Michele Zatta

Drawing on his previous experience as a tour guide, copywriter and lawyer, he began his career in television as a story editor. The turning point in his life came in 1994 when, together with a team of Italian and Australian writers, he developed the first Italian soap opera (Un posto al sole), which premiered in October 1996 and is still on air today. He worked on Un posto al sole for 12 years as a co-writer and, at the same time, was involved in the first two seasons of La squadra, a crime series that aired in prime time for eight seasons (221 episodes of 100 minutes each), another soap opera (Cuori rubati) and a number of TV films.

In 2008, he was hired by Rai as a director at Rai Fiction. In this role, he oversaw the production and editorial processes of various projects (TV films, miniseries and long-running series), with a particular focus on narrative development. Some of the series he has worked on include La porta rossa, a paranormal thriller in which the protagonist must discover who killed him; Di Padre in figlia, a family saga set between Italy and Brazil; Non uccidere, the first Italian ‘Nordic noir’; Il cacciatore, a multi-award-winning series on the life of anti-Mafia prosecutor Alfonso Sabella; Il nome della rosa, Gli orologi del diavolo, a co-production with Spain inspired by the life of Gianfranco Franciosi, Fino all’ultimo battito, a hybrid of the medical and crime genres, and Mare fuori, which achieved record-breaking viewing figures on RaiPlay.

He has recently worked on Sopravvissuti, Around the World in 80 Days, The Reunion and The Swarm, all co-produced with ZDF and FRANCE TV. He produced Mare fuori and Blackout, Rai’s first dystopian series, and currently has Noi siamo leggenda (Rai’s first superhero series), Belcanto and Per Elisa in production. But Squid Game has taught him just how far he still has to go.