Elena and Lila meet the ’70s in trailer for My Brilliant Friend’s third season

The trailer for the third season of HBO’s My Brilliant Friend is here. The third season, subtitled Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay and based on the Elena Ferrante novel of the same name, sees iconic frenemies Elena and Lila face the 1970s and all the changes it brings to Italy and their lives.

In the new season, Elena (Margherita Mazzucco) has published a successful novel and found its a gateway into a cultured world she’s always wanted to be a part of. Meanwhile Lila (Gaia Girace) has taken her son, left her abusive husband, and works in a brutal meat factory, literally getting her hands dirty to provide. Their bond is tested as things change around them, including the rise of a Communist movement.

The eight-episode third season will debut on HBO on February 28 and stream on HBO Max. The show has not yet been renewed for a fourth season, which would be based on the final novel in the Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels quartet, The Story Of The Lost Child. The series is a co-production between HBO and Italy’s RAI. The new season will air in Italy in early February.

The Neapolitan Novels are Ferrante’s most famous work, selling over 10 million copies worldwide in 40 countries.

It’s been a good couple months for Ferrante heads. Maggie Gyllenhaal adapted The Lost Daughter for Netflix, starring Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson. The film garnered Oscar buzz for Gyllenhaal and Colman. Netflix also announced a series based on Ferrante’s 2020 novel The Lying Life Of Adults. The show began filming in Naples in October and stars Valeria Golino (The Morning Show).

In March, Ferrante will release In the Margins, described as part memoir and part craft book. However, the famously private author, who uses a pen name, probably won’t be revealing her identity in it.