Minerva Academy Review
Director: Ivan Silvestrini
Date Created: 2026-09-22 19:35
3.5
Minerva Academy Review: Directed by Ivan Silvestrini and led by a young ensemble including Ciro Minopoli as Salvo, Biagio Venditti as Vincenzo, Margherita Buoncristiani as Camilla, Simone Secce as Diego Giordano and Beatrice Savignani as Paola. The cast also includes Giulio Brizzi, Nicole Malaj, Alicia Ann Edogamhe, Massimiliano Gallo, Cristiana Capotondi, Irene Maiorino, Raiz and Michele Rosiello. The Netflix Italian series Minerva – La scuola has eight episodes, each with a runtime of 50 minutes.
Minerva Academy Review
Netflix’s Minerva Academy revolves around a school which is a military academy for rebellious teenagers who have lost their way in life, with the hope that they can be brought back into shape by disciplining them there. Salvo, on the other hand, comes to the academy with a totally different mission from others who join the academy. He came to search for his friend, who had planned to join the academy before Salvo, but mysteriously disappeared. As he tries to investigate the mystery of his friend’s disappearance, he finds himself entangled in the lives of Vincenzo, Camilla, Diego and many other students of the institution.
The most interesting thing about the Netflix Italian series Minerva Academy is that the mystery is tied to the private lives of the characters. The mystery that Salvo creates is the central motivation for the whole show; however, the people around him add meaning to the pursuit. In contrast to other characters, Salvo differs from Minerva right from the beginning because he does not care about survival according to the rules of the school. His desire to discover the truth about the death of Francesco puts him in situations where he needs to decide how much he will do in comparison to his surroundings.
Diego has definitely become my favorite character due to the complexity of his plot, which is disclosed little by little within the course of the unraveling mystery. First of all, it is obvious that Diego is a person who has much more knowledge about something, but who is reluctant to disclose any of it. Furthermore, his unwillingness to let down his father adds yet another layer to his actions and proves why Diego makes wrong choices. As opposed to many other stereotypes of a rebellious teenager, the 2026 Italian series Minerva Academy presents one that is rather unique and interesting. Specifically, the relationship between him and his father becomes a distinctive trait of Diego’s personality.
This also applies to the larger scope. Camilla, Vincenzo, and everyone else who is a part of this tale are not simply adding weight to the story. The struggles they face regarding family pressure, relationships, and their identity make this story a touching one. These aspects of subterfuge, love, jealousy, and rebellion are common ingredients of YA shows, but once it makes sense within the context of the character, it becomes very meaningful. This series succeeds because these characters are not simply fighting against the faculty and the institution itself. They are struggling against the person they have become.
But this is one place where my issues with the series come up due to the setting. Minerva appears as a very authoritarian school where punishment seems like the way out of anything and everything. In addition, the manner in which older students treat their juniors makes the viewer quite uncomfortable; this is mainly because these adults appear quite incapable of controlling what goes on under their noses. This premise would have been interesting if more time had been devoted to making the institution’s structure seem credible. Sometimes, certain rules were just too far-fetched to take the institution seriously.
The mystery itself is not even equally effective. I was emotionally attached to Salvo’s resolve, which comes from the fact that he cares about Francesco in a way that makes the mystery a matter for him. Still, sometimes there are moments when the mystery becomes less intriguing than the stories of the teenagers, which become much more interesting. This is not bad per se, but it somewhat disturbs the flow of events. The mystery works best when it crosses with the drama of characters.
Another thing that I really liked about the show was the fact that the Netflix series Minerva Academy never makes its characters one-dimensional. Their actions are always influenced by fear, pressure, love and the need to fit in. The adults are not just smart authority figures either. The theme is developed gradually and challenges us to think whether punishing teenagers for their behavior really benefits them or just teaches them how to cover up their mistakes.
The actors serve as a way of selling the emotions involved in the plot, especially during those instances where the characters are confronted by consequences which are far bigger than anything related to school life. Ciro Minopoli brings out the necessary resolve in Salvo, which allows him to continue the investigation, while Biagio Venditti brings out the required vulnerabilities in Diego so that the complicated situations he goes through can be watched.
Netflix Minerva Academy Review: Summing Up
In general, however, while the series may have some flaws concerning both the setting and the mystery itself, I would like to state that the 2026 Minerva Academy series is quite a good and entertaining one to watch. On the one hand, sometimes it is somewhat inclined to overemphasise the rules of the academy, and all the twists are not necessarily equal in their quality.
On the other hand, the development of the arcs of the main characters plays a very important role in this process throughout all eight episodes. In fact, the investigation carried out by Salvo in the case of the disappearance of Francesco develops further into an attempt to crack the code of silence established in the academy.
