PARAMOUNT+ ARRIVES IN ITALY WITH UNBEATABLE OFFERING, COMBINING STRONG SLATE OF ITALIAN SERIES AND MOVIES WITH EXCLUSIVE GLOBAL ORIGINALS

Roberto Benigni, Elodie, Greta Scarano, and Carlo Verdone among the Italian Stars Aligning on Paramount+, Alongside Global Stars Harrison Ford, Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sylvester Stallone and Miles Teller 

Paramount Global's Long-Standing Commitment to Italy Continues with Paramount+, as the Service Invests in Local Content and Talent with Line-Up of Originals

During an Exclusive Blue Carpet Event at Rome's Iconic Cinecittà Studios, the Streamer Unveiled its Full Content Slate, including New Italian Originals

#ParamountPlusIT #ParamountPlus

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MILAN, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Paramount+, the global streaming service from Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), launches tomorrow, September 15^th, in Italy with more than 8,000 hours of entertainment.

Paramount Global rolled out the Blue Carpet and hosted a dazzling star-studded event today, September 14^th, at the iconic Cinecittà Studios in Rome to celebrate the Italian launch of Paramount+. Following the event, the service revealed its content slate that features the biggest stars and most compelling stories. Roberto Benigni, Elodie, Greta Scarano and Carlo Verdone are among the Italian stars aligning on Paramount+, alongside global talent including Harrison Ford, Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sylvester Stallone, Miles Teller and more.

The streaming service provides a broad slate for the whole family, spanning new and exclusive Paramount+ originals, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from Paramount's world-renowned brands and production studios, including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, SHOWTIME® and the Smithsonian Channel™, offering the best from international exclusive titles and local content.

Global series that will become available on Paramount+ in Italy include THE OFFER, based on Oscar®-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's extraordinary, never-before-seen experiences of making "The Godfather", THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, which follows a new alien character who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution, and TULSA KING, with Sylvester Stallone playing the role of Dwight "The General" Manfredi just after he is released from a 25-year prison sentence and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Additionally, Paramount+ will be the home of a selection of new blockbuster films following their theatrical and home entertainment releases, including "Top Gun: Maverick," which will arrive on the service in Italy in 2022.

The service is investing in local content and talent, with an unrivalled line-up of Italian originals, such as the newly announced FRANCESCO IL CANTICO, an immersive reading of one of the most iconic texts dedicated to love, hosted by Oscar®-winning Italian star Roberto Benigni; a new season of VITA DA CARLO, which sees beloved Italian comedian and actor Carlo Verdone as director and lead of this highly anticipated series around his life; TI MANGIO IL CUORE, the film based on Carlo Bonini and Giuliano Foschini's novel-investigation of the mafia in Foggia, and starring Elodie in her first acting role;  in addition to CIRCEO, MISS FALLACI, QUATTORDICI GIORNI, CORPO LIBERO, EX ON THE BEACH and ARE YOU THE ONE? Animated series such as the newest instalments of "Beavis and Butt-Head" and "South Park" will also get an Italian touch with local voice talent. The scripted slates will also include all previously announced scripted originals, including BOSÉ, a six-episode series that tells the story of the incredible life of Miguel Bosé, an international superstar that began his career in the late 1970s.

"Tonight, we are celebrating the debut of Paramount+, which seamlessly combines Hollywood with Italian storytelling and creativity. Italy has been a home to Paramount for many years and now we're bringing the best Italian – and global – films and series together in one place, on Paramount+," said Tom Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Streaming, Paramount, during the Blue Carpet event's presentation.

"We're the only streaming service where you'll see Sylvester Stallone, 'SpongeBob', 'Star Trek', 'South Park' and incredible Italian stars like Elodie and Verdone... all in one place," said Marco Nobili, Executive Vice President and International General Manager of Paramount+, during the event's presentation. "With over 100 years of storytelling experience from our renowned Hollywood studio to our international production hubs - Paramount knows how to make great entertainment for everyone."  

ROBUST CONTENT PIPELINE

Unrivalled Slate of Italian Content

As part of the streamer's plan to greenlight 150 international originals by 2025, Paramount+ is bringing Hollywood to Italy, as Italian audiences will find a Mountain of Entertainment including locally created content:

FRANCESCO IL CANTICO, hosted by Oscar®-winning Italian star Roberto Benigni; and a new season of VITA DA CARLO, the first production with Carlo Verdone for Paramount+, playing a double role of director and main lead on the series following his own life, showing the frugal private life of a man who never denies himself to his audience, between selfies on the streets and autographs at rest stops.

CIRCEO, the series produced by Cattleya in collaboration with VIS, Paramount's international studio division, Paramount+ and RAI Fiction which recounts the events surrounding the infamous case of 1975 that changed Italian society forever.

QUATTORDICI GIORNI, a Paramount+ original Italian production, written and directed by Ivan Cotroneo and landing on the platform later this month, follows the story of a couple forced into two weeks of seclusion.

CORPO LIBERO, a series by Indigo Film and Network Movie, in co-production with ZDFneo, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and Paramount+, in association with All3Media International Limited, will be available in late October. Based on the novel by Ilaria Bernardini and written with Chiara Barzini, Ludovica Rampoldi and Giordana Mari, it is a gripping teen-drama thriller set in the world of gymnastics.

TI MANGIO IL CUORE, based on Carlo Bonini and Giuliano Foschini's novel-investigation of the mafia in Foggia, Italy, this film stars Elodie in her first acting role as Marilena, the wife of one of the local bosses who is in love with the heir to the enemy family. Warmly acclaimed at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, the film will be available in cinemas September 2022, and to stream exclusively on Paramount+ by January 2023.   

MISS FALLACI, to premiere in 2023, the Paramount+ Original series details the true story of one of the most controversial Italian and international journalism icons ever, Oriana Fallaci.

BOSÉ, the TV series will portray the incredible life of an artist with a unique and highly recognizable personality: Miguel Bosé. The six-episode series will transport viewers to different parts of the singer-songwriter's career that began in the late 1970s, revealing the stories behind the inspiration, composition and recording of some of his most iconic works, and how this success affected his personal life. The series will reveal unknown secrets, give us an inside look at his circle of friends and demonstrate the extraordinary relationship between Miguel and his parents.

The unscripted local slate includes a new season of MTV's EX ON THE BEACH, with Cecilia Rodriguez and Ignazio Moser as hosts, and the first-ever Italian version of ARE YOU THE ONE?, MTV's iconic dating show.

Adult Animation with an Italian Touch

The service will reintroduce Beavis and Butt-Head, one of the most iconic animated duos of the 1990s, in BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO THE UNIVERSE, a tale that technically spans two centuries and promises to sit atop all future lists of the dumbest science fiction movies ever made. The saga begins when Beavis and Butt-Head wind up at space camp through "creative sentencing" from a juvenile court judge in 1998. After ruining a mission, they are left for dead in space and end up going through a black hole and re-emerging back on Earth in 2022, only to discover a very different world.

The film will feature the voices of Italian stand-up comedians and comedy writers Edoardo Ferrario and Luca Ravenna.

SOUTH PARK THE STREAMING WARS follows Cartman, who locks horns with his mom in a battle of wills, as an epic conflict unfolds and threatens South Park's very existence, while in SOUTH PARK THE STREAMING WARS - PART 2 a drought has brought the town of South Park to the brink of disaster.

The films will feature Riccardo Zanotti and Elio Biffi, members of the musical group Pinguini Tattici Nucleari, voicing several characters: Riccardo will play a weather reporter in the first episode and actress Gwyneth Paltrow in the second, while Elio, who voices a guide in the first installment, will lend his voice to comedian Larry David in the second film.

Paramount+ originals

Paramount+ original titles include TULSA KING, starring Sylvester Stallone as a New York mafia capo just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma; THE OFFER, a limited series based on Oscar®-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's extraordinary, never-before-seen experiences of making "The Godfather;" with Miles Teller, Matthew Goode and Juno Temple; 1883, Taylor Sheridan's highly anticipated "Yellowstone" prequel that follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America; 1923, also from Sheridan, features Helen Mirren and Harrison Fordin the next instalment of the "Yellowstone" origin story that introduces a new generation of the Dutton family and explores the early twentieth century; and HALO, a series based on the iconic Xbox franchise that dramatizes an epic 26^th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant.

Additionally, Paramount+ is the destination for "Star Trek" fans in Italy. The service features STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, which follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself; and STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, which is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan-favorites from season two of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY,Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series will follow Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

Exclusive highlights from SHOWTIME® include AMERICAN GIGOLO, a present-day reimagining of the iconic 1980 film; SUPER PUMPED: THE BATTLE FOR UBER, telling the story of one of Silicon Valley's most successful and destructive unicorns, Uber; and THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, based on the novel and iconic film of the same name, following an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution.

These join premium international scripted Paramount+ originals produced by VIS in association with independent production companies in various international markets. Previously announced scripted originals from around the world that will become available include SEXY BEAST and A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, from the UK; BOSÉ from Latin America and Spain; SINALOA'S FIRST LADY and ONE MUST DIE from Mexico; MASK: MARIE ANTOINETTE SERIAL KILLER from France; and A THIN LINE, THE SHEIKH (DER SCHEICH) and SIMON BECKETT'S CHEMISTRY OF DEATH from Germany. 

Paramount+ Kids & Family

There is also a wide variety of kids and family content. The revival of the ICARLY series is available with actress Miranda Cosgrovereprising her role as Carly Shay as she and her friends navigate work, love and family in their 20s; as well as BIG NATE, a new animated series about a sixth-grade kid who has a never-ending need to prove his awesomeness to the world; the reboot of the RUGRATS and THEFAIRLY ODDPARENTS: ANCORA PIÙ FANTA, a new mixed media series of live action and animation, based on the historic Nickelodeon animated series.

Paramount+ offers the CG-animated series STAR TREK: PRODIGY, developed by Emmy® Award winners Kevin and Dan Hageman ("Trollhunters" and "Ninjago"), this is the first "Star Trek" series aimed at younger audiences and follows a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy in search of a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first in the history of the "Star Trek" franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Paramount+ also offers a library of the most loved kids and family franchises like "SpongeBob SquarePants,""PAW Patrol" and many more.

Blockbuster Movies

In addition to new releases such as "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Scream 5," Paramount+ offers iconic classics on the platform, such as "Grease," "The Godfather," the"Star Trek" franchise, "Transformers" and much more.

STREAM NOW

In Italy, Paramount+ is available online at https://paramountplus.it/, on mobile devices and a wide range of connected TV devices via distribution through Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and more. Users can sign up at the price of € 7.99 after a 7-day trial period, or for an annual subscription for € 79.90. For the first ten days (September 15 – 25), users can benefit from a special promo on paramountplus.it to access the service for € 4.99, with a 7-day trial period.

Paramount+ will also launch on Sky platforms in Italy as part of a new multi-year distribution agreement. Through this agreement, on September 23, Sky subscribers with Sky Cinema will have access to Paramount+ content at no additional cost, and the Paramount+ standalone app will also launch on Sky Q and Sky Glass. 

PARA-IR

About Paramount+ 

Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, Italy and South Korea.  

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com

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SOURCE Paramount Global