EXCLUSIVE (with season 3 spoiler alert): Following the blockbuster ratings and box office performance in Italy of the third season of scintillating mafia crime-drama Gomorrah, I can reveal some key updates about season 4.

First off, start of shoot on the next installment in the Sky original hit, which is produced by Italian stalwarts Cattleya and Fandango in partnership with German powerhouse Beta Film, is confirmed for mid-April. Filming on the 12 episodes of the fourth season will take place in Naples, Bologna and London, the producers and Sky have told me. This is a first UK visit for the series, which has previously shot in Bulgaria, Spain and Germany in addition to Italy.

As for the plot, the fourth season of the acclaimed Italian language show about organized crime in the suburbs of Naples will see central characters Genny (Salvatore Esposito) and Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) having to establish a new balance of power, while Enzo (Arturo Muselli) and Valerio (Loris De Luna) consolidate the leadership of their gang in downtown Naples. According to the production, the protagonists will “face new threats and ruthless enemies while Genny will have to make difficult decisions to protect his family.”

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One character fans won’t be seeing on screen is tormented assassin Ciro Di Marzio, who was stunningly killed off in the powerful season 3 finale. But, lest you despair, it’s not entirely the end of the Gomorrah road for Italian actor Marco D’Amore, who portrays Ciro (aka ‘Immortale’), as he will in fact be returning to the series to make his directorial debut alongside former Gomorrah assistant directors Enrico Rosati and Ciro Visco. Seasoned Italian filmmakers and Gomorrah regulars Francesca Comencini and Claudio Cupellini will also return.

The screenplay for the new season, which is based on the idea and novel of acclaimed crime writer Roberto Saviano, comes from Leonardo Fasoli, Maddalena Ravagli, Enrico Audenino and Monica Zapelli. Directors of photography will be Ivan Casalgrandi and Valerio Azzali.

As for when we’re likely to see series 4, the production is eyeing a spring 2019 air date in Europe. Sundance TV has U.S. rights to the third season (and is expected to pick up season 4) but has yet to set a launch date. No word yet on a season 5, though one assumes it is coming.

Last year Gomorrah proved a hit both on the small and big screen in Italy. Two episodes of the gritty mafia story did a roaring trade in local movie theaters when they were released by Sky Italia days before their TV debut. The two episodes topped the Italian box office, taking $615,000 (€500,000) in just two days, beating out studio and local movie fare in the process. Following on from that novel launch, over one million viewers tuned in to watch the season 3 debut, the highest-ever bow for a series on Sky. That’s almost double the number of viewers who watched the seventh season premiere of Game of Thrones in the territory. The series is a traveller, too, having sold to more than 190 territories. Sky Atlantic carries in the UK.