Picomedia’s iconic Ya prison drama "The Sea Beyond" cements its status as major pop-culture phenomenon in Italy. Last week, the fourth season launched on the streaming service RaiPlay and has since than become the top TV show on RaiPlay with 40 million legitimate streams. In the first two hours of availability, the first episode alone tripled the views of the first episode of the third season last year.
The new season triumphs last season’s all-time high score, which at the time was the biggest streaming sensation in Italy. "The Sea Beyond," which debuted in Italy in 2020, is a perennial favorite in Italy, attracting viewers both linearly on RAI as well as digitally on RAIPlay and Netflix, where it dominated the Top 10 for 30 weeks. In total, data analysis by media analytics company Sensemaker found that from January to June 2023, linear viewing of season three and all three seasons on Netflix as well as on RaiPlay totaled a staggering 152 million hours of watch time, equalling around 17.000 years.
"The Sea Beyond" is admired throughout Italy. Thousands of adoring fans attended the recent MIA premiere of season four, and on set, actors are provided security like Hollywood stars. On top of that, the series won the Content Innovation Award for Best Returning Scripted Series at last year's Mipcom and has been featured in several prestigious news outlets, including The New York Times, wherein it was noted: “The young performers playing the inmates of a Naples detention center are molto bello. It’s hot in there and we’re not just talking about the steam in the showers.” The second part of the fourth season will be available February 14. "The Sea Beyond" is produced by PICOMEDIA and Rai Fiction and distributed by Beta Film GmbH.
