Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Prisma’ on Prime Video, An Italian Teen Drama With Shades Of ‘Transparent’

This Italian coming-of-age drama from celebrated Italian filmmaker Ludovico Bessegato recently premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and is now available for audiences worldwide to stream on Prime Video. According to Variety, the series will not only focus on the characters’ gender fluidity a la another Prime Video series, Transparent, but will also tap into the small Roman city’s neorealist roots.

PRISMA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Faceless bodies passing drinks at a party are accompanied by the chatter of the liveliness around them. The camera finally settles on the face of a solemn boy looking at his phone.

The Gist: In this coming-of-age teen drama, Andrea and Marco (Mattia Carano) are identical twins who approach life and its many trials and tribulations differently. Told via time jumps between present day and recent flashbacks, Marco’s turbulent past with self-inflicted harm which affects his swimming career are juxtaposed with Andrea’s secret life messaging men and dressing up as a woman.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The feeling of hiding inner emotions while trying to figure out who you are and how to navigate the world might remind you of another teen-centric drama, Euphoria, while the exploration of self via cross-dressing feels like early episodes of Transparent.

Our Take: The central conceit of the show is one that I think there should be more of: twins. Now, hear me out; I’m not talking about sexualizing twins or veering into any type of unsavory territory, but the idea that two people could be so similar but also become very different people is something that is genuinely fascinating and the fodder for great drama.

In Prisma Andrea and Marco are presented as two sides of the same coin. Initially, it’s even a bit difficult to tell whose story we are watching unfold (which is one of the small nitpicks I have about the show in general). But as their stories begin to evolve in different directions, I found myself truly intrigued by the concept of having to come of age with someone so close to you that you might sometimes feel like you can’t breathe.

It helps, too, that Prisma is tackling some important topics including the headlining storyline about gender fluidity and exploring sexual boundaries. The show is aided by naturalistic performances from the entire cast and does a good job of setting up the complicated relationships that exist in high schools across the world. The way these people accept or reject each other’s identities and truths will be the key to its success.

While I’ve only seen the first episode, Prisma’s future bodes will based on the strength of the pilot.

Sex and Skin: Very little in the first episode, but as a teen coming of age series, there will likely be some sex and skin in future episodes.

Parting Shot: In a moment of panic, Andrea sends a photo of his female friend to a guy he’s been talking to online. The camera stays with his panicked face before cutting to credits.

Sleeper Star: Mattia Carrano plays both of the main roles and manages to imbue each performance with subtleties that differentiate both characters. Not bad for his first major starring role.

Most Pilot-y Line:: “I spoke to Carola at the bar, she didn’t seem very nice,” Andrea says to Marco about a girl he has a crush on from afar but doesn’t have the nerve to approach. “Did you speak to her?” Marco asks, bewildered. “No, you did,” Andrea says with a smirk. It’s the first indication of the distinct personalities between the two brothers, showing the audience who owns their confidence and who doesn’t.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Italian drama layers on enough character-based nuance to warrant streaming the eight episode series.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.