

The series sees the lead character confront themes such as meeting his friend Alice for the first time, briefly being the teacher's pet, the "nightmarish" experience of tutoring kids, the struggle of looking for work, consoling Alice after a breakup, and his struggles with grief.

The animated series was written, directed and narrated by Zerocalcare who credited Netflix with giving him "absolute freedom" in the project. The six episodes, each lasting about 15 minutes, are studded with flashbacks and anecdotes ranging from the artist's youth to the present day. The show was premiered at the Rome Film Festival last month and has received critical acclaim since it became available for streaming on Netflix. Netflix opens Rome base near Via Veneto.Netflix describes the new series as "offbeat, irreverent", and introduces it like this: "A cartoonist in Rome with his armadillo-for-a-conscience reflects on his path in life and a would-be love as he and his friends travel outside the city." The story takes place in three years 2019, 1986, and 1953.

The show, whose original Italian title is Strappare lungo i bordi, has been launched in 190 countries around the world and is available in several languages including English. Dark is a Netflix original fantasy series from Germany about time travel, wormholes, and a whole lot of confusion. Netflix Italy takes a dive into the offbeat world of Rome cartoonist Michele Rech, better known as Zerocalcare, with a new animated mini-series called Tear Along the Dotted Line. Zerocalcare leaps from the comic strip into animated television.
