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Un professore is partly based on the format of the Catalan series Merlí.[3] It is directed by Alessandro D'Alatri in the first season, by Alessandro Casale in the second season and by Andrea Rebuzzi in the third season, produced by Rai Fiction in collaboration with Banijay Studios Italy[4] and stars Alessandro Gassmann.[5][6]
Plot
Season one
Dante Balestra is the new philosophy teacher at the Leonardo da Vinci scientific high school in Rome, where he has returned after an eight-year absence to be with his son, Simone, now that Floriana, his ex-wife, is moving to Glasgow. Charming and unconventional, the professor takes a class at the Leonardo Da Vinci High School where he applies his non-conformist teaching method and establishes a very special relationship with his pupils, including Simone himself. But his manner soon leads to confusing private life with professional life, and the return from the past of Anita, an old acquaintance of his and mother of Manuel, the 'black sheep' of the class, makes things even more complicated.
Season two
Professor Dante Balestra is now an indispensable presence in the lives of his students, among whom is his son Simone. The beating heart of the series remains the Leonardo Da Vinci high school with the class attended by Simone and Manuel (Anita's son) where Dante, with his usual non-conformist and ingenious flair, uses philosophy to help the boys solve their problems, including complicated love affairs, intrusive parents, daydreams and dashed hopes.
New class members appear in this season, such as Nina, a girl of Polish origin who hides a complicated life path, Rayan, a promising footballer who has arrived from Africa and is more interested in football than in studying, Viola, a disabled girl with an impossible character, and finally Mimmo, a former student of Dante's who ended up in juvenile prison, whom the professor has managed to get committed to the Leonardo da Vinci library in semi-freedom.
Season three
It's the final year of high school for class 5°B, and as the graduation exams approach, everyone is trying to figure out their future. Professor Balestra is still there, guided by philosophy, but his life remains chaotic: forced to move in with his son Simone at nonna Virginia’s house, Dante must face an angry teenager, an unresolved love story, and a past that resurfaces in the form of Leone, a former student now colleague who brings back a mystery involving Alba, a former student with a troubled past. Alongside Anita, the new English substitute teacher, the school also welcomes Irene, the new principal and mother of rebellious teenager Greta. Together with the newcomers Thomas and Zeno, she will shake up the class dynamics and join the journey toward graduation alongside Viola, Nina, Matteo, Laura, Luna, Simone, and Manuel.
Episodes
Season
Episodes
Italian airing
1
12
2021
2
12
2023
Cast
Main characters
Dante Balestra (season 1-present), played by Alessandro Gassmann. He is the quirky philosophy teacher of 3°B class. An eccentric and womanizing but good-hearted man, he takes great care of the boys in his class and does not shy away from tackling even the most complicated cases. He doesn't have a good relationship with his son Simone due to his long absence. In the finale of the first season, because of a photo Simone found, he is forced to reveal a shocking secret to his son: Simone had a twin brother, Jacopo, who died of meningitis at the age of three. Despite an initial furious reaction from Simone, the two manage to reconcile. In the course of the second season, he has to face not only various problems in his private life, but also a serious health problem caused by an arterio-venous malformation. Faced with the symptoms resulting from the disease and the possible psychological and motor risks of surgery, Dante is forced to choose whether or not to undergo the operation. He betrays Anita with Floriana, only to clear the air in the season finale.
Anita Ferro (season 1-present), played by Claudia Pandolfi. She is Manuel's mother, whom Dante had met years earlier in hospital. She raised her son alone; she's a sweet and somewhat melancholic woman. Thanks to her experiences abroad, she has a good command of languages. She starts a relationship with Dante. Following the return of her former flame, Nicola, a period of deep emotional confusion begins for her, in which she betrays Dante with Nicola himself. She later clears things up with Dante and returns with him.
Simone Balestra (season 1-present), played by Nicolas Maupas. He is a student in class 3ªB and son of Dante, with whom he has a difficult relationship. On the surface he seems like a quiet boy, but in reality he is very insecure and troubled by the discovery of new aspects of his life and himself. He leaves Laura after realizing to be gay and falls in love with Manuel, with whom he shares a kiss and a sexual relationship. He later becomes his best friend. When he discovers to have a twin brother, Jacopo, he attempts suicide, but is rescued by Manuel and Anita. In the second season, he falls in love, reciprocated, with Mimmo, who defends him from a homophobic attack. The two will form a deep relationship that will later blossom into a relationship. However, he will be forced to say goodbye when Mimmo enters the witness protection program and must change his identity and city. When Dante has to undergo an operation, he faces the fear of losing him, going so far as to get drunk. Eventually, however, she reconciles with him after the successful operation.
Manuel Ferro (season 1-present), played by Damiano Gavino. He is a repeating student in 3rd B, the son of Anita. He is a complicated and troubled boy but gifted with great intelligence and curiosity. He initially has a relationship with Chicca but later falls in love with the architect Alice. He becomes involved with Sbarra in a crime ring. He shares a kiss and a sexual intercourse with Simone during the latter's birthday. He later becomes his best friend. In the second season he falls in love and starts a relationship with Nina; he also goes to live with his mother at Villa Balestra. He learns the truth about his father, thus discovering that he is also Viola's half-brother. Although at first he and Viola cannot stand each other following the news they will begin to grow closer and have a brotherly relationship. He will try to move to Paris with Nina and Lili, the girl's daughter, to ensure that her adoptive parents do not find her, but the plan later fails.
Domenico "Mimmo" Bruni (recurring season 1, season 2-present), played by Domenico Cuomo. He's a young inmate of the Nisida Juvenile Penal Institute and former student of Dante, whom he is very fond of. Extroverted and full of life, he keeps his kindness toward others intact despite his past. In the second season he is transferred to Rome, where he obtains semi-freedom and, thanks to Dante, begins working as an assistant librarian at Da Vinci High School. Here he will meet Simone and defend him from a homophobic attack. Over time, they will form a deep relationship, partly because of a complicated situation they will face together that puts Mimmo's safety at risk. From this relationship, the two boys will fall in love and start a relationship. In exchange for his protection, Molosso will force Mimmo to work for him, first by making him collect the payoff and then by involving him in a plan to assassinate a man. Terrified, Mimmo, spurred on by Simone, will decide to cooperate with justice, denouncing Molosso and his henchmen. However, because of this choice, which will lead to the arrest of numerous gangsters, Mimmo will be placed in the witness protection program resulting in a change of identity and residence, thus forcing him to say goodbye to Simone.
Floriana (season 1-present), played by Christiane Filangieri. She is an university researcher as well as Simone's mother and Dante's ex-wife. Following Dante's constant cheating and, above all, the death of one of their two sons, Jacopo, Simone's twin brother, she decides to move to Glasgow. Simone later joins her for a short time when he comes out to her. In the second season, feeling Simone's missing, she returns to Villa Balestra for a while. During her stay she finds out about Dante's problem and tries to convince him to have an operation. They later share a night of love but realise it was a mistake and never get back together again.
Virginia Villa (season 1-present), played by Pia Engleberth. She is a former theatre actress as well as Dante's mother and Simone's grandmother. She runs a theatre laboratory at the Leonardo Da Vinci High School, together with Professor Lombardi. Lively, exuberant, sometimes comical and capable of great human warmth, she was not Dante's ideal mother in her youth, but is now his most assiduous and affectionate confidante.
Laura (season 1-present), played by Elisa Cocco. She is a student in 3°B class. She is sweet, cultured and intelligent, so much to the best in the class. She is Luna's best friend and, at the beginning of season 1, Simone's girlfriend. When Simone leaves her she pretends to be pregnant but is unmasked. He later reveals to her that he is gay and in love with Manuel, so the two remain good friends. She starts e-mailing with a boy named The Pen and later will outing Simone to her friends, repenting, however, soon afterwards and asking them to forget the news. At the end of the first season she discovers that The Pen is a classmate of hers, Pin, and the two kiss. In the second season he learns that Luna is having an affair with someone she met online and, sensing the danger from the outset, he goes with her to the rendezvous to check on her, also alerting Dante who, together with Simone and Manuel, will save Luna. At the end of the second season she kisses Matteo.
Luna (season 1-present), played by Luna Miriam Iansante. She is a student in 3°B class. She is a sunny and extroverted but very insecure girl and Laura's best friend. She has a crush on Matteo when she discovers that he and Chicca slept together, which leads her to end her friendship with her to then become friends again. She will date a boy, who will turn out to be the son of Professor Franco De Angelis, only to be dumped. In the second season, she starts an affair with a stranger online and, during their live date, she is the victim of a sexual assault but is saved by Dante, Simone and Manuel, who have been warned earlier by Laura.
Matteo (season 1-present), played by Davide Divetta. He is a student in 3°B. Considered the class clown, he flirts with Chicca. In season 2 he has a crush on Laura, initially unrequited, only to share a kiss with her in the season finale.
Chicca (season 1), played by Francesca Colucci. A student in 3°B class, she is an eccentric and energetic girl, lively, restless and very good at drawing. She is Manuel girlfriend but when she finds out about the latter's betrayal, with a girl twice his age, she starts flirting with Matteo. It is revealed in the second season that she moved to an artistic high school to chase her talent.
Monica Altieri (season 1), played by Beatrice De Mei. She is a new student in 3°B. She left her old school because of her oppriment ex-boyfriend. She's kind, polite, intelligent and likes to read. She is in a relationship with Giulio.
Giulio Palmieri (season 1), played by Simone Casanica. He is a student in 3°B class, considered the most serious of the class. Very shy and reserved, he is the son of a rich lawyer. In the course of time, he manages to open up and express himself, even overcoming his father's oppression. He has a relationship with Monica.
Giuseppe "Pin" Palombo (season 1), played by Alessio De Lorenzi. He is a student in 3°B class. He abandoned school because of the bullying he was victim of, but Dante will help him to overcome his inhibition. It is revealed that he's "The Pen", the boy which Laura was e-mailing with. In the second season it is revealed that he moved to Siena with his mother.
Aureliano (season 1), played by Davide Mirti. He is a student in 3°B class and Cecilia's son. An extroverted boy, cheerful and friendly. He interposes himself between Monica and Giulio, trying to win her over, in vain.
Cecilia (season 1), played by Francesca Cavallin. She is Aureliano's mother and parental representative. Separated from her husband, she briefly enters into a relationship with Dante.
Rayan (season 2), played by Khadim Faye. Newcomer to Dante's class. He's an African boy with a great passion for football. He wants to become a footballer, in honour of a promise he made to his now deceased brother. He seems to take life lightly but, in reality, hides great depth. He starts a relationship with Viola.
Nina Mazur (season 2-present), played by Margherita Aresti. She is the other newcomer in Dante's class. Of Polish origin, she's an easy-going girl and a reading lover. She has a two-year-old daughter, Lilli, who is taken away from her after a dangerous episode and given to foster parents. She falls in love and starts a relationship with Manuel.
Viola Brandi (season 2-present), played by Alice Lupparelli. Nicola's daughter and a very stubborn girl. Disabled after a car accident, she has closed in on herself, making a shield of her lively intelligence. Dante convinces her to come back at school and thanks to her relationships with her new classmates, especially Manuel and Rayan, she embarks on a path of elaboration and acceptance of her disability. She is Manuel's half-sister.
Nicola Brandi (season 2-present), played by Thomas Trabacchi. He is an old flame of Anita's as well as Viola's father. A successful manager that travels a lot precisely due to his job. His return to Rome will wreak havoc both in Anita and Manuel's lives and in his own as he discovers that he is Viola's father.
Recurring characters
Felice 'Sbarra' Proietti (season 1), played by Loris Loddi[it]. He is a criminal who runs a junkyard and a drug ring.
'Zucca' (season 1), played by Andrea Giannini. He is Sbarra's henchman.
Ettore (season 1), played by Paolo Conticini. He is an old flame of Anita's and, for a period, her employer.
Alice Torresi (season 1), played by Margherita Laterza. She's a young architect with whom Manuel falls in love; she is separated from her husband and has a son.
Marina Girolami (season 1-present), played by Sara Cardinaletti. She is the mathematics teacher; she has a brief flirtation with Dante to then only be his friend. She supports Luna after the girl's attempted violence.
Franco De Angelis (season 1-present), played by Giorgio Gobbi. He is the Italian professor.
Attilio Lombardi (season 1-present), played by Paolo Bessegato. He is the Latin teacher. Rather cynical and severe, he very often offends and mocks the boys; he embodies the "old-fashioned" professor, more interested in dispensing negative evaluations and proposing failures than in the education and growth of the boys. He clashes several times with Dante. Together with Virginia, he directs a drama laboratory within the school.
Agata Smeriglio (season 1-2), played by Federica Cifola. She is the principal of the school and an old friend of Dante's.
Irene Alessi (season 3), played by Nicole Grimaudo. She's the new principal of the school.
Lino Battaglia (season 1), played by Andrea Preti. He is the physical education teacher.
Grazia Morelli (season 1-present), played by Francesca Romana De Martini. She is the art professor and wife of Franco De Angelis.
Professor Stagno (season 1-present), played by Francesca Farcomeni. She is the science teacher.
Professor Testa (season 1-present), played by Valentina Illuminati. She is the English teacher.
Egidio (season 1-present), played by Flavio Domenici. He is the school caretaker.
Pantera (season 1-present), played by Mirko Frezza. He is an anti-crime cop and a long-time friend of Dante's.
Molosso (season 2), played by Pio Stellaccio. A boss cellmate of Mimmo's. He forces Mimmo to collect the payoff, taking advantage of the boy's semi-freedom.
Palommo (season 2), played by Simone Borrelli. He is Molosso's trusted cousin whom Mimmo has arrested.
Ernesto Poggi (season 2), played by Andrea Verticchio. He is a fifth-grade bully who ends up in a coma after being attacked by Mimmo, in the latter's attempt to defend Simone from a homophobic attack.
Lollo and Balbo (season 2), respectively played by Michele Capuano and Gabriele Santolin. Fifth-grade bullies and Ernesto's friends.
Fragoroso (season 2), played by Riccardo Morgante. He is a friend of Manuel's who will help him and Anita with the move to Dante's house.
Ardenzi (season 2), played by Enzo Provenzano. He is the elderly owner of the bookstore where Anita works.
Elsa Paternò (season 2), played by Chiara Ricci. She is a doctor and an old acquaintance of Dante's. She is the one to inform Dante of his arterio-venous malformation.
Sonia Ruffini (season 2), played by Clio Cipolletta. She is the social worker in charge of Nina's daughter.
Differences with Merlì
Although partially inspired by the Catalan series Merlí, Un Professore presents several differences compared to the original:
In Merlí, Pol lives with his father and brother Oscar at his grandmother's house. Manuel, the Italian counterpart of Pol, lives with his mother Anita, while Pol's mother has passed away before the series begins.
In the Italian version, Anita and Dante begin a romantic relationship, which does not occur in Merlí. As a result, in the original series, there is no instance where Pol moves in with Merlí, whereas Manuel and Anita move in with Dante.
At the end of Merlí, through a time jump, it is revealed that Pol and Bruno will marry. In Un Professore, the relationship between Simone (the Italian counterpart of Bruno) and Manuel develops into a deep, brotherly friendship, characterized by mutual support.[7][8]
In Merlí, Pol explores his bisexuality, an aspect that is not represented in the Italian counterpart, Manuel.
Mimmo's sexuality is not explicitly explored in the series, leaving his sexual orientation undefined; although he enters into a relationship with Simone, he has previously shown interest in women.
There is also a character named Nicola in Merlí, but while in Un Professore he is Anita's ex and Manuel's father, in the original series, he is the Italian guy Bruno meets during a vacation, with whom he will live in Italy for a while.
In the Catalan series, Pol and Bruno temporarily separate when Pol leaves for Tokyo with his father. In the Italian version, it is Simone and Mimmo who separate, due to Mimmo entering the witness protection program.
The characters of Luna and Laura are partially inspired by Tania Illa, Bruno's best friend. In Un Professore, Tania's personality and physical appearance are assigned to Luna, while the friendship with Simone (a relationship that precedes his coming out) is represented through Laura. Like Tania, Luna is in love with Matteo, the character inspired by Marc Vilaseca.
The love triangle between Aureliano, Monica, and Giulio is more developed in Merlí through the characters of Gerard, Monica, and Joan. The latter shares Giulio’s family situation, although his actions correspond to those of Aureliano, as he will be the one to intervene between Monica and Gerard, and have a relationship with Monica, just like Giulio. In contrast, Gerard is the son of Gina, a parents’ representative with whom Merlí has a relationship, similarly to Dante with Cecilia, Aureliano's mother. Unlike Dante, whose brief relationship with Cecilia is only present in the first season. In Un Professore, all these characters, including Cecilia, leave the scene after the first season, while they remain throughout the entire original series.
Pin, a boy who suffers from agoraphobia following bullying, is inspired by Ivan. Unlike Ivan, who appears throughout the series, Pin only appears in the first season.
Chicca changes schools at the end of the first season to pursue her artistic talent. This does not happen to her Catalan counterpart, Berta. Additionally, Berta pretends to be pregnant when Pol leaves her, whereas in the remake, Laura does the same when Simone leaves her, though Simone is Bruno's counterpart, not Pol’s.
Nina is inspired by the character Oksana. However, unlike Nina, who loses custody of her daughter Lilli, Oksana raises her son Nil with her parents. Moreover, while Nina enters into a relationship with Manuel, Oksana will date Oscar, Pol’s brother.
Production
The series is produced by Rai Fiction in collaboration with Banijay Studios Italy.[4]
The filming of the first season took place in Rome:[9] some scenes were shot in Civitavecchia at the Grotta Aurelia bathing establishment and at the villaggio del fanciullo.[10] Some scenes were filmed inside the Giovanni Battista Grassi Museum of Comparative Anatomy of the Sapienza University of Rome.
After the great success of the first season, the series was renewed for a second season.[11] Its filming began in February 2023[12][13] and ended in July of the same year, always in Rome.[14][15] Much of the filming was shot in the Monti district. The school where Dante teaches is the Leonardo Da Vinci high school, while the bookstore where Anita works is Libreria Panisperna 220.
On 22 December 2023, the series was renewed for a third season,[16] filming is scheduled to begin in February 2025.[17]
The series has been aired in prime time on Rai 1 since 11 November 2021: the first season ran from 11 November[20] to 16 December 2021, while the second season ran from 23 November[21][22] to 21 December 2023. It has been stated that the third season will air in 2025.[23]
Soundtrack
The theme song is called Spazio Tempo (Space Time) and it is sung by Francesco Gabbani.[24] In season two the track Dammi un bacio ja' (Come on give me a kiss), sung by Leo Gassman, joins the soundtrack of the series.[25]
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