Between Shared Vulnerabilities and Identity Recognition Through Public Service Broadcasting
by Stefano Guerini Rocco
Overview
Rai Due
2020
1 season, 8 episodes
based on the Finnish series Sekasin (2016)
Michele Vannucci
Laura Grimaldi, Pietro Seghetti
Rai Fiction, Stand by me
Matteo Vieille
Sara Zavarise
Teho Teardo
Greta Esposito, Romano Reggiani, Simone Liberati, Federica Pagliaroli, Anna Bellato, Gianluca Gobbi, Marco Cocci, Elena Falvella Capodaglio, Tatiana Lepore
RaiPlay
Gallery
Poster
Trailer
Pressbook
Representation strategies, rhetorics and stereotypes
Narrative & characters
Produced by Rai Fiction in collaboration with Stand by Me, Mental is a free adaptation of the Finnish format Sekasin. The narrative focuses on the experiences of four teenagers hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic, offering an intense and sensitive exploration of their fragilities and mechanisms of resilience. Nico, nicknamed “the Fish” (Greta Esposito), is the first to emerge: a reserved and introverted girl who suffers from anxiety attacks and hallucinations, leading to a diagnosis of schizophrenia and hospitalization. Her silence and inner suffering are portrayed powerfully, without rhetoric, revealing the weight of a mind struggling to orient itself. Alongside her is Emma (Federica Pagliaroli), who hides an eating disorder and visible signs of self-harm behind a façade of vitality—pink hair, colorful makeup, and curated social media posts that present a filtered version of her identity. Her dependence on social networks and her effort to construct a carefree alter ego, through tutorials and provocative poses, underscore the tension between body, perception, role, and contemporary reality. Michele (Romano Reggiani), raised in a group home, faces drug addiction and carries with him an urgent desire to escape: the clinic represents an institution to flee from, a place that prevents him from avoiding the pain he knows too well. Daniel (Cosimo Longo), by contrast, suffers from bipolar disorder characterized by compulsive logorrhea and the conviction that he is perfectly healthy, a victim of a system he perceives as unjustly detaining him. Beyond the young patients, the series devotes significant attention to the representation of their families: often absent, detached, or incapable of understanding their children’s condition, and in some cases complicit in dysfunctional behaviors at the root of adolescent suffering. These figures are charged with ambivalence and at times inadvertently reinforce destructive patterns. In contrast, the clinic staff are portrayed in a surprisingly human light: not merely as experts but as fragile, empathetic, and vulnerable individuals. In particular, the series frames care as a fragile, shared relationship, built through mutual recognition within the tumult of adolescence. Mental thus emerges as a delicate yet radical work that narrates adolescent mental distress without melodrama or moralizing rhetoric, representing it instead as a complex and contradictory experience. Its strength lies in centering the bond among the protagonists, constructing an idea of inclusion as reciprocal care: a clinic whose doors open not to contain, but to create community, where the absence of heroes becomes the presence of a collective.
Stereotypes & strategies of inclusion
In Mental, all the protagonists experience anger and the urge to escape, expressed in different ways. Nico seeks to distance herself from feelings of inadequacy and from trauma tied to “that night.” Michele repeatedly attempts to run away from the clinic, eventually acting on this impulse with the group’s complicity. Daniel, in a gesture at once simple and profoundly painful, shatters a door with his bare hands, turning emotional suffering into physical reality. Emma, by contrast, attempts to flee primarily from herself, shaping an online persona through a body at once sexualized and marked by rejection of self. Episodes such as stealing medication to frame another patient, Valentina, symbolically reflect the group’s attempt to exorcize inner demons; the final collective escape becomes a lucid, extreme act of identity construction, drawing clear boundaries between self and other. The clinic, in this process, emerges as a space where group dynamics and shared encounters with alterity—whether similar or different—are valued. What initially appears as a hostile “outside world” progressively transforms into a more familiar space.
This “open-door clinic” becomes a metaphor for an inclusive institution, where boundaries between internal and external dissolve under the force of solidarity. In this framework, inclusion is embodied not only by the structure itself but by the emotional and methodological flexibility of the clinicians, especially Giulia. Her ability to adapt communication to each adolescent, her professionalism that never erases affectivity, her assertiveness combined with vulnerability, make the group’s survival possible. A crucial scene shows Giulia breaking down in tears when her phone is destroyed, with the fear of losing forever the messages sent by her deceased husband.
In that moment, she ceases to be the reassuring psychologist and becomes a woman living with grief and loneliness alongside the teenagers. This approach undermines stereotypes of the isolated, deviant, or pathetic psychiatric patient, instead affirming an inclusive model that recognizes human beings in their complexity and fragility. The collective escape—Nico, Emma, Michele, and Daniel fleeing together—becomes not a chaotic rebellion but a liberating act that breaks with silence and isolation, affirming belonging through shared pain and togetherness.
Mental stages the process of trauma elaboration, which involves both the adolescents and the clinicians, all forced to confront their vulnerabilities. Their path is not linear: they stumble, rise, or more often balance precariously, suspended between the complexity of adolescence and the storm of mental distress.
Conversations
Interview with the cast (Greta Esposito, Romano Reggiani, Federica Pagliaroli, Cosimo Longo), screenwriter Pietro Seghetti, and director Michele Vannucci (Ginger Generation, December 21, 2020).
Composer Teho Teardo discusses his work for the series (Rai, 2020).
Business strategies and communication rhetorics
Strategies
Mental presents itself as the first Italian series to address adolescent mental health explicitly. A co-production of Rai Fiction and Stand by Me, it is a free adaptation of the Finnish format Sekasin. Conceived in a “box-set” release model, all eight episodes were simultaneously launched on RaiPlay on 18 December 2020 to immediately reach a young audience already attuned to digital consumption. Production notes specify that the target audience was youth aged 15 to 24. The series addresses issues central to contemporary adolescence—anxiety, hallucinations, addictions, self-harm—with a visual and narrative tone designed to feel authentic and urgent. Screenwriters Laura Grimaldi and Pietro Seghetti collaborated with Dr. Paola De Rose from the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, underscoring both the scientific rigor and ethical responsibility in dealing with sensitive topics. Consequently, characters are written with clarity and originality, marked by realistic traits and symbolically resonant experiences. Director Michele Vannucci employs technical experimentation to render the protagonists’ altered mental states, adopting a cinematic rather than conventional television language: rapid editing, smartphone camera footage, bold use of archival images, and dialogues rooted in adolescents’ everyday life.
Communication rhetorics
Promotional strategies emphasized that Mental was the first Italian series to address adolescent mental health openly. The communication campaign framed the project as an educational and socially oriented initiative aimed at combating the stigma surrounding youth mental disorders. Promotional materials stressed that such disorders, though often ignored or minimized, affect a large proportion of adolescents. The Italian Society of Pediatrics, for instance, reports that eight out of ten young people aged 14–18 have experienced some form of emotional distress. Other data, such as studies by Professor Stefano Vicari (Head of Child Neuropsychiatry at Bambino Gesù), highlighted that suicide is the second leading cause of death among Italians under 20. Promotional discourse therefore underscored the role of medical consultancy (Dr. De Rose) in ensuring accuracy. The campaign also relied on a strong social media component, aimed at normalizing mental health struggles and encouraging young people to seek help without shame. Hashtags such as #davicinonessunoènormale (“up close, no one is normal,” from Franco Basaglia), #fuoridime (from the song by Coez, included in the soundtrack), #èoknonessereok (“it’s okay not to be okay”), and #mental reinforced the urgency of destigmatization and the message that asking for help should be normalized. In rhetorical terms, Rai positioned itself as a public service attentive to youth mental health, pursuing a dual communication strategy: on one side, highlighting the scientific authority underpinning the series; on the other, adopting a direct, non-paternalistic tone capable of speaking to young people with clarity and without oversimplification.
Conversations
“Interview with the protagonists of Mental, the series that breaks the taboos on psychiatric disorders.” In The Blond Salad, March 5, 2021. Interview with the director, screenwriters, and cast.
«The idea at the heart of the series is: up close, no one is normal. When we began writing, we asked ourselves not so much what mental illness is, but rather what normality is and how it enters our lives and those of the protagonists. When producer Simona Ercolani of Stand By Me proposed that we write Mental, we watched the original Finnish format, Sekasin. We liked it a lot, but precisely for this reason we decided to subvert it. We wanted to create a personal story that, while drawing inspiration from those narratives, was tied to our own lived experiences, to the stories of friends and loved ones, and to those of patients we met through our consultant, Dr. Paola De Rose of the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome. These are stories on the edge, often difficult, but also full of life, desire, and energy. We wanted to make a series that was both entertaining and engaging, but that at the same time did not pull any punches, infusing it with the many stories we came into contact with».
Circulation and audience responses
Circulation patterns
Mental was distributed exclusively on RaiPlay, released as a complete on-demand box-set on 18 December 2020. Its intended audience was youth aged 15–24. RaiPlay thus positioned itself as a platform designed to capture young audiences through original content diversified by theme and genre. Within this framework, RaiPlay reflects Rai’s effort to strengthen its public service role in the digital ecosystem while positioning itself as a competitive player in the on-demand content market. Nevertheless, RaiPlay—unlike Netflix and other major streaming services in Italy—remains relatively underpromoted and underused, and its Originals function more as niche productions than mass phenomena. Indeed, despite RaiPlay’s 2021/22 promotional documents labeling Mental a “success,” no official viewing figures have been released. Still, streaming distribution appears more suitable than a prime-time broadcast on a generalist channel: Mental is not designed for everyone but for audiences willing to immerse themselves in a narrative at times documentary-like, at times surreal.
Reception
Despite limited media visibility, Italian critical reception was highly positive, praising the series’ narrative courage and its delicate treatment of youth distress. Corriere della Sera described it as “a hard and unfiltered journey into youth malaise,” commending its ability to capture adolescent tensions “without generational dogmatism.” Vanity Fair highlighted its “raw and direct” language and its value as public service, stressing the importance of offering young audiences credible, realistic stories grounded in scientifically supported writing. TaxiDrivers was nearly enthusiastic: “it is difficult to find a single flaw in this series,” praising direction, editing, and the performances of the young cast. DavideMaggio.it emphasized how, despite its niche streaming reach, this format was the most appropriate for a project combining documentary and surreal elements, requiring viewers willing to engage with its authentic, resonant style. Moreover, Mental received a Special Mention for Web Fiction and a Student Jury Special Prize at the 2021 Prix Italia, confirming its ability to address adolescent mental health with authenticity, direct language, and sensitivity to young audiences while avoiding stereotypes and stigmatization.
Conversations
“Mental, Michele Vannucci: ‘Prima che patologie siamo persone’”. In MoviePlayer.it, December 18, 2020. Erika Sciamanna interviews director Michele Vannucci.
«What I fear most is judgment: I am afraid the audience will judge these characters as simply ‘crazy’ and refuse to listen to them. So all the energy of the mise-en-scène went into an unconditional love for these four actors whom I was lucky enough to direct, and for a project that was born recklessly through Rai Fiction and Stand By Me: bringing to the screen something that society usually suppresses, doing so without trying to reassure anyone, staging humanity, problems, and crises that every adolescent carries with them. If this urgent need ultimately translates into a suspension of judgment on the part of the viewer, then I will be happy—because before pathologies, we are people».
Italian and foreign press
Italian Press
Aldo Grasso, “«Mental», The Series That Tackles Youth Distress with Courage and Sensitivity”, Corriere della Sera, January 20, 2021.
«It takes courage and delicacy to narrate that often impenetrable frontier world that is youth distress. It is not an easy task, but the series Mental attempts to address it without generational dogmas, going straight to the heart of an adolescence marked by ‘easy tears and bitten nails for lunch.’ Produced by Rai Fiction with Simona Ercolani’s Stand By Me, Mental unfolds over eight short-format episodes (about 25 minutes each) available on RaiPlay; even in this distribution choice, one sees the intent to reach young people where they are most easily found—within the on-demand consumption of streaming. […] Directed by Michele Vannucci and written by Laura Grimaldi and Pietro Seghetti, the series offers a key to exploring that complex mix of emotions, feelings, anger, and disappointments that characterize adolescence, and which the performances of the young actors succeed in conveying with poignant simplicity».
Mario Manca, “«Mental»: RaiPlay’s Series on Adolescents’ Mental Health Is True Public Service,” Vanity Fair, December 18, 2020.
«With its raw and direct language and its meticulous commitment to a representation as close to reality as possible—made possible through the scientific consultation of Dr. Paola De Rose from the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit of the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital—Mental leads us by the hand through the emotions, vices, and the restless energy of tormented sixteen-year-olds, forced to confront hallucinations, drug addiction, self-harm, and the desire to escape from everything. The message of the eight episodes written by Laura Grimaldi and Pietro Seghetti is, naturally, to raise awareness among young people, seeking to dismantle the stigma surrounding adolescent mental illness, too often minimized as a mere transitional phase of age. […] Through Mental—which features a cast including Anna Bellato, Simone Liberati, Marco Cocci, and Milena Mancini—Rai positions itself as true public service, supporting a social campaign aimed at encouraging young people not to feel ashamed and to seek help from professionals when needed».
Luca Bove, “Mental: The Italian TV Series About Depressed Youth,” TaxiDrivers, December 25, 2020.
«The project was born with a social purpose: to raise awareness of mental disorders among adolescents. It is always difficult to produce a work that is artistically valid while also serving a clear social function. The risk of falling into rhetoric is high. But this is not the case with Mental. It is truly difficult to find a single flaw in this series. The direction, editing, screenplay, and above all the performances of the young protagonists are flawless. Every element fits together seamlessly. Mental was created to engage a young audience, but it also succeeds in portraying the world of adults and their weaknesses».
Stefania Stefanelli, “Mental: Rai Goes ‘Beyond the Threshold’”, davidemaggio.it, December 23, 2020.
«The fact that such a difficult subject—one that only a few years ago was scarcely discussed—has now become more accessible to everyone represents a major step forward. Streaming, rather than prime-time broadcast on a generalist channel, proves to be the right choice, because this series is not for everyone: it is only for those willing to immerse themselves in a narrative that at times feels documentary-like, at times surreal. Surreal because, for those who have never suffered from mental disorders, it is difficult even to believe they are real».