Keith talks about this HBO coming-of-age drama that enters its fourth and final season in September.
The Movies & A Meal Podcast
TV Talk: My Brilliant Friend's Final Season
[music] Hi, Keith here with the TVPs of The Movies and the Meal, the podcast where we talk about movies and other things while we eat. Today I'm going to celebrate the HBO and REI series My Brilliant Friend, which has just entered its fourth and final season on Max and for a journey to begin the way back in 2018. That may not sound like such an epic saga, but given how Max has been recently canceling series seemingly arbitrarily and without reason, My Brilliant Friend is indeed something to be celebrated. Due perhaps to its Italian funding from REI and its international appeal, My Brilliant Friend was able to wrap up all four novels of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet. But for those who are unfamiliar with the saga of Lila Enlenu, a refresher course is in order. When we first met them as young girls, it was as they were growing up in their impoverished Neapolitan neighborhood in post-World War II Italy. It was a brutal world where all they had to cling to was each other as the forces of poverty and lowered expectations for girls conspired to keep them down. Sounds sappy I know, but watching them grow up as the series has gone on, played by six different actresses through the years, has evolved into one of the very best HBO series, easily top 10 for me. And doubling is a chronicle of life in Italy throughout the 20th century, through the eyes of these two friends is, in its own way, a chronicle as epic as the godfather too. Lila Enlenu have most often and notably been played as teens and young women by Gaia, Gerace, and Margarita Matsuko, and their arrival is when the series really hits its groove. I don't want to tell you any more than that, but as we learned way back in the opening season of season one, adult Lila Enlenu got a call saying that Lila had disappeared, sending her off in the voice of the author to describe the life of a mysterious friend. In the fourth and final season, Lila Enlenu are played respectively by Irina Maierino and Alba Roarwalker, who has also served as the voice of Lila Enlenu in narration throughout the first three seasons. In a small world kind of way, Alba is also the sister of filmmaker Alice Roarwalker, and has started many of her films, including 2023's Great La Camera. Trust me, if you've never seen this, my brilliant friend is an engrossing saga that doubles as no less than an epic ode to love and freedom. It's only 32 episodes and all, so dive into it now if you haven't, and if you're caught up, enjoy the final season along with me. And so that's it for this week. As always, you can reach us at moviesandmealog@gmail.com, moviesandmeal on X/Twitter, and give us a listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or you find your podcasts. And thanks for listening. [music]