Guida Astrologica Per Cuori Infranti, or as the English title goes, An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts, is an Italian Netflix original series. It is a simple yet funny show made to please the hearts of all the hopeless romantics. It is a light-hearted comedy filled with romance and hope and a surprisingly excellent watch. The show is based on a hit book by author Silvia Zucca and serves as her debut novel. The book's story follows a single young woman trying to find love with the help of astrology. If you find charts based on your zodiac signs exciting, then this series will be a nice, comfortable watch for you to binge.
The showrunner of the hit Italian Netflix series, Bindu De Stoppani, is a screenwriter, director, and actress. Jump, which marks her first feature film, has won various accolades, including Best Feature Film and Best Director at Busan International Film Festival, 2012. Michela Andreozzi directs an Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts' episodes along with Stoppani. The series is written by Stoppani and Fabrizio Cestaro and is produced by Paola Lucisano -- Italian International Film -- Lucisano Group. The entire filming of the show took place in Turin, Italy.
An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts: The Story
The official synopsis from Netflix is as follows:
Mid-thirties and still single (certainly not by choice), Alice is working at a small television network in a job with limited upward mobility, despite often being the most competent person in the room. To add insult to injury, her ex-boyfriend Carlo is getting married and about to become a father. And as if that weren’t enough, in the small television production company she works for, a new charming and mysterious creative director, Davide, arrives to put everyone to the test. Alice’s life begins to change when she meets Tio, an actor on the network’s flagship soap opera and self-professed astrological guru, who will soon become her personal “astrological guide for broken hearts.”
The series has two seasons titled with a star sign starting from Aries to Virgo for the first season and then with Libra and ending with Pisces in the second season. The show follows Alice Bassi played amazingly well by Claudia Gusmano, a modern woman in her mid-thirties trying to find love. She has a cynical and sarcastic interaction with a handsome stranger before going to work. The stranger turns out to be her new boss Davide Sardi played by the handsome and charming Michele Rosiello. You can feel the romantic tension between them from the first episode.
In the men's washroom, she accidentally meets Tio, played by Lorenzo Adorni. Tio is an actor living with his elderly grandmother who believes that you can find your ‘the one’ with the help of astrology but definitely not as per heteronormative standards. Even though Miss Bassi initially snuffs at his stars and charts zodiac beliefs, they immediately become friends. Every day he starts sending her voice memos with her daily horoscope. He also makes her understand the different star signs and who would ideally be a good fit for her.
In order to get over her ex-boyfriend Carlo Paradossi, played by Alberto Paradossi, who is currently engaged to Christina Chioatto, played by Lucrezia Bertini, she starts going out on dates. Unfortunately, the astrological affinity is not a guarantee of a perfect match, nor does it prevent a bunch of terrible dates, awkward surprises, and disappointments.
In a drunken state, Alice pitches to Davide a never before done idea for an astrological dating show and suggests that it be hosted by Tio. The show turned out to be a great success and is enjoyed by audiences and the network executives alike.
Alice is the glue that holds the studio together. Enrico Crippa, played by Fausto Maria Sciarappa, is her producer and relies on her for everything. All of them work at the studio for Dora TV. Her best friend and confidante, Paola Costa, played by Esther Elisha, is a new mother and journalist by profession. Tio gives us a little personality trait about every star sign in every episode.
Why Watch An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts?
An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts is a perfect binge for fans who like shows and movies such as Star-Crossed and Bridget Jones’ Diary. It is a sweet, witty, relatable story of a modern young woman searching for her true love and dream job. Along the way, it makes you realize that sometimes you have to write your destiny and not just depend on your stars.
Every episode is around 30 minutes which leaves you wanting more. The two seasons, consisting of 12 episodes, are completed beautifully and do not disappoint. It is available to watch on Netflix.