Minerva Academy is streaming now on Netflix, and it is available to watch in the United States. All eight episodes of the Italian teen drama landed at once on September 22, 2026, so the entire first season is ready to binge — here is the release timing, the cast, and what a Netflix subscription costs today.
How to watch Minerva Academy in the US
Minerva Academy (original title Minerva – La scuola) is a Netflix original, which means the only legitimate way to stream it is with a Netflix account. It is not split into weekly drops: Netflix released all eight episodes of Season 1 together on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET, the platform’s standard global launch time. If you were awake on the West Coast at midnight, the full season was already live.
The series is an Italian-language production, but Netflix offers it with English subtitles, and an English-dubbed audio track is available through the platform’s usual audio and subtitle menu, as with its other international originals. You can switch between the original Italian audio and the English dub on any episode.
What Minerva Academy is about
Set inside a fictional military boarding high school in Naples, Minerva Academy drops teenagers into a rigid, almost timeless world: dawn wake-ups for the raising of the colors, no cellphones, no civilian clothes, and classes in tactics and fencing. Romance is forbidden, and the smallest slip is punished hard. That pressure-cooker setting is the engine for a layered mystery about secrets the academy would rather keep buried.
Three students anchor the story. Salvo (Ciro Minopoli) comes from a group home and enrolls specifically to uncover the truth about the disappearance of his best friend. Vincenzo (Biagio Venditti) wants to follow his father into a military career, only to learn what that path really demands. Camilla (Margherita Buoncristiani) is a privileged teenager from Milan, sent to the academy by a father hoping it will straighten her out. Around them, the officers and civilian teachers charged with molding these cadets are wrestling with failings of their own.
If the mix of forbidden romance, institutional rules, and adolescent rebellion sounds familiar, that is by design: the show sits squarely in the lane carved out by Spain’s Élite and Italy’s own breakout hit Mare Fuori, the prison-set drama that became a multi-season phenomenon.
What sets Minerva Academy apart is the central mystery. Salvo’s search for the truth about his missing friend runs underneath the romances and rivalries, giving the season a spine that keeps pulling the story forward even as the ensemble expands. The military setting does double duty here, working both as a hothouse for teenage drama and as a closed system where an inconvenient truth can be quietly contained — which is precisely what someone at the academy seems determined to do.
Who is in the cast?
The young ensemble is led by Ciro Minopoli, Biagio Venditti, and Margherita Buoncristiani, alongside Beatrice Savignani, Simone Secce, Giulio Brizzi, Nicole Malaj, and Alicia Edogamhe. The adult roster of officers and instructors includes Massimiliano Gallo, Cristiana Capotondi, Irene Maiorino, Raiz, and Michele Rosiello. The series is directed by Ivan Silvestrini, who helmed every episode of Mare Fuori — a track record with closed institutions and teenage casts that shows in how confidently Minerva Academy handles its setting.
How much does Netflix cost?
You do not need Netflix’s top tier to watch Minerva Academy — every plan includes it. Here are the current US prices, following Netflix’s most recent increase in March 2026:
| Plan | Monthly price (US) | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Standard with ads | $8.99 | 1080p Full HD, up to 2 devices at once, with ad breaks |
| Standard | $19.99 | Ad-free, 1080p, 2 simultaneous screens, one paid extra-member slot |
| Premium | $26.99 | Ad-free, 4K Ultra HD and HDR, up to 4 devices at once |
Adding an extra member who lives outside your household costs $7.99 a month on the ad tier or $9.99 without ads. The cheapest legitimate way to watch the full season, then, is the $8.99 ad-supported plan.
How many episodes are there?
Season 1 runs eight episodes, all available immediately. Netflix has not yet announced whether Minerva Academy will return for a second season — the platform typically waits several weeks to weigh early viewership before deciding, and Italian-language originals often get a longer runway. Given director Ivan Silvestrini’s history of building Mare Fuori into a long-running franchise, a renewal is plausible if the audience turns out, but nothing is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Minerva Academy available in the US?
Yes. Minerva Academy streams on Netflix in the United States and other supported regions worldwide.
Is Minerva Academy in English?
It is an Italian-language series, but Netflix provides English subtitles and an English-dubbed audio track that you can select from the episode menu.
When was Minerva Academy released?
All eight episodes premiered on Netflix on September 22, 2026, at 3:00 a.m. ET / 12:00 a.m. PT.
Will there be a Minerva Academy Season 2?
Netflix has not announced a renewal yet. A second season will likely depend on how the first performs in its opening weeks.
