On November 12, Netflix released Mrs. Playmen, a seven-episode drama with Carolina Crescentini playing Adelina Tattilo. TIME magazine once called Tattilo “the Hugh Hefner of Italy” in 1971. The show tells the true story of a Catholic mother of three who ran one of Italy’s most controversial magazines during a conservative era.
Who Was the Real Mrs. Playmen?
Adelina Tattilo started Playmen in 1967 with her husband, when Playboy was still banned in Italy. The magazine became known for its bold photos and serious articles. In just four years, it reached a circulation of 450,000.
Tattilo’s magazine stood out for its more sophisticated style. While Playboy showed bubbly, sweet-girl images, TIME said Tattilo chose women with a stylish, confident charm—“women who might smile over a Campari.”
At Playmen, Tattilo handled everything, from picking cover models to publishing paparazzi photos of stars like Brigitte Bardot. Unlike Hugh Hefner, she did not give sex advice to readers. She also disagreed with the idea that erotic magazines turned women into objects.
Tattilo told TIME: “In our concept of eroticism, the woman is the subject as much as the man.”
How the Show Begins
In Mrs. Playmen, the story begins when Tattilo takes over the magazine after her husband, Saro Balsamo, disappears. When he finally reaches out, he says he is hiding because he fears an embezzlement investigation and asks her to keep Playmen going.
“Porn is going to save us,” he tells her.
In real life, Balsamo sometimes went into hiding because of business problems. However, many early episodes add fictional stories, like a young photographer, a waitress who becomes a Playmen model without knowing it, and a scandal that leads Tattilo to defend her.
Tattilo also receives racy photos of a noblewoman and her diary. She believes the diary reveals the woman’s tragic story, so she decides to publish it to “show people who she really was.”
The Real Controversies Behind Playmen
Playmen often faced censorship in Italy. Police in several cities tried to seize copies because of its graphic content. But as TIME wrote, “there was a race each month between readers and cops”—and readers always won, clearing out newsstands in less than 48 hours.
One of the magazine’s biggest scandals happened in 1972, when it published nude photos of Jackie Kennedy Onassis that were taken secretly while she was on Aristotle Onassis’ Greek island. Tattilo published all 14 photos right away.
Her response to the backlash?
“If Jackie didn’t want to be photographed, she should not have exhibited herself.”
The End of an Era
Playmen survived many scandals but could not keep up with the rise of internet pornography. The magazine closed in 2001. Adelina Tattilo, who led the magazine, died in 2007 at age 78.
Why Mrs. Playmen Matters Today
Netflix’s series revives a bold and controversial part of Italian media history, telling the story of a woman who challenged social norms, censorship, and a male-dominated publishing world. Tattilo did more than run an erotic magazine; she changed how Italy discussed sexuality, women, and freedom of expression.
Mrs. Playmen shares the complex and interesting story of a woman who pushed boundaries before it became popular.
