I have just finished season 1 and I loved it. It absolutely has the feel and pathos of neo-realism. All the despair, rage, and violence of post-war Italy is there that Rossellini, Di Seca and Fellini brought to their work. Every aspect of the production, the sets, the casting, the particular method of acting, the direction, gives the sense that it was filmed 60-70 years ago. The difference is that it's focus is on the inner lives of women, although the men play heavily in it as well. Because I love Italian neo-realism, I was enraptured by it. Because the story is about girls and their transformation into women under oppressive and desperate circumstances, I am all in.