Set forty years after the Via Carini massacre, Italian drama The General’s Men follows General Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa (Sergio Castellitto, Conclave) as he creates a Special Anti-Terrorist Unit to combat the Red Brigades during Italy’s turbulent 1970s. (Fans of other Italian drama Exterior Night will note that the Red Brigades play a key part in that series, as well!)

The story begins in 1973, when dalla Chiesa is transferred from Palermo to Turin and becomes the first to recognize the Red Brigades as a serious threat. Despite institutional resistance, he forms a pioneering investigative unit whose commitment consumes their personal lives. At the heart of the narrative is Nicola (Antonio Folletto, The Bastards of Pizzofalcone), a standout recruit whose voice guides the audience through the era’s political and emotional turmoil.

Blending historical footage with dramatized storytelling, The General’s Men traces the intense struggle between young undercover carabinieri and radicalized youth seeking to overthrow democracy through violence. The series was also filmed in some of the real locations of the events narrated, including the Pietro Micca Carabinieri Barracks in Turin and the courtyard where the Red Brigades killed Fulvio Croce, president of the Turin Bar Association.