Roco Schiavone is a touching and beautifully made mystery series. A brilliant detective who grows up in Rome with thieves as friends, but thieves with honor and a belief in only taking from those who deserve it. Rocco loved his wife, and continues to be haunted by her as she tries in vain to get him to "live his life' without her. He is sent to work in a beautiful but freezing location in the Italian Alps. Everything about this show is wonderful from touching and often funny dialogue between the motley crew Rocco works with, to the moments he spends with his wife's ghost, to the adorable dog he adopts after his owner is found dead, to the exceptional and pitch perfect acting. A special show indeed. The only other mystery I like as much right now is Vera, they are both beautiful, rich and moving mysteries.
34 Reviews
Lovable guy, well developed plots, alluring, perhaps with too much resemblance to Montalbano
maria-ricci-19838 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
You cannot refer to this show without bringing in Montalbano.The strong and the weak aspects are quite related to Andrea Camillieri's character, in a way.
Schiavone is as lovable, picturesque and local as its predecessor. Rocco and Salvo are both quite effective, earnest, individualistic detectives, remarkably better than their peers, with a strong commitment to put the evil guys in jail, but a penchant for overstepping boundaries and taking justice in their own hands.(This is a cliche in many detective shows, right.)
They both have a neurotic behaviour in terms of love relationships which renders them unable to commit in real terms to an actual partnership.
They both work in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape-- seaside Vigata in the south, in the case of Salvo, and northern snowbound Aosta in Rocco's case. In both series, the landscape and scenery have a major role to play.
They both work in a small town questura (police station) with similar teams, where smart, loyal juniors (Pierron / Fazio) coexist with the funny crew of clueless, dumbass agents. These (D'Intino / Catarella) bring out the worst of their bosses, exasperate them to death, but also infuse some comedy relief into the gritty, sordid cases. And when they turn to do things right, it is always despite themselves. (Both Catarella and D'Intino have something on with their bosses' doors, which is quite funny, by the way.)
Both Rocco and Salvo swear, throw things and lose temper as a hallmark, women find them irresistible in their low-key flirty ways, they tend to be in conflict with procedural propriety, and they look the other way when rules contradict their natural sense of justice. Also, they both have a similar bromance with their boastful and genius pathologists, who are strong characters in themselves...
Lovers of Italian crime shows will soon recognize more similarities in both series.
However, there is a female bright young detective here instead of Mimi Augello as a sidekick, and Rocco goes farther than Salvo in his troublesome behaviour. He is a heavy weed-smoker (an early joint at the office is his "morning prayer"), a Robin Hood to thieves, and has a heavier dark past upon his shoulders. The relationship with his band of crazy friends is a nice parallel story, and the acting is superb, really fantastic. Makes you fall in love from the very first episode.
(Rocco's relationship to his wife has already been developed in Bron/Broen last seasons, and has similarities to River plotline, so it was a bit of a deja-vu for European crime shows fans.)
In short, if the cliches and resemblance to Montalbano doesn't bother you too much, there is a lot to enjoy in this first season of six, 100-minutes episodes. It is a lovely show, well developed and produced, remarkably well performed, and very entertaining.
Schiavone is as lovable, picturesque and local as its predecessor. Rocco and Salvo are both quite effective, earnest, individualistic detectives, remarkably better than their peers, with a strong commitment to put the evil guys in jail, but a penchant for overstepping boundaries and taking justice in their own hands.(This is a cliche in many detective shows, right.)
They both have a neurotic behaviour in terms of love relationships which renders them unable to commit in real terms to an actual partnership.
They both work in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape-- seaside Vigata in the south, in the case of Salvo, and northern snowbound Aosta in Rocco's case. In both series, the landscape and scenery have a major role to play.
They both work in a small town questura (police station) with similar teams, where smart, loyal juniors (Pierron / Fazio) coexist with the funny crew of clueless, dumbass agents. These (D'Intino / Catarella) bring out the worst of their bosses, exasperate them to death, but also infuse some comedy relief into the gritty, sordid cases. And when they turn to do things right, it is always despite themselves. (Both Catarella and D'Intino have something on with their bosses' doors, which is quite funny, by the way.)
Both Rocco and Salvo swear, throw things and lose temper as a hallmark, women find them irresistible in their low-key flirty ways, they tend to be in conflict with procedural propriety, and they look the other way when rules contradict their natural sense of justice. Also, they both have a similar bromance with their boastful and genius pathologists, who are strong characters in themselves...
Lovers of Italian crime shows will soon recognize more similarities in both series.
However, there is a female bright young detective here instead of Mimi Augello as a sidekick, and Rocco goes farther than Salvo in his troublesome behaviour. He is a heavy weed-smoker (an early joint at the office is his "morning prayer"), a Robin Hood to thieves, and has a heavier dark past upon his shoulders. The relationship with his band of crazy friends is a nice parallel story, and the acting is superb, really fantastic. Makes you fall in love from the very first episode.
(Rocco's relationship to his wife has already been developed in Bron/Broen last seasons, and has similarities to River plotline, so it was a bit of a deja-vu for European crime shows fans.)
In short, if the cliches and resemblance to Montalbano doesn't bother you too much, there is a lot to enjoy in this first season of six, 100-minutes episodes. It is a lovely show, well developed and produced, remarkably well performed, and very entertaining.
Ice Cold Murders: Rocco Schiavone
Tweekums3 July 2021
These comments are based on watching the first season in Italian with English subtitles.
Protagonist Rocco Schiavone is a cop from Rome who has been demoted and sent to the alpine town Aosta; he hates the mountains, he hates the cold and he hates most of his new colleagues. As the series starts he is in a relationship but it is clear that the only woman he truly loves is his late wife. He also smokes cannabis, in the office and isn't above a little breaking and entry to obtain evidence! Other regular characters included younger officer Italo Pierron, who Rocco usually works with; the competent Caterina Rispoli and Michele Deruta and Domenico D'Intino, a duo dubbed 'Laurel and Hardy' by Rocco thanks to their infuriating behaviour. Each episode contains a self-contained murder mystery, which often forces Rocco to head into the mountains he so dislikes after a few episodes longer plot arcs start to emerge with cases being linked and Rocco being in considerable danger.
I really enjoyed this series; each mystery is intriguing in its own way but it is the characters that make it such fun, once the longer plot arc begins the tension rises nicely. Marco Giallini is great as Rocco; a grumpy character could so easily be unlikable but he makes the character easy to like. The rest of the cast are impressive too. I can see why this series is compared to earlier Italian export 'Inspector Montalbano'; there are many similarities, with scenic alpine settings replacing the scenic Sicilian settings and some character similarities; however it doesn't feel like a copy of that show. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of subtitled crime drama or those who understand Italian. I hope we don't have to wait too long for more seasons to be released in the UK; I need to know what happens next.
Protagonist Rocco Schiavone is a cop from Rome who has been demoted and sent to the alpine town Aosta; he hates the mountains, he hates the cold and he hates most of his new colleagues. As the series starts he is in a relationship but it is clear that the only woman he truly loves is his late wife. He also smokes cannabis, in the office and isn't above a little breaking and entry to obtain evidence! Other regular characters included younger officer Italo Pierron, who Rocco usually works with; the competent Caterina Rispoli and Michele Deruta and Domenico D'Intino, a duo dubbed 'Laurel and Hardy' by Rocco thanks to their infuriating behaviour. Each episode contains a self-contained murder mystery, which often forces Rocco to head into the mountains he so dislikes after a few episodes longer plot arcs start to emerge with cases being linked and Rocco being in considerable danger.
I really enjoyed this series; each mystery is intriguing in its own way but it is the characters that make it such fun, once the longer plot arc begins the tension rises nicely. Marco Giallini is great as Rocco; a grumpy character could so easily be unlikable but he makes the character easy to like. The rest of the cast are impressive too. I can see why this series is compared to earlier Italian export 'Inspector Montalbano'; there are many similarities, with scenic alpine settings replacing the scenic Sicilian settings and some character similarities; however it doesn't feel like a copy of that show. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of subtitled crime drama or those who understand Italian. I hope we don't have to wait too long for more seasons to be released in the UK; I need to know what happens next.
From a series of books
grandcirque5 July 2020
Taken from Manzini's series of novels, the TV show depicts fairly well the humor and the dark moods of inspector Schiavone.
The actor Giallini is absolutely perfect for the part, the filming is good and the plots well transposed from the book series.
The similarity with Montalbano is only superficial: Schiavone character is sad and disillusioned while Montalbano deeply believes in his duty and loves life (and to eat well) but of course they are both excellent detectives...
So far the three seasons are very good.
ONE OF THE BEST EUROPEAN SERIES AVAILABLE IN THE USA!
baroncoco25 February 2021
Enjoyable and entertaining series
dorp-28 February 2021
My wife and I loved the series. Like many series, it got better as it matured over its 3 seasons. It wasn't overly violent compared with many US cop shows and had humor throughout just like the somewhat similar Montalbano. The Aosta scenery was often beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the various locales used. Our main complaint was that Rocco smoked constantly.
Love this giy
cynthiadawn-774-46819827 January 2021
Happened upon this series & I'm so glad I did. Characters are great & the episodes are paced well. Love the humor sprinkled throughout and the underlying love story. Give this a try - I believe you'll like it if you like crime stories.
Not Montalbano but still enjoyable TV
LauraAnnG31 January 2021
For U.S. sensibilities the way the Italians make TV may be a bit too much. That is exemplified here by the main character who apparently has zero morals when it comes to how he deals with and treats women.
I'm sure this will be off-putting for some viewers. The Italians, the French... well, either you have to get use to the way they portray some of the men in their shows, or you'll stop watching.
Schiavone is not a very likable guy in some ways. He smokes ALL THE TIME. He treats women badly. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the first season on Amazon Prime. If there comes a time the later seasons are available, I'm pretty sure I'll watch them as well.
All the sort of stock elements are there that are so perfected in Montalbano. In fact the resemblance becomes a bit uncanny (if not intentional). Rocco is sort of a mixture of Mimi and Salvo. Fazio is here. Pasquano is here. Caterella is here. The mountain scenery is beautiful, but it is not Sicily. It is maybe unfair that I say these things, but if you have not watched Montalbano, I'd recommend it before this show.
I'm sure this will be off-putting for some viewers. The Italians, the French... well, either you have to get use to the way they portray some of the men in their shows, or you'll stop watching.
Schiavone is not a very likable guy in some ways. He smokes ALL THE TIME. He treats women badly. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the first season on Amazon Prime. If there comes a time the later seasons are available, I'm pretty sure I'll watch them as well.
All the sort of stock elements are there that are so perfected in Montalbano. In fact the resemblance becomes a bit uncanny (if not intentional). Rocco is sort of a mixture of Mimi and Salvo. Fazio is here. Pasquano is here. Caterella is here. The mountain scenery is beautiful, but it is not Sicily. It is maybe unfair that I say these things, but if you have not watched Montalbano, I'd recommend it before this show.
Worth Watching But Not Great
aphillips-430578 November 2020
My wife and I enjoyed the series. Schiavone is a serious detective. The show also has some characters who provide comic relief. The background material is a little hard to believe: the young, beautiful women who are always attracted to Schiavone; the ongoing relationship with his deceased wife. We gave it a 7.3, which forced us to give it an actual 7.
perfect 10
tmb-793452 February 2021
Rocco looks like Schimanski
E-3926720 August 2021
Overall interesting to watch. The sets, the camarawork, sound, lightning, editing an screenplay, it all works out. The maincharacter Rocco is.credible in a cinematic way. Most of the other characters aren't. Rocco makes me think of the Tatort series with Schimanski. I wouldn't dare to say Rocco Schiavone is as good. However it's very well done because it doesn't copy other detectives in which there are scenes with endless chasing and long boring scenes in cars.
Pleasant, often humorous depiction of "atypical" Italy
BeneCumb8 March 2022
/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.
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.
Great acting, so-so plot, troubling similarities
stairways13 May 2021
The great English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once responded to an unsolicited manuscript from a correspondent: 'Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.' And that's the trouble here. Great acting and presence by the lead, and some quirky turns by supporting actors (and excellent use of snowy Alpine locations, and regional Italian rivalries) does not make up for the fact that one of the biggest 'twists' in this otherwise ordinary enough detective show is stolen (no other word from it) from the absolutely brilliant 6-part TV series River, the acme of this genre in the last decade. Copying and borrowing are often how new things begin to take form, but it's a real worry when the best element here is in fact someone else's, right down to the timing of the reveal in the last seconds of episode one. After that, well, it's hard to forgive a show that, with people smuggling, gun-running, and drug-dealing (not to mention skiing!) was looking like a cut above the competition.
Some middle-aged male fantasy idea of police drama
Firinn45015 February 2022
There was a good, atmospheric murder tale here, completely ruined by the unrealistic middle aged fantasy of some chain-smoking lush of an old guy (could definitely do with some gym time as well) being somehow irresistible to a never ending stream of young elegant models, endlessly tolerant of his philandering and always ready for 'action'. None of this contributes, but rather interferes with the plot. How on earth this idiot can concentrate on the crime he's meant to be solving (even without the weed) means some deus ex machina plot twist is definitely required. To be honest the guy was so irritating I had to switch off so never got to the end. All of particularly the Italian dramas have a bit of this rampant chauvinism (aging guys, young modelly girlfriends), but whereas it fits into the general flavour of Montalbano, in this it was laid on so thick it grated. I can only imagine a room full of aged male script writers, story editors, producers etc. Indulging their fantasies with no thought of the audience they're meant to be doing this for. You wouldn't want to be a lone woman meeting this lot in a pub, they'd surely think your telling them to get lost would simply be you playing hard to get :) I just wonder what Italian women think of this constant stream of chauvinism in their crime dramas?
Riveting
gretagekko5 February 2021
The Perfect Cop Show
plexonics19 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Rocco Schiavone is the Italian policeman that rolls and smokes joints in his office, beds hot runway worthy women, solves complicated criminal cases while mentoring his younger colleagues (pronounced Ko-Leg-as) in the acceptable level of police criminality. He is reminiscent of the James Coburn In Like Flint character's suave take me as I am demeanor. Love this show. It's got the Italian Alps, beautiful women and scenery, good characters and murder mystery
A Gritty Mystery Series For Italo-philes
bevannefm27 January 2021
My title says it all. The 9 is because of the subtitles. Otherwise - 10! My love for the Italian language is supported by the dialogue as I hear it. There's: the murder, the suspects, the police, the police procedural gone askew by Schiavone, the humor, the pathos. Everything. ¡Molto bene!
It's ok, but it's not Montalbano.
Avidviewer-0284722 January 2024
After watching season 1, I can't help but compare it to the series "Montalbano" and "Young Montalbano". Quirky lead characters are fine, but Rocco who continually talks with his dead wife which is morbid, smokes pot in the office and doesn't carry a firearm, makes it hard to believe. Writers love characters who go after the system, go out to avenge a wrong against them and skirt all the rules, but that's not real life it's fantasy. In real life employers weed out problem employees especially ones that act like vigilantes, they are a huge political and financial liability. In real life Schiavone would probably have been retired instead of transferring him to Aosta.
The location is beautiful, the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps north of Turin. I laughed when his buddies thought he was being sent to Ostia, which is west of Rome on the Mediterranean. I like his odd team, especially Italo who can't stand the sight of blood.
Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano series is safe, this one is good but Camilleri's stories are better. Marco Gaillini is a good actor as are the others. I watched the full 5 seasons and since Montalbano ended it's the only Italian series. They're filming a 6th season.
The location is beautiful, the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps north of Turin. I laughed when his buddies thought he was being sent to Ostia, which is west of Rome on the Mediterranean. I like his odd team, especially Italo who can't stand the sight of blood.
Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano series is safe, this one is good but Camilleri's stories are better. Marco Gaillini is a good actor as are the others. I watched the full 5 seasons and since Montalbano ended it's the only Italian series. They're filming a 6th season.
Dull and uninteresting Police Procedural
VoyagerMN198631 December 2018
I'm a little suspicious of the high ranking for Schiavone. The episode plots are not just worn unoriginal tropes, they are done badly, plot holes abound making the audience engagement with the mystery of the crime utterly pointless. The main character is at times steeped in the most toxic of toxic masculinity, yet then veers bizarrely into low credibility political correctness in the extreme.
Fantastic and Funny!!
valschuster7 November 2021
Great stories, acting, and writing. Captivating, hilariously funny characters! Rocco is a charming brute with a big heart but mets out justice to the scumbag murderers and crooks. So much more imaginative than American police dramas.
Great on a par with the best international crime dramas
jem-1682529 December 2022
Highly recommend this drama. Enjoyed ever minute. Lovely change from the long Scandinavian series. Full of character. Just like a Agatha Christie. So interesting to watch this after Delhi crime on Netflix and the Faroes crime drama. We are all culturally so very different and international crime dramas highlight this so very well. Also a nice change from montoblano. I hope this series continues It would be a shame if it doesn't. All the characters are very interesting and we love the dog lupo. So nice to see a little dog in the crime drama, giving it a light-hearted touch. Long live crime drama.
interesting but falls flat
tearitdownner20 October 2021
Pot head inspector who beds all the decent looking gals is far fetched. Chain smoker and wears same clothes everyday? Smells like an ashtray and women love to sleep with him? Lol-laughable...scenery is good and charachters are good but the main guy being a sex symbol is a joke.
Let down
timstoreyceramics25 July 2020
Blue Light is Special
usafchief-6594316 January 2021
It's a challenge to believe in a show that has the flashing light on top the police car on the driver's side, then the passenger side, then off all in the span of 1-min. Then it's only off from the shot outside the car... return to dialogue and wait for it... oh, you can see it flashing again.
Brilliant, funny, very humane.
damarchuk17 December 2022
One of the best if not the best tv serials. Rocco is such a gentle human being, his relationship with Marina, Lupa and Gabriely so touching and with his team so funny. We will be looking for more work with Marco Gilliani and the director of these series.
One of the best if not the best tv serials. Rocco is such a gentle human being, his relationship with Marina, Lupa and Gabriely so touching and with his team so funny. We will be looking for more work with Marco Gilliani and the director of these series.
One of the best if not the best tv serials. Rocco is such a gentle human being, his relationship with Marina, Lupa and Gabriely so touching and with his team so funny. We will be looking for more work with Marco Gilliani and the director of these series.
One of the best if not the best tv serials. Rocco is such a gentle human being, his relationship with Marina, Lupa and Gabriely so touching and with his team so funny. We will be looking for more work with Marco Gilliani and the director of these series.
One of the best if not the best tv serials. Rocco is such a gentle human being, his relationship with Marina, Lupa and Gabriely so touching and with his team so funny. We will be looking for more work with Marco Gilliani and the director of these series.
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