Mediating prestige television: The Italian promotion of Big Little Lies and The Deuce

Abstract

This article takes the case of Sky Atlantic Italia to examine some of the strategies of national mediation that the player has employed to position itself as the prime Italian outlet of prestige television. First, I analyse the ways Sky has made the promotional rhetoric of US prestige television its own, also pouring it into the production of its original high-end dramas. Second, I focus on the promotion of two HBO series aired by Sky Atlantic, Big Little Lies (2017–present) and The Deuce (2017–19). By comparing these strategies to those originally employed by HBO, I highlight the ways the series were re-packaged for the Italian audience, ultimately reasoning on the meaning alterations brought about by the interplay between exploitation and negotiation of brand identities.