Introduction: Bringing Youth Into Contemporary Italian Television

The introduction outlines the history of Italian youth-oriented series in Italy, tracing the influence and presence of a range of styles and genres visible in contemporary output. It analyses some of the reasons for the recent international success of Italian products since the Italian launch of Netflix in 2015 and the advent of premium television outlets and on-demand platforms. It offers an overview of current literature and approaches to the topic, setting the volume in the context of current debates on transnational media, audiovisual genres, youth representation and TV audience studies. It introduces the scope and contents of the book and the rationale for its structure.