The first season had delivered one of the most unexpectedly delightful television moments of 2024, to the point that in these pages we hailed it as the best series of the year. We anticipated the usual biographical arc, but instead we found ourselves enchanted by a tale of friendship, dreams, and provincial life, told with irony, nostalgia, and a soundtrack that’s impossible to forget. After Have They Killed Spider-Man, the series that chronicles The Legendary Story of 883 returns exclusively on Sky and streaming only on NOW with Nord South East West, the second season and the final act of the series’ surprising origins of the duo who, hailing from Pavia, became an icon of Italian music. The kickoff is set for October 9, with a new episode released every Friday (two in the first week!). Before we dive into the exploits of the mythical ’90s that led to the 883’s second album, now at the peak of a meteoric success, let us refresh our memory with a recap of the previous episodes.
Before Nord South East West: Where We Left Off
Created by Sydney Sibilia, Have They Killed Spider-Man – The Legendary Story of the 883 (already available on Sky and streaming on NOW) told the early days of Max Pezzali and Mauro Repetto (portrayed in the series by Elia Nuzzolo and Matteo Oscar Giuggioli), the early ’90s, and the genesis of some of the 883’s most famous songs, the duo that, against all odds, reshaped Italian music, amazing everyone, including Max and Mauro themselves.
We begin in Pavia, at the end of the 1980s, when Max is still an awkward kid, passionate about comics, American music, and with a love life far from straightforward. After failing his high school exams, meeting Mauro Repetto changes everything: the two discover they share the same obsession with music and become inseparable. From the earliest demo tapes recorded almost for fun, the project that would become the 883 takes shape, while the usual circle of friends, family, the Pavia province, and above all Silvia (Ludovica Barbarito), the girl who had captured Max’s heart, move around them. Between failed attempts, unlikely gigs, and ever more ambitious ideas, Max and Mauro eventually make their way to Milan and capture the attention of Claudio Cecchetto (Roberto Zibetti), who senses the duo’s potential. The decisive leap arrives when the 883 sign a contract and manage to put out their first single. Yet success is not immediate: from the music industry’s point of view, they are still two inexperienced youths, and Mauro must figure out what role he should play on stage.
Then came the turning point. Back in Pavia to seek inspiration, Max and Mauro transform their daily lives, friendships, the girls, and the small frustrations of provincial life into songs capable of speaking to an entire generation. Have They Killed Spider-Man becomes the summer anthem of 1992, and the 883 drift, almost without realizing it, from two unknown lads to a national phenomenon. But success also brings the first complications: Max grows closer to Silvia and decides to devote space to their relationship, while Mauro begins to question his place within the duo. The finale at Riccione’s Aquafan seals their rise: the 883 are now stars, and Max appears increasingly determined to write new songs, while Mauro seems less sure that that role is truly his dream.
“And how do I dance to this?”, Mauro asked Max after hearing the cassette of Come mai, and that exact moment is where we will find them at the start of the second season. We stand at a crossroads: friendship remains, but something is shifting, and the success that once seemed to crown their dream becomes the beginning of a new phase, filled with responsibility, ambition, and inevitable tensions. The first album is already a hit, Max has found his artistic voice, Mauro must decide what his future within the 883 will be, and the story is ready to carry us toward the chapter that will lead to the birth of Nord South East West.
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