Verissimo opens new season on Canale 5 with Chanel Totti and Ilary Blasi

Weekend season premiere on Canale 5

Italian talk show Verissimo will open its new weekend season on Saturday, 19 September 2026, and Sunday, 20 September 2026, broadcasting on Canale 5 at 16:30 CEST. Host Silvia Toffanin will lead the two-day programming block with a roster of guests from Italian entertainment, sports, literature, and legal affairs. The broadcast marks the premiere of the autumn schedule for the television network. Previews released by broadcaster Mediaset indicate that the premiere weekend will combine personal reflections from public figures with discussions of judicial rulings and cultural awards. Both episodes will air in the late afternoon slot across the weekend.

Saturday interviews and family disclosures

The opening episode on Saturday will feature the first television interview given by 19-year-old Chanel Totti, the second child of former footballer Francesco Totti and television host Ilary Blasi. In preview excerpts released ahead of the broadcast, she addresses the public scrutiny that accompanied her parents' divorce and explains how she avoided public comment until now. She reflects on how commentary on digital platforms created difficulties for her family during the separation proceedings.

On social media and around, people talked a lot, saying nasty things or things that were perhaps not true.

Chanel also discusses growing up with a recognisable family name, recalling that she previously felt uncomfortable in public and started sports only alongside familiar friends to feel protected. She addresses her mother's recent wedding to German entrepreneur Bastian Müller, which took place on 13 September 2026 at Villa Cimbrone in Ravello under an all-white dress code. When asked about her outlook on personal relationships and future family planning, the teenager describes her goal of becoming a parent at a young age.

I would love to become a young mother to have that bond that I have with mine, to have few years of difference so we can grow together.

Saturday's broadcast will also feature actor Riccardo Scamarcio, who received the best actor award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival for the film I figli della scimmia. Former manager Fabio Maria Damato will make his first television appearance to discuss his perspective on the Pandoro gate controversy involving Chiara Ferragni. Writer Mauro Corona will introduce his new book Felice, while Sabrina Soussi will review her participation in the latest edition of reality show Temptation Island.

Sunday lineup and legal testimony

The Sunday broadcast on 20 September will continue with an in-studio appearance by Ilary Blasi, who currently hosts the reality programme Grande Fratello Vip on Canale 5. Blasi will be joined by programme commentators Cesara Buonamici and Selvaggia Lucarelli to discuss the ongoing reality season following Blasi's recent marriage. The afternoon schedule will also feature Emanuele Filiberto for a personal interview, alongside Alessandra Mussolini, who prepares for her upcoming debut as a commentator on the daytime dating show Uomini e Donne.

Sporting achievements will feature through Italian diver Chiara Pellacani, who secured five gold medals at the Paris 2026 European Championships. The episode will conclude with testimony from Morena Corbellini, the mother of 13-year-old Aurora Tila, who was killed by her former boyfriend in 2024. Corbellini will speak about the recent appeals court ruling that reduced the perpetrator's prison sentence from 17 years to 15 years.