# Compagni di scuola (TV series)

Compagni di scuola (English: Classmates) is an Italian teen comedy-drama television series that aired in 2001. It was produced by Publiglobo in collaboration with Rai Fiction and broadcast on the network Raidue. The show is an adaptation of the Spanish TV series Compañeros by Antena 3.

## Plot

Set in the school world, the series tells the story of professors and students of the "Giacomo Leopardi" Experimental Scientific High School in Rome. The series explores the complexities of relationships, career ambitions, and personal growth within a school setting.
The main characters are the Salina brothers:
* Felice Salina (played by Massimo Lopez): A fifty-year-old, intellectual, single vice principal, and philosophy teacher who is deeply invested in his role at the school.
* Giovanni Salina (played by Paolo Sassanelli): A younger, more outgoing science teacher who was married and is now divorced, grappling with the emotional challenges of being separated from his ex-wife while raising his daughter.
Their stories intertwine with those of their students, particularly those in class IV F, and other faculty members, creating a rich tapestry of personal and professional interactions.

## Cast

* Massimo Lopez: Felice Salina
* Paolo Sassanelli: Giovanni Salina
* Laura Chiatti: Valeria Filangeri
* Camilla Filippi: Arianna Cirese
* Cristiana Capotondi: Martina Antonelli
* Brando De Sica: Pietro Valobra
* Riccardo Scamarcio: Michele Reale
* Damiano Russo: Marco Barca
* Raffaello Balzo: Ettore
* Imma Piro: Marisa Ferrero
* Paola Tiziana Cruciani: la bidella Milva Filangeri
* Elisabetta Pellini: Virginia Giovardi
* Rosanna Banfi: Margherita Andreoli
* Valeria Valeri: Mamma Salina

## Production

This series, made in 2001 by the production company Publiglobo (controlled by Publispei) and Rai Fiction, is the Italian adaptation of the Spanish TV series Compañeros by Antena 3. The screenwriters were Mattia Betti, Sandro Petraglia, Fidel Signorile, Stefano Tummolini, and Alessandro Pondi. The direction was by Tiziana Aristarco and Claudio Norza.
The lead actors were Massimo Lopez and Paolo Sassanelli. The main cast included actors such as Imma Piro, Brando De Sica, Elisabetta Pellini, Raffaello Balzo, Valeria Valeri, Paola Tiziana Cruciani, Mauro Pirovano, Rosanna Banfi, and Anna Flati. The show also featured young and teenage actors who were not very well-known in 2001 but later became famous in Italian showbiz, including Giorgia Palmas, Laura Chiatti, Cristiana Capotondi, Damiano Russo, and Riccardo Scamarcio. Laura Chiatti also performed the opening theme song, titled "Tu sei."
The series was released in a DVD box set, now out of print.

## Episodes

The first and only season of the Italian TV series 'Classmates', consisting of 26 episodes, was broadcast as a first-run television show on Rai Due from 25 September – 18 December 2001.
| nº | Title | Prima TV Italy |
| 1 | The year to come | 25 September 2001 |
| 2 | The Fourteenth | 25 September 2001 |
| 3 | Enough is enough | 2 October 2001 |
| 4 | I Want to Die! | 2 October 2001 |
| 5 | On the Edge of the Cliff | 9 October 2001 |
| 6 | On Air! | 9 October 2001 |
| 7 | Sylvester the Cat | 16 October 2001 |
| 8 | Children Are Children | 16 October 2001 |
| 9 | Top of the Class | 23 October 2001 |
| 10 | Everyone on a trip | 23 October 2001 |
| 11 | Mom ran away | 30 October 2001 |
| 12 | Leopardi vs. Pascoli | 30 October 2001 |
| 13 | Thefts at school | 6 November 2001 |
| 14 | Taking and leaving each other | 6 November 2001 |
| 15 | Tango lessons | 13 November 2001 |
| 16 | Slumber Party | 13 November 2001 |
| 17 | Silence... turn around! | 20 November 2001 |
| 18 | An almost perfect evening | 20 November 2001 |
| 19 | Slander is a breeze | 27 November 2001 |
| 20 | Checkmate | 27 November 2001 |
| 21 | Occupied school! | 4 December 2001 |
| 22 | Michè... open your eyes! | 4 December 2001 |
| 23 | Dear Michele... | 11 December 2001 |
| 24 | Love sickness exists | 11 December 2001 |
| 25 | The best of all possible worlds | 18 December 2001 |
| 26 | The best years of our lives | 18 December 2001 |

### The year to come

* Directed by: Tiziana Aristarco, Claudio Norza
* Written by:

### Plot

A new school year begins at the "Giacomo Leopardi" scientific high school. Felice Salina is the vice-principal, a gruff man who melts at the sight of Professor Marisa Ferrero, who taught at the high school 8 years earlier and who has now returned. Felice's brother is Giovanni, a young and carefree science teacher (so much so that he arrives late on the first day of school). Among the students are Michele Reale, who has always been in conflict with Felice, his ex Valeria and her friends Arianna and Martina, the nice Pietro and his best friend Marco. Among the teachers. Virginia Giovardi, in love with Giovanni, Giorgio Baldanza, Margherita Andreoli, the principal Crespo; we meet the caretaker Milva, Marisa's friend and the school gossip. There is also Giovanni's daughter, little Sara. We also attend the beginning of the year party and in the meantime Sara's elementary school temporarily merges with the high school.

### The Fourteenth

* Directed by: Tiziana Aristarco, Claudio Norza
* Written by:

### Plot

At the end of the first episode Giovanni's car is destroyed. In this new episode Felice blames Michele Reale, who however is innocent. The boy reveals to Valeria, his ex-girlfriend, that it was his friend Er Pantera in his presence. In the meantime Arianna's father (former professor of Leopardi) accepts his firstborn Francesca and her child into his home, after old grudges.