Rocco Schiavone

/refers to all 4 Seasons and episodes/

Well, I mean, no constant sunshine, lambent sea, people with a few sexy clothes, but high snowy mountains, cold and moisture - this is Aosta, almost Switzerland, far away from Rome, a real hinterland... But crimes occur there as well, although not often, so the personnel is not too gifted and experienced. So Mr. Schiavone (splendidly performed by Marco Giallini, who was before unknown to me) has to deal with both current crimes and his "demons" from the past, sometimes helped by some dubious childhood friends and balancing on a thin line of right and wrong...

In spite of some evident exaggerations in depicting some officials, the Series is pleasant to watch, gloomy crimes are stressed by the bad weather, and the wrongdoer is not revealed too soon. Schiavone´s past enables to include leitmotifs in addition to the cases to be solved (usually 1 per episode), thus being part of the modern, 21st century approach and moving beyond Poirot-Wallander type of series.