Sonia Rovai Appointed Disney Italy VP of Original Production (EXCLUSIVE)

Sonia Rovai, one of Italy‘s most respected TV and film production executives, has been appointed VP of original production at the Italian unit of The Walt Disney Company.

Rovai, who since 2024 served as CEO of Fremantle-owned Wildside — the Rome-based company behind “My Brilliant Friend” and, more recently, Netflix’s hit series “The Monster of Florence” — will report to Angela Jain, head of content, Disney+ EMEA.

In her new role, Rovai will lead Disney+’s Italian team and be “responsible for scripted and unscripted local original productions, including production management and business affairs,” according to a Disney statement.

Prior to heading Wildside, Rovai led Comcast-owned pay-TV serice Sky Italia’s original series department from 2016 to 2024. During her stint, she shepherded over 80 Sky Original productions including international standouts like “Gomorrah,” “The Young Pope” and “ZeroZeroZero.”

“Sonia joins us at a pivotal moment of growth as we scale our originals across the world,” Jain said in a statement. “Italy is a key market for us, and following the greenlight of ‘Murder on Lake Garda’, our goal is to champion local content that enriches and complements our global line-up with true cultural authenticity and local specificity. Sonia brings an incredible wealth of experience to the team and can’t wait to work with the very best of the Italian creative industry.”

The “Murder of Lake Garda” series, which is based on Tom Hindle’s eponymous Sunday Times bestseller, is being directed by Laura Bispuri (“Sworn Virgin,” “Daughter of Mine”) with cast details still under wraps.

The announcement of Rovai’s appointment, which will give Disney+ Italy’s footprint a boost, follows Disney CEO Josh D’Amero’s statement in a recent shareholder letter, following the company’s Q3 earnings report, in which he vowed that “Across the next three years we plan to roughly triple the number of local original series on Disney+ to drive new international users to the platform and reduce churn.”