ABSTRACT
Italian audiovisual production companies are not usually considered for their ability to create complex narrative environments, even if there are peaks and emergencies of cross-media world-building from time to time. This chapter focuses on one case study, chosen for its national and international success, for its pervasiveness in the Italian popular culture, and for its transformation in a specific model of production and distribution within cultural industries. It talks about Gomorra, an ecosystem including: a book, a critically acclaimed fiction film, a documentary about the film backstage, a television series produced by Sky Italia, and a lot of unofficial merchandising and viral memes. The chapter explains how Gomorra as brand is literally extended to official and most of all to unofficial merchandise created around the television series and its characters. The systemic complexity of Gomorra is widened by its mirroring the specific criminal organization's structure, as well as by the interlaced economic and cultural systems it involves in its production.
