Set in Marina Piccola, a quarter of an unspecified Italian island, the series focuses on the lives of eight students, four boys and four girls, of the middle school Galileo Galilei. Every episode shows the point of view of one of the eight protagonists, who are all in the same class. The protagonist of each episode breaks the fourth wall and becomes the narrator, talking about their personal issues as they were talking to a diary. Their experiences show them growing up and learning more about themselves.
The show debuted on May 18, 2022 on Netflix. A few months later, the show has been renewed for a second second. The first half of season 2 was released in September 2023, while the second half was released in December of the same year.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: The main recurring plot of season 1 is the main characters trying to find a way to stay in their beloved school of Marina Piccola because they don't want to go to Marina Grande next year. The season finale ends with a cliffhanger with all the students protesting and refusing to move out of their classroom, until the school staff doesn't change their mind. Unfortunately, season 2 starts with Pietro saying "First day at Marina Grande"...
- Alpha Bitch: In season 2, there's Katia, a nasty and shallow girl who is seen bullying, fat-shaming, and blackmailing Arianna (the same Arianna who used to be the Alpha Bitch in season 1, although she was never as bad as Katia).
- The Bet: Pietro makes a bet with his friend Giulio, who challenges him to kiss both Livia and Arianna, the two most popular girls in the class.
- Betty and Veronica:
- In season 1, Pietro is the Archie between modest and responsible Girl Next Door Livia (Betty) and superficial "mean girl" Arianna (Veronica). In a variation of the usual trope, Arianna has a crush on Pietro, but Pietro is only interested in Livia since the beginning. Another Stereotype Flip is that Livia was actually voted the most popular girl by the boys of her class (with Arianna second), and Livia is also the one dating the Jerk Jock initially, making her more unattainable.
- In season 2, Pietro is the Archie to Isabel's Betty and Livia's Veronica. Isabel is now his closest friend and secretly attracted to him, while his ex-girlfriend Livia is more and more distant, despite Pietro's feelings for her.
- Big Brother Bully: Damiano to Mirko. Although Damiano acts like this only due to the bad influence of his Jerk Jock friends (especially Matteo), and he actually cares for his little brother deep down.
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Both Daniele note and Bianca have a crush on Mirko. Mirko initially dates Bianca, but it's later revealed that he's bisexual and has feelings for Daniele.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: In season 1, Arianna and her Girl Posse. Arianna is blonde, Carlotta is brunette, and Lucia is redhead.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In every episode, one of the main characters speaks to the audience. The point of view character changes from episode to episode, although Livia and Pietro play this role more often than everyone else.
- Chick Magnet: Pietro, since Arianna, Livia, Bianca, and Isabel were all interested in him at different points. However, Bianca gets over him quickly after she learns about his history with Livia.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Arianna's friends Lucia and Carlotta were in her same class in season 1, but they are no longer there in the new school in season 2, and Pietro says "We are still all together" without even mentioning them.
- Coming-Out Story: In the third episode, Daniele comes out to his female friends, revealing that he likes boys and has a crush on his classmate Mirko.
- Defrosting Ice Queen:
- Arianna is initially mean and hostile to her Abhorrent Admirer Giulio, who has a huge crush on her. She gradually starts to warm up to Giulio and even considers the idea of dating him. They break up in season 2, but stay friends.
- Monica initially only wants Isabel as her friend, and gets angry if Isabel hangs out with other people. She gradually becomes a good friend to the rest of the class, including her former enemy Giulio.
- Fallen Princess: In season 1, Arianna is the confident Alpha Bitch always followed by a Girl Posse. In season 2, she's an insecure Butt-Monkey bullied by a much meaner Alpha Bitch at the new school. However, Season 1 Arianna was hated by all the main characters (except Giulio), while in season 2 all her friends are protective of her.
- Fat Best Friend: Monica is this to Isabel, although her weight is never brought up in the series. While Monica is outspoken, she is also insecure deep down, especially for being considered a bookish geek, and her unpopularity with boys.
- First Girl Wins:
- In the Livia/Pietro/Isabel love triangle, Pietro eventually ends up with Livia, his First Love since the beginning.
- Subverted with Giulio, who ends up with Monica, not with his First Love Arianna.
- First Kiss: One of Isabel's main goals in season 1 is getting her first kiss. She finally gets it from Lamberto, a boy she meets at a birthday party.
- First Period Panic: Arianna panics after realizing she got her first period, not because of ignorance, but because she was at school and completely unprepared, to the point that she locks herself in the bathroom.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: The main characters are four boys (Pietro, Giulio, Daniele, Mirko) and four girls (Livia, Isabel, Monica, Arianna). Averted in season 2, due to the introduction of Bianca in the main cast.
- Good Girl Gone Bad: In season 2, mature Girl Next Door Livia starts skipping school, getting bad grades, shoplifting, and dyeing her hair blue, as a result of Katia's Toxic Friend Influence. Downplayed, as she is still good at heart, doesn't know that Katia is a bully, and eventually stops hanging out with her when she finds the truth.
- Happily Adopted: Bianca is adopted by lesbian mothers who are very loving and supportive of her, and are easily among the best parents in the show.
- Horrible Judge of Character: A huge flaw of Livia. She dates the Jerk Jock in season 1, and befriends the Alpha Bitch in season 2. They both pretend to be nice in front of her, and Livia is the only one who doesn't realize that they are bullies to other people.
- Incompatible Orientation: In one of the early episodes, Isabel has a crush on Daniele, who was still in the closet. When he comes out, Isabel is very supportive and tries to help him as a friend.
- Jerk Jock: Livia's boyfriend Matteo is a basketball player and a bully, although he puts up a nice façade in front of Livia. His friends and classmates also seem to be this, but Matteo is the worst.
- Kids Are Cruel: Both at Marina Piccola and Marina Grande, there are kids who are cruelly bullied and mocked by other characters. The most cruel ones are Matteo in season 1, and Katia and Sara in season 2.
- "L" Is for "Dyslexia": The Book Dumb Giulio is diagnosed with dyslexia in one episode. He eventually meets a specialist doctor to find a different study method.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Arianna starts out as a vain and stuck-up Alpha Bitch who hates most of the core cast (except for Big Man on Campus Pietro, whom she has a crush on) and only hangs out with her Girl Posse. She later Took a Level in Kindness and learns to appreciate her classmates as True Companions. In season 2, she is a Fallen Princess at the new school.
- Lovable Jock: Pietro plays basketball, sees his friends as family, and is strongly against bullying. In season 2, there's also Roby, another friendly basketball player. Isabel is a female example, since plays basketball better than boys, and is a Nice Girl (excluding her rudeness in the pilot).
- Love Dodecahedron:
- Giulio has an unrequited (at least initially) crush on Arianna, who has an unrequited crush on Pietro, who has a crush on Livia, who is dating Matteo. When Livia breaks up with Matteo, he temporarily uses his ex-girlfriend Lucia to make Livia jealous.
- Meanwhile, Michele has a crush on Isabel, who initially likes Daniele (until she finds out that he is gay) , who has a crush on Mirko, who doesn't feel the same. When Daniele moves on from Mirko, he starts a Long-Distance Relationship with his old friend Nico. Later, Isabel gives her First Kiss to Lamberto, although she later realizes that she doesn't like him that much.
- Matchmaker Crush: In season 2, Isabel is determined to be a good friend to Pietro and help him win back his ex-girlfriend Livia. She ends up falling for him.
- Opposites Attract: The most important Ship Tease is the one between Pietro, the rebellious cool boy, and Livia, the rules-abiding "miss perfect". Although Livia also has a rebellios streak that she tries to hide from other people.
- Out of Focus: Michele and Silverio were the two Plucky Comic Relief characters in season 1. In season 2, they are barely background characters.
- Parental Neglect: Several of the kids have parental issues.
- Pietro's parents have an Awful Wedded Life, so they spend all the time arguing and never pay attention to their son, who feels miserable whenever he is at home. Even during their eventual separation, they don't pay attention to Pietro's feelings.
- Livia's parents always expect her to be perfect, because they don't want her to become like Livia's selfish and irresponsible older sister. Livia feels she can never be herself in order not to disappoint her parents.
- Arianna's mother forces her daugter to do many extracurricular activities every day (painting, piano, gym, etc.) and doesn't care if her daughter is tired and never has time for herself. When Arianna tries to protest, her mother refuses to listen.
- In season 2, the Alpha Bitch Katia has problems with being completely ignored by her parents after their divorce. It's hard to tell if the writers are trying to give her a Freudian Excuse.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Livia and Isabel.
- Livia is a dedicated triathlete, although it's more to live up to the high standards people expect from her, rather than true passion. In fact, she's no longer this in season 2.
- Isabel plays basketball with the boys, and is the best player of the team.
- Unnamed Parent: Most of the parents who appear on the show are not named, with even the credits calling them "Pietro's mom", "Pietro's dad", "Livia's mom", etc. We only know the names of Bianca's mothers, Emma and Caterina, even though Caterina's name is never said in the series, only in the credits.
- What Does She See in Him?:
- None of Livia's friends understand why Livia is dating obnoxious Jerk Jock Matteo. Even Livia never seems happy nor particularly close to him.
- Giulio's friends don't understand why he has a cush on Alpha Bitch Arianna, especially since she treats him really badly. However, they still help him when he has his first date with her.
