After premiering this week at the Giffoni Film Festival, Netflix announced a release date for its military high school drama Minerva Academy. What do we know about the show and what did the crew say about the project?
The rollout of Netflix Italian programming continues steadily; as we documented in our preview, one of the bets for 2026 was a drama set in a military high school. Now, Minerva (La Scuola) is ready to launch, with a September 22nd global release planned for all 8 episodes. The show has partly been filmed at the Royal Palace of Portici, in Naples, which was also welcoming the cast again for a press event, as the premiere was taking place at the Giffoni Film Festival. Here is what we know about the project.
What is the logline for Minerva?
Minerva – The School is a coming-of-age teen drama set in a military high school in Naples. It is a world that seems to belong to another era: students wake up at dawn for the flag-raising ceremony; mobile phones and civilian clothes are forbidden; military tactics and fencing are part of the curriculum. Romantic relationships are prohibited, and every mistake comes at a high price. Minerva – The School is also a story about adults—military officers and civilian teachers—whose mission is to shape the next generation while confronting their own consciences, vulnerabilities, and past mistakes. At Minerva Military High School, students are pushed to their limits and discover unexpected truths about themselves. Each of them arrives with ambitions and dreams. The school will not help them achieve those dreams—it will help them understand whether they are truly the right ones. Ultimately, it will help them grow up.
Who is the cast of Minerva?
Minerva. (L to R) Biagio Vendittti as Vincenzo Cipriani in episode 102 of Minerva. Cr. Eduardo Castaldo/Netflix
- Ciro Minopoli stars as Salvo, a young boy who decides to enter the school to find out the truth about his best friend, who is reported missing. This is his first major credit.
- Biagio Venditti plays Vincenzo, a teenager who wants to follow in the footsteps of his military father; he was seen in the 2024 movie L’ultima settimana di settembre.
- Margherita Buoncristiani plays Camilla, a spoiled teenager from Milan who is sent to the military academy by her father, in hopes it will change her behavior; this is also her first major credit.
- On the adult side, Massimiliano Gallo plays the all-powerful commander of the institution, Achille Giordano. He was seen in Netflix movies Vanished Into The Night and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God. One of his two sons is also attending classes at Minerva.
- Cristiana Capotondi plays Laura Canali, a philosophy teacher and one of the civilians on the staff of the military school, who is also a young mother. Previously, she was in the cast of the Disney+ series The Ignorant Angels.
The supporting cast includes Simone Secce, Giulio Brizzi, Nicole Malaj, Alicia Edogamhe, Irene Maiorino, Raiz, and Michele Rosiello.
Who is the crew of Minerva?
The main director is Ivan Silvestrini, who has helmed the entire series of Mare Fuori, a successful RAI show that was released on Netflix in multiple territories. Minerva is Giovanni Galassi, Tommaso Matano, and Michela Straniero, and produced by Roberto Sessa for Picomedia
What else do we know about the show?
During the press event, the crew revealed that the 5-month shoot was often quite intense, as training and endurance sequences implied a lot of physical preparation. The show is promoted as a clash between the issues of the current generation of teenagers and the traditional values and discipline imposed by the military school. The coming-of-age show also includes the mystery of the disappearance of a student. The producer Roberto Sessa explained that he was fascinated to cross the students of the famed Nunziatella military school of Naples, “and I wanted to understand what they did. I discovered that the process of selection is very rigorous, for young men and women alike. The motivations to enroll are numerous: punishment, military tradition in the family, or use of the school as a social stepping stone to bigger things.”
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