‘Mrs. Playmen’ on Netflix: What You Need To Know About New Italian Series

Mrs Playmen has arrived on Netflix. The seven-episode limited series draws inspiration from the life of Adelina Tattilo, the Italian publisher, journalist, and pioneer who helped redefine erotic media and women’s freedom in Italy. What can you expect from the series? It’ll transport you into a world where social change, repression, and rebellion meet. 

The story opens in 1975, when the United Nations recognized Adelina Tattilo as one of the most important women in the world, honored for her influence on Italy’s conversation about sexuality and freedom. From there, the show turns back to October 1970, the period that shaped her fight and her contradictions.

What to Expect From Mrs. Playmen

Setting the Scene: Italy in 1970

In October 1970, Italy stood on the edge of transformation. Divorce was still illegal, though Parliament was preparing to vote on the Fortuna-Baslini bill, which would pass two months later. The Christian Democrats, supported by the Vatican, clung to power amid growing pressure from the left. Following the 1968 student and worker protests, Socialist and Communist movements advocated for social reforms, workers’ rights, and increased secular freedom, thereby challenging the Church’s influence on everyday life.

Religion still dictated daily life: marriage was sacred, confession was routine, and women’s honor was tied to silence. The matrimonio riparatore law, which allowed a rapist to marry his victim to restore family dignity, was still in force. Censorship ruled Italian media, yet erotic magazines began to appear, circulated quietly in a country caught between repression and awakening.

Episodes 1-2: From Scandal to Survival

Across its first two episodes, Mrs Playmen follows Adelina Tattilo Balsamo (Carolina Crescentini) as her marriage and reputation crumble, leaving her to rebuild both under public scrutiny. Her husband, Saro Balsamo, appoints her editor-in-chief of Playmen, only to vanish when the magazine faces charges of obscenity. Left to face arrest and debt, Adelina decides to take control of the publication that once defined her husband’s success.

Elsa, a young woman eager to be seen and valued, is deceived into posing nude by photographer Luigi Poggi, who promises the images will remain private. When they’re published without her consent, her reputation is destroyed overnight, and soon after, she’s raped by a co-worker who believes the photos make her “available.” Meanwhile, police officer Andrea De Cesari is ordered to find any excuse to shut Playmen down.

In Episode 2, Adelina learns that Saro has mortgaged their home and fled, leaving her bankrupt. When a high-society murder-suicide exposes the abuse of a woman trapped by wealth and obedience, Adelina decides to publish the story, but on her own terms, refusing to exploit it for scandal. Elsa’s case highlights Italy’s outdated laws, where victims are blamed and “reparatory marriage” still counts as justice.

Moved by empathy, Adelina offers Elsa a job at Playmen, unaware that she is secretly feeding information to De Cesari. Around them, other stories unfold: Chartroux, the creative director of Playmen, and Luigi Poggi navigate a forbidden attraction, while Adelina’s teenage son Lorenzo, idealistic and infatuated with his classmate Anna, daughter of a feminist leader, finds himself caught between rebellion and desire.

Through her friendship with Don Rocco, a progressive priest and old friend, Adelina starts reshaping Playmen into a platform for conversation rather than provocation. Her first new issue, The Erotic Bride, becomes a cultural shockwave, tackling virginity and female sexuality from a woman’s perspective. Letters pour in from women across Italy, thanking her for giving voice to what was once untouchable. what started as her husband’s betrayal evolves into the start of her independence.

The Power and Context of Mrs Playmen

Each episode centers around a new issue of Playmen, using it as a mirror for Italy’s social battles: divorce, desire, censorship, and women’s freedom. The series captures a society torn between the influence of the Church and a modern identity.

The production uses Rome itself as a living backdrop. The Piper Club, an icon of 1970s nightlife, features prominently, set to a soundtrack that blends Italian hits from Patty Pravo and Nada with English tracks like “Venus” by Shocking Blue and modern covers, such as “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna. Through its visuals, the Colosseum, the Tiber, and St. Peter’s dome, the show ties each character’s story to Italy’s broader history.

Although designed as a limited series, Mrs Playmen reaches beyond the story of a magazine to explore those of freedom, shame, and the price of speaking out. Mrs Playmen feels like a natural fit for Netflix. It’s modern and quietly provocative, inviting viewers to reflect on how far society has progressed since the 1970s, and how much still remains unchanged. While rooted in Italian history, the series resonates with a global audience, with some scenes providing brief explanations to help non-Italian viewers grasp the social customs and contradictions of that era. However, given its international scope, a few parts could have offered more in-depth context for audiences less familiar with Italy’s history.

Who’s in the cast for Mrs. Playmen?

Here’s the cast list for the new limited series:

• Carolina Crescentini (Perfect Strangers, Mare Fuori)
• Filippo Nigro (Suburra: Blood on Rome, Medici)
• Giuseppe Maggio (Baby, Suburra: Blood on Rome)
• Francesca Colucci (Summertime, Luna Park)
• Francesco Colella (ZeroZeroZero, The Good Mothers)
• Domenico Diele (1992, Me and You)
• Cecilia Dazzi (The First Beautiful Thing, Baby)
• Giampiero Judica (The Hand of God, The Catholic School)
• Marco Rossetti (R.I.S. Roma, Black Out – Vite sospese)
• Lidia Vitale (Don’t Tell, Suburra: Blood on Rome)

Watch Mrs. Playmen If You Like…

• Minx 
• The New Look
• The L Word: Generation Q
• Mad Men
• Halston
• Call My Agent!
• The Good Mothers
• Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker
• My Brilliant Friend

Netflix presents the series in its original Italian audio with various subtitled options plus dubbing for English, French, Hindi, Polish, and Portuguese.

Are you checking out Mrs. Playmen on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.