The opening clash of the new television season between Rai 1 and Canale 5 favors Mediaset. On Tuesday evening, September 1st, Hotel Costiera secured the top position in the ratings, beating La legge di Lidia Poët, broadcast for the first time in prime time on Rai’s flagship network. The series featuring Jesse Williams attracted 1,941,343 viewers, corresponding to a 14.4% share. On Rai 1, instead, the first two episodes of La legge di Lidia Poët, a Netflix original production, drew 1,548,548 spectators, with an 11.2% share. This marks a fairly decisive victory for Canale 5, which chose to pit against the Matilda De Angelis-led series a production with international reach, already released on Prime Video in 2025 and now offered for the first time in free-to-air.
The surprise of Hotel Costiera
The result of Hotel Costiera is intriguing even when considering the competition. The series boasted several elements especially suited for Canale 5’s prime time: a light blend of action, crime, comedy and glamour, an international lead like Jesse Williams, and above all, a completely original story not based on a film, a novel, or a character already known to the general public. One element that, as emphasized by Williams himself and by director Adam Bernstein during the series’ presentation last year, represented one of the project’s distinguishing features. Complementing this is the setting—the splendid Amalfi Coast—able to capture attention immediately. It remains to be seen whether this factor also played an emotional role, especially for an audience that has just left the summer holidays.
The plot and cast of Hotel Costiera
At the heart of Hotel Costiera is Daniel De Luca, portrayed by Jesse Williams, an American ex-marine of Italian descent who returns to the country of his childhood. In Positano he is hired as the problem solver for the luxurious Hotel Villa Costiera, where he handles the issues of the hotel’s eccentric guests. His real mission, however, concerns the disappearance of Alice, the daughter of the hotel’s owner Augusto Caetani. The young woman has been missing for about a month, and Daniel tries to trace her, becoming entangled in a criminal plot involving kidnappings, extortion and secrets. In the cast, besides Williams, are Maria Chiara Giannetta, Antonio Gerardi, Pierpaolo Spollon, Sam Haygarth, Tommaso Ragno, Jordan Alexandra, Alejandra Onieva and Jean-Hugues Anglade. The series originated from an idea by Luca Bernabei and was produced by Lux Vide in co-production with Amazon MGM Studios.
The Law of Lidia Poët returns to Rai 1 after Netflix success
On the other side of the challenge stood a series that certainly did not need any introduction. The Law of Lidia Poët, with Matilda De Angelis, is one of the Italian productions to have achieved the greatest success on Netflix in recent years. The series tells the true story of Lidia Poët, the first Italian woman admitted to the Bar Association. In late 19th-century Turin, a ruling prevents her from practicing the profession because she is a woman. Lidia thus decides to continue her battle for justice by collaborating with the law firm run by her brother Enrico.
The result achieved by Hotel Costiera gains even more interest when considering the prior success of the Matilda De Angelis series. The Law of Lidia Poët managed to enter Netflix’s global Top 10 non-English-language series for six weeks, becoming one of Italy’s productions most appreciated abroad. Perhaps Rai 1 hoped to capture the audience that had not had the chance to follow it on the streaming platform. For the moment, however, the first TV duel of the season was won by Hotel Costiera. We will see whether the Rai flagship network can strike back in the coming months. In the meantime, remember that Hotel Costiera will return on Canale 5 Thursday, September 3 for the grand finale, while The Law of Lidia Poët will continue on Rai 1 Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9.
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