''Le Iene'' (; , referencing the Italian name of

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's 1992 movie '' Reservoir Dogs'') is an Italian television program.

The program

''Le Iene'' is a television program broadcast on the Italian channel

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

. Beginning in 1997, it is a comedy/satirical show, with sketches and reports into political affairs and consumer issues. ''Le Iene'' is based on an Argentine show '' Caiga Quien Caiga''. Because ''Le Iene'' was also the release name in Italy for the Tarantino's film ''Reservoir Dogs'', all the presenters on the program wear (like the protagonists of the Tarantino's movie) trademark black suits, white shirts and black ties. Recurring features of the program, besides the reportage, are the double interviews in which two famous people are asked the same questions, and are edited together on a split-screen, side by side so that they answer one after the other. The first series was hosted by Simona Ventura, Dario Cassini and Peppe Quintale. Since then, many comedians, showgirl, presenter and actors have hosted, such as: Teo Mammucari, Luca Bizzarri, Paolo Kessisoglu, Ilary Blasi,

Fabio Volo Fabio Volo, pseudonym of Fabio Bonetti, (born 23 June 1972) is an Italian writer, actor, radio and television presenter, screenwriter, drummer, singer, and philosopher. Career Fabio Bonetti was born in Calcinate, Italy on 23 June 1972. After ...

, Andrea Pellizzari, Alessia Marcuzzi, Miriam Leone, Belén Rodríguez and Luciana Littizzetto. It has featured several writers like Davide Parenti, Lorenzo Maiello, Roberto Marcanti, Andrea Bempensante, and Fabrizio Montagner. The Spanish version aired by

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially laun ...

had to close due to poor ratings, but the program later returned and moved in 2008 to a new network, laSexta.

Controversies

In October 2006, reporter Matteo Viviani from ''Le Iene'' covertly tested deputies of Italy's lower house of parliament for drugs, by claiming to be performing TV interviews about the budget, when in fact the "make-up artist" preparing the deputies for the camera was actually swabbing their faces for samples to be tested for drugs. Of the 50 samples from deputies, almost one third tested positive for drug use in the previous 36 hours; 12 for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and 4 for

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. When deputies discovered the ruse, they lobbied, on privacy grounds, for the broadcast of the pertinent episode of the show to be blocked, which it was. Matteo Viviani and Davide Parenti had to pay €5000 to avoid going to prison. In 2013, a report about the controversial stamina therapy was accused of causing pseudo-scientific misinformation. In October 2015, Stefano Corti, Alessando Onnis, and a cameraman from ''Le Iene'' reportedly harassed Moto GP racer

Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He previously raced for the Ducati satellite team Gresini in 2024 and Honda's factory team from his MotoGP deb ...

in his garage. Márquez was earlier involved in a controversial collision with Valentino Rossi at the 2015 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix. During the altercation, the reporters from ''Le Iene'' reportedly attacked Márquez after the latter's father had asked them to leave.

References

External links

*
Official Italia 1 website

News article (translated into English) from Il Corriere della Sera about the parliamentary drugs scandal

News article from ABC News about the parliamentary drugs scandal

Guardian article on Le Iene from 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iene Italian comedy television series Italia 1 original programming