General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts

An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts (Italian: Guida astrologica per cuori infranti) is an Italian romantic comedy television series for Netflix in which Alice Bassi, a single woman in her mid thirties working as a production assistant at a small television network, turns to astrology to find love after her ex-boyfriend gets engaged. It was created and directed by Bindu De Stoppani, co-directed by Michela Andreozzi, and is based on Silvia Zucca's debut novel of the same name.¹ The first season premiered on October 27, 2021, and the second and final season on March 8, 2022, for a total of 12 episodes across 2 seasons.²

Key fact	Detail
Original title	Guida astrologica per cuori infranti³
Network / premiere	Netflix, October 27, 2021 (season 1); March 8, 2022 (season 2)²
Format	2 seasons, 12 episodes of roughly 30 to 36 minutes, each episode named for a zodiac sign²^•⁴
Based on	Silvia Zucca's 2015 debut novel Guida astrologica per cuori infranti (Editrice Nord)⁵
Main cast	Claudia Gusmano (Alice Bassi), Lorenzo Adorni (Tio Falcetti), Michele Rosiello (Davide Sardi)¹
Setting	Turin, where the series was also filmed entirely¹
Status	Ended after 2 seasons⁶

Spoilers

Premise and structure

Alice Bassi is a single woman in her mid thirties working as a production assistant at a small television network, with limited career prospects despite often being the most competent person in the room. Her ex-boyfriend Carlo is getting married and about to become a father, and a new, charming and mysterious creative director, Davide, arrives at the network to test the team's productivity. Alice's life begins to change when she meets Tio, an actor on the network's flagship soap opera and a self-professed astrology guru, who becomes her personal "astrological guide for broken hearts".¹

The series is built around the zodiac: each of the 12 episodes carries the name of a sign. Season 1 runs from "Aries" to "Virgo", and season 2 continues from Libra to Pisces, with Alice analyzing the strengths and flaws of men born under each sign as she searches for a partner.⁴^•⁵ The first episode, "Aries", opens with Alice devastated by her ex's engagement to another woman and her first meeting with Tio.⁴ A reviewer for the Italian parents' association MOIGE described the horoscope device as a pretext for inviting Alice to see things from a different point of view, turning obstacles into challenges.⁷

Cast and characters

Claudia Gusmano as Alice Bassi, the protagonist¹
Lorenzo Adorni as Tio Falcetti, the soap-opera actor and astrology guru¹
Michele Rosiello as Davide Sardi, the network's new creative director¹
Alberto Paradossi as Carlo Barresi, Alice's ex-boyfriend¹²
Esther Elisha as Paola Costa, Alice's friend¹²
Lucrezia Bertini as Cristina Chioatto¹²

The supporting cast includes Fausto Maria Sciarappa, Emanuela Grimalda, Giancarlo Ratti, Bebo Storti, and Maria Amelia Monti.⁴

Production

Netflix announced the start of filming on February 8, 2021, describing the show as a new Italian original series created and directed by Bindu De Stoppani, a screenwriter and director previously known for Cercando Camille, and co-directed by Michela Andreozzi.¹^•⁸ It was produced by Italian International Film – Lucisano Group, written by De Stoppani with Fabrizio Cestaro, and filmed entirely in Turin with the contribution of the Piemonte Film TV Fund and the support of Film Commission Torino Piemonte.¹

The novel and its adaptation

The series adapts Zucca's debut novel, an editorial success published in 2015 by Editrice Nord.⁵^•⁹ On Goodreads the book holds a rating of 3.26 from about 1,800 reader ratings.¹⁰ In the novel, Alice Bassi is a little over thirty, single not by choice, stuck in a dead-end job, and reeling from news that her ex-boyfriend is engaged to his pregnant girlfriend; she meets Davide Nardi, the "hatchet man" brought in to streamline production and personnel at the small television network where she works.¹⁰

An academic study of Netflix Italia's productions notes that the streaming adaptation remains predominantly faithful to the novel, with one notable exception: the setting shifts from the more industrial, cosmopolitan Milan to the more traditionally Italian Turin. In the series Alice works at a fledgling station called Dora TV, while the novel names it Rete Mi-A-Mi; the study suggests Dora may allude to the Borgo Dora neighborhood near Turin's Porta Palazzo, and possibly to Dora Film, the early Italian production company founded by director Elvira Notari. It places the show among Netflix Italia's entries into streaming production alongside Suburra: Blood on Rome, Baby, and Summertime, and compares its tone to Emily in Paris.¹¹

Reception

Critical response in Italy was mixed but improved over the run. AV Magazine's review of season 1 wrote that the novel's good idea was developed with some uncertainty for a Netflix product, but that quality grew episode by episode thanks to a fresh if little-known cast, ending with a finale that opened the door to a certain continuation.¹³ Movieplayer.it rated the second season 3.0 out of 5, praising the performances of Gusmano and Adorni and the show's pace and freshness, while faulting the shallow treatment of the television world and stereotyped secondary characters.¹⁴

Audience measures vary by platform. Rotten Tomatoes reports an average Popcornmeter (audience) score of 67 percent from fewer than 50 ratings, with no critic reviews tallied.¹⁵ The aggregator TMDB lists 6.4 out of 10,¹⁶ Watchmode reports a 7.2 user score,¹⁷ and FilmTV.it shows 6.1 from five votes.⁸ The series ended after its second season and was not renewed.⁶

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026