On April 18, 2011, in Ascoli Piceno, Melania Rea vanishes into thin air while she is with her young daughter and her husband, the army sergeant Salvatore Parolisi. Two days later, in the Casermette forest of Ripe di Civitella, the body of the twenty-eight-year-old is found, brutally murdered. Beyond the investigative and judicial chronicle, the HBO Max miniseries directed by Stefano Mordini, featuring Maria Esposito and Daniele Rienzo, Melania Rea, chooses to probe her most intimate dimension, placing the person before the victim. What emerges is a portrait of an apparently normal domestic life in which lies, betrayals and violence lurk, until the unmasking of a man who was not the desperate spouse pretending to be, but the ruthless killer. If this story has struck you, here are 3 other TV series not to miss to explore the best Italian true crime.
Melania Rea: Here are the similar TV series we recommend
- Per Elisa – Il caso Claps
- Avetrana – Qui non è Hollywood
- Il Mostro
Per Elisa – Il caso Claps
Elisa Claps is a sixteen-year-old student who, one Sunday in 1993, enters the Church of the Holy Trinity and never leaves. Her mother, Filomena, and her brother, Gildo, fight tooth and nail for nearly two decades so that the truth about Elisa’s disappearance can emerge; in 2010, her remains are found in the attic of the aforementioned church and the killer Danilo Restivo is convicted. For Elisa – Il caso Claps, a 2023 TV series directed by Marco Pontecorvo which, alongside Melania Rea, centers on the humanity of the victim. Six episodes you can catch on RaiPlay.
Avetrana – Qui non è Hollywood
In August 2010, in Avetrana, a shy fifteen-year-old with blond hair and deep eyes, Sarah Scazzi, disappears without a trace as she heads to her older cousin Sabrina Misseri’s house. When her lifeless body is found, her uncle, Michele Misseri, confesses the murder and is locked away. Yet investigators will end up releasing him and arresting his daughter and wife, Sabrina and Cosima. Avetrana – Qui non è Hollywood is a 2024 miniseries by Pippo Mezzapesa consisting of four episodes, each told from the perspective of the four characters. As in Melania Rea, this series rejects sensationalism to focus on toxic family dynamics and the psychology of the protagonists. Available on Disney+.
Il Mostro
From 1968 to 1985, in the Tuscan countryside, there occurred eight horrific double murders of couples who would separate themselves for romance. The manhunt lasted across all those seventeen years of terror, and while it was the most significant case in republican history, it proved to be the most unsuccessful. Il Mostro is a miniseries — in production — created by Stefano Sollima in 2025, and it shares with Melania Rea the contrast between the superficial idyll and the true horror lurking beneath. Four episodes you can watch on Netflix.
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