A simple question: Alessandro Cattelan has his new EPCC

Moving away from the aquarium to conquer the open sea is not the health walk that we inexperienced mullet would expect. It takes patience, a good ability to adapt and the innate ability to take measures and realize that the limited borders of yesterday are different from the exterminated ones of today, giving us more space to move but also more responsibility to understand where we can go. For ten years Alessandro Cattelan swam undisturbed in the Sky aquarium growing, maturing and refining a unique style, marked by a distant echo of certain American anchormans, but by a deeply Italian spirit in humanity and in manners. Once his task on the Satellite was finished, Cattelan found himself in the ocean of generalist and platforms in search of the right formula that would allow him to restart, and it is a relief that Alessandro Cattelan: A Simple Question arrived earlier than we expected. The new 6-episode Netflix docu-show produced by Fremantle is, in fact, an updated version of EPCC, a natural extension of the «Cattelan formula» which, thanks to refined writing and captivating editing, manages to catapult us into a microcosm, that of Cattelan, made up of fetishes and fixed points, of irreverence and listening.

It all starts with a question that his daughter Nina asked him and that Cattelan and his authors stage on Netflix in a desecrating way, playing with the microphone players, the drones and the sympathy of Nina who “agrees” to repeat the joke several times until until it is perfect: how can you be happy? Alessandro tries to answer this question by embarking on a journey that will lead him, from episode to episode, to investigate a different aspect: life, death, love, religion, any angle of existence capable of telling us if happiness is near or far. To hit of A simple question is, in addition to the idea of ​​playing with pop culture – the promo of “4 religions” that parody Borghese’s “4 restaurants” is pure genius -, Alessandro’s ability to listen and empathize, who chooses to surround himself with friends and acquaintances to help him clarify his doubts. Cattelan, after all, works very well on the stage when he is in company, because it is thanks to the comparison with the other that he really manages to let himself go and bring out his spirit. A spirit that seems crouched when he occupies the stage alone, perhaps crushed by the need for perfection and to avoid smudging which is nothing more than the legacy of a thorough and analytical professionalism.

The humanity that transpires from the story of the disease and from the fear of death by Gianluca Viallibut even more so the funny and profound comparison with Geppi Cucciari that had given us so much satisfaction in the days of EPCC – if we were Alessandro and Geppi we would think of a format together, given that they marry like stracchino and raw ham -, they are the real strength of Cattelan’s format which, with lightness and wit, sets up a jewel capable of captivating not only the very young devotees to its management, but also the slightly older public who, in front of the When I grow up on Rai1, at first he found himself confused and uncertain. The most valuable lesson we have learned from A simple question it is precisely this: Alessandro Cattelan is a conductor with a capital C, very close to the clinical perfectionism of Baudo and Conti. At Eurovision he will make a great impression, as well as in formats that will allow him to get involved and bring out a healthy and sincere curiosity towards the other. He is not a showman like Fiorello, but a sensitive professional who does not need to force what comes naturally to him, that is to put himself on the same level as the guest avoiding getting on any pedestal, but simply being himself. This is the path we would advise him to take in the future.

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