Scripted

Canale 5 has opened its 2026 drama season with a slate of three new scripted titles, delivering results well above the channel’s average and confirming a solid start to the year in prime time.

The season began with A Testa Alta – Il coraggio di una donna  starring Sabrina Ferilli. The drama aired its third and final episode on Wednesday 21 January, securing a convincing victory in its time slot. The finale attracted 4.03 million viewers, corresponding to a 28.2% share.
The series follows Virginia, a devoted mother and school educator who launches an initiative to combat digital addiction among her students. Her life is abruptly shaken when an intimate video involving her is leaked online, triggering a public scandal and forcing her to confront the consequences on both a personal and professional level. The title was produced by RTI in collaboration with Banijay Studios Italia.

Building on this momentum, Canale 5 premiered Colpa dei Sensi (Guilt of the Senses) on Friday 30 January, starring Gabriel Garko and Anna Safroncik.  The debut was stong, leading the prime time slot with 2.7 mln viewers and an audience share of 18.7%. The six-part drama centres on Laura and Enrico, a seemingly stable married couple whose equilibrium is disrupted by the return of Davide. Once Laura’s former lover and Enrico’s closest friend, Davide left the city years earlier after his mother was brutally murdered by his father, who was subsequently convicted and imprisoned. Tormented by the suspicion that his father may not have been the real killer, Davide returns determined to uncover the truth, reopening old wounds and unresolved tensions. The series is produced by RTI and Compagnia Leone Cinematografica.

Completing the trio of new launches is Una nuova vita (A New Life), which debuted on Wednesday 28 January, recording almost 3mln viewers with an audience share of 18.7%.  The four-part series tells the story of Vittoria, an architect who returns home after serving time in prison, determined to prove her innocence in the death of her husband and to regain the trust of her son. The drama airs on Wednesdays at 21:20 and is produced by Banijay Studios Italia in partnership with RTI.

Together, these three titles have delivered a strong opening for Canale 5 in 2026, reinforcing the channel’s commitment to high-impact domestic drama and confirming audience appetite for emotionally driven, socially relevant storytelling in prime time.