Disney Italy names Sonia Rovai to lead local originals
Disney has appointed Sonia Rovai as vice-president of original production in Italy.
Rovai will lead Disney+'s Italian team and report to Angela Jain, head of content for Disney+ in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She takes charge of local originals in both scripted — written dramas and comedies — and unscripted, meaning reality and documentary shows, alongside production management and business affairs, according to Variety.
It is a senior hire with a long track record behind it. From 2016 to 2024, Rovai ran Sky Italia's original series department. There she oversaw more than 80 Sky Original productions, including Gomorrah, The Young Pope and ZeroZeroZero.
Rovai spent 17 years working with Sky in Italy before leaving the broadcaster, according to C21Media. Her final role there was senior director of scripted productions at Sky Studios Italia, as reported by Yahoo.
She joined Wildside, the Italian company owned by Fremantle, as general manager after exiting Sky. She then served as chief executive from 2024. Wildside is the company behind My Brilliant Friend and Netflix's The Monster of Florence.
Disney also confirmed a new Italian commission. The company has ordered Murder on Lake Garda, based on Tom Hindle's Sunday Times bestselling novel of the same name. Laura Bispuri is directing the series.
What makes this stand out is continuity. Rovai has commissioned at scale, run a production company, and now moves to a streamer that needs local stories to hold subscribers. For viewers, this means the person picking Italy's next Disney+ originals has done the job before.
