Portobello teaser gives a glimpse of the downfall of Enzo Tortora in this 1983-set miniseries

The teaser trailer for Portobello, the upcoming HBO Max series about Enzo Tortora, has been released, and it gives us a sneak peek at the story of an innocent man whose life and career were destroyed overnight.

Directed by Marco Bellocchio, Portobello is HBO Max's first original Italian production. Before it releases on HBO Max in 2026, the first two episodes of the series are going to be released at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025.

About Portobello teaser, cast, and more

Written by Marco Bellocchio, Stefano Bises, Giordana Mari, and Peppe Fiore, the show's storyline, according to Warner Bros. Discovery, states,

1982. Enzo Tortora is at the height of his success. He hosts “Portobello,” a show reaching 28 million viewers in prime time, where contestants try to make the parrot, the show's mascot, speak. Tortora is the king of 1980s television, and the president of Italy, Alessandro Pertini, even appoints Tortora Commander of the Republic. During this time, the Irpinia earthquake delivers the final blow to the already fragile balance of the New Organized Camorra criminal organization. Giovanni Pandico, a trusted friend of crime boss Raffaele Cutolo and a regular viewer of “Portobello,” decides to repent. Interrogated by the judges, he names an unexpected person: Enzo Tortora. When on June 17, 1983, the Italian police knock on Tortora’s hotel room, he thinks it’s a mistake, but it is only the beginning of an odyssey that will drag him from the heights to the abyss.

The Portobello teaser shows us Fabrizio Gifuni as Enzo Tortora, who is at the peak of his career. When someone at a position like Enzo was, no one expects him to be apprehended for a crime. But that's the news that spread through Italy in 1983 when Giovanni Pandico named Enzo Tortora as a drug trafficker and member of the crime organization, Camorra.

The show is based on the real story of the Italian television host Enzo Tortora getting wrongfully convicted of the aforementioned crimes in 1985. He was then acquitted of his charges in 1987, but not without a brutal battle.

Other than Fabrizio Gifuni, the show stars Lino Musella, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Barbora Bobuľová, Carlotta Gamba, Alessandro Preziosi, Fausto Russo Alesi, and Salvatore D'Onofrio.

The upcoming HBO Max series is produced by Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, and Simone Gattoni. Francesco Di Giacomo is the cinematographer behind the series, while the music is by Teho Teardo. The production companies behind the show are Our Films, Kavac Film, Arte France, and The Apartment Pictures.

The first two episodes of Portobello will be released at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025. All six episodes of the show are expected to be released in 2026, on HBO Max globally, except for France and Germany.

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