail of tragedy and torment along the way,” a portion of the show’s logline reads.
The adrenaline-pulsing series is created and written by Knight (“Peaky Blinders”), with Stefano Sollima directing and executive producing. Filmmakers Lorenzo Mieli and Nicola Giuliano are producing “Ferrari,” which is currently in pre-production in Rome.
“I am thrilled to be telling such an evocative story about this legendary man and his iconic brand,” Knight, who also executive produces, said in a statement. “Enzo Ferrari’s utterly extraordinary life was defined by his dramatic personal and professional journey, and ‘Ferrari’ is a celebration of an incredibly complex and fascinating human being.”
Sollima added, “As an Italian I feel honored to get to tell this story of Enzo Ferrari, a shining example of Italian excellence. Through his relationship with Ferrari Spring Team, the five drivers Enzo ‘adopted’ in his scuderia after the loss of his firstborn son, we will explore the unique qualities, the great genius and the dark obsession that turned this man into a legend.”
Mieli produces for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle Company, in co-production with Nicola Giuliano for Indigo Film and Fremantle. EPs also include Giulio Marantonio and Lorenzo De Maio. Dal Monte serves as a historical consultant for the series. “Ferrari Rex,” by Luca Dal Monte is published by Giorgio Nada Editore and by Giunti.
“Heat” filmmaker Michael Mann is undertaking a biopic of the same name — a longtime passion project of his — that is currently filming in Italy, with Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley starring.
