Later this week, Disney is set to release a brand new Italian series called “This Is Not Hollywood: Avetrana.” The series tells the story of what happened on August 26, 2010, when fifteen-year-old Sarah disappeared in Avetrana, a sun-scorched village by the sea on the outskirts of Apulia.

The whole town is in turmoil, especially her cousin, Sabrina, who was waiting for Sarah in her house on Via Deledda, so they can go to the beach together. It looks like an innocent escape, but it’s not. Because while everyone searches for her, Sarah has simply vanished without a trace. In one of the best-known cases in Italian true crime, this is the disconcerting story of a disappearance, narrated through the eyes of the protagonists.

The series is scheduled to be released on Friday 25th November 2024 on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States and on Disney+ internationally.  

However, the series has run into some legal issues in Italy, as the Mayor of Avetrana has requested a change of the name of the TV series and the ‘immediate suspension’ of the release of the series.    The Civil Court of Taranto judge has issued a precautionary suspension of the release of the show, with a hearing scheduled for November 5th 2024.

The mayor has asked for an early viewing of the series to “ascertain whether the association of the name of the town with the adaptation arouses a defamatory effect representing by it as an ignorant, backward, silent community, possibly to dedicated the commission of brutal crimes of such, magnitude to reality”.

Roger’s Take:  It’s not clear if the international release of “This Is Not Hollywood: Avetrana” has been delayed, as the show is still showing within Disney+ as being released on Friday, but with this last-minute legal issue, it’s likely the show’s release will be delayed globally.    I’m not really sure how the Mayor thinks they can block a true crime story being told on a global scale and have a show renamed because they don’t want the bad publicity.

Update: The landing page for the show has been removed from Disney+ since this article was published.

What do you think of “This Is Not Hollywood: Avetrana” being potentially delayed? 

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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