CAPRI SET COZY MURDER MYSTERY SERIES INSPIRED BY ITALIAN CUISINE A TASTE FOR MURDER CASTS WARREN BROWN, PHYLLIS LOGAN AS LEADS

  A TASTE FOR MURDER  

COZY MYSTERY SERIES SET AT BRITBOX

BritBox has set a new eight episode murder mystery series A TASTE FOR MURDER in which  each episode will feature a murder mystery connected in some way to Italian cuisine. Warren Brown will lead as DCI Joe Mottram, a star detective with the Metropolitan police who, after a personal tragedy, retreats to Capri in Italy with his daughter to stay with his Italian in-laws for the summer. Phyllis Logan is Elena Da Vinale, the witty matriarch of the family, front-of-house manager of the family restaurant, and mother to DCI Joe’s late wife. Cristiana Dell’Anna plays Inspector Lara Sarrancino, an ambitious and no-nonsense detective with the State Police in Naples. Beau Gadsdon is Joe’s daughter Angelica.

SEE TRAILER FOR SCOTT FOLEY'S LA DOLCE VILLA NETFLIX ROMANTIC COMEDY MOVIE

  FIRST SCOTT FOLEY   

TRAILER FOR LA DOLCE VILLA ROMCOM

 Netflix has released a trailer for their new romantic movie LA DOLCE VILLA with Scott Foley as the lead in the film that has February 13th as the

The film will stream from February 13th

simply most perfect launch date just in time for next year's Valentines Day.  

IN THE NEW MOVIE

Scott Foley will play a successful businessman Eric as he travels to Italy to stop his daydreaming daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) from blowing her life savings on restoring a crumbling villa she purchased for €1. Italy, however, has different plans for him as it delivers on its legendary promise of beauty, magic, and romance. Italian actors Violante Placido and Giuseppe Futia will also be seen in the new romantic movie arriving for your viewing pleasure on the lovers' day. 

 

SEE FIRST IMAGES OF SCOTT FOLEY IN LA DOLCE VILLA NETFLIX ROMANTIC COMEDY MOVIE

  FIRST SCOTT FOLEY   

PICS FROM LA DOLCE VILLA NETFLIX ROMCOM

Back in March your trusted spy told you that Mark Waters is directing a new romantic comedy movie for Netflix titled LA DOLCE VILLA and that he had cast our dear Scott Foley as the lead and now we have the first images to prove it to celebrate the announcement of February 13th as the simply most perfect launch date for the new romantic comedy movie just in time for next year's Valentines Day.

IN THE NEW MOVIE

Scott Foley will play a successful businessman Eric as he travels to Italy to stop his daydreaming daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) from blowing her life savings on restoring a crumbling villa she purchased for €1. Italy, however, has different plans for him as it delivers on its legendary promise of beauty, magic, and romance. Italian actors Violante Placido and Giuseppe Futia will also be seen in the new romantic movie arriving for your viewing pleasure on the lovers' day. 

 

SEE MAGICAL TRAILER FOR OSCAR WINNER PAOLO SORRENTINO'S NEW MOVIE PARTHENOPE AN ODE TO HIS NATIVE CITY NAPLES

   PARTHENOPE TRAILER  

FOR NEW PAOLO SORRENTINO MOVIE

Currently scoring quite a success over in Italian cinemas is Paolo Sorrentino's new movie PARTHENOPE which was also written by the famous director. The film is a sort of a love letter to his

Parthenope will arrive in USA next February

native city Naples and will land in US cinemas next February and in France in January. Celeste Dalla Porta plays the titular role - Parthenope is another name for a woman who lives in Naples. The cast also includes Gary Oldman as an alcoholic American novelist John Cheever; Luisa Ranieri, Stefania Sandrelli, Silvio Orlando, Dario Aita, Marlon Joubert... The film which competed this year at Cannes is a magical realism story about a woman named Parthenope who bears the name of her city but is neither siren nor myth! Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino comes a monumental and deeply romantic story of a lifetime. 

NETFLIX REVEALS STREAM DATE AND A TEASER FOR THE LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POET PERIOD SET ITALIAN SERIES

 LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POET 

SEASON TWO SERIES TRAILER IS HERE

Quite unexpectedly, the 2nd season of Italy's period set series THE LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POET has been announced for October 30th over at Netflix. Lidia (Matilda de Angelis) is not allowed to be a lawyer because she is a woman. So this time she aims even higher, she wants to change the law. While she continues to collaborate with her brother Enrico (Eduardo Scarpetta), tackling new cases and fighting for women’s rights, she wants to convince him to run for Parliament so that her law can finally find a voice. Lidia is completely done with love, especially with Jacopo (Pier Luigi Pasino), responsible for having sold the family villa and on a collision course with all the Poëts. But Jacopo and Lidia are forced to meet again to share, reluctantly, a secret investigation that concerns them closely, rediscovering the complicity and fun that has always bound them. Giving a hard time to the protagonists, the new King’s Attorney, Fourneau (Gianmarco Saurino), a man of the institutions who unexpectedly treats Lidia as his equal, prompting her to question the complex and contradictory relationship she has with feelings, and the cost of personal renunciation that she is sustaining in the name of her ideals. 

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON NETFLIX BRIGANDS: THE QUEST FOR GOLD 19TH CENTURY SET HISTORICAL ADVENTURE SERIES

  BRIGANDS TV SERIES  

THE QUEST FOR GOLD HAS HIT NETFLIX

I gave you first photos from this one back in December, but new historical series BRIGANDS: THE QUEST FOR GOLD is available on Netflix as of April 26th!

Briganti is streaming from April 23rd!

In this series, set in mid-19th-century southern Italy, a woman forced to go on the run transforms from dutiful wife to the ruthless leader of a groupof bandits. Gorgeous Ernesto D'Argenio leads the cast with Marlon Joubert, Alessio Pratico, Lorenzo de Moor and Giuseppe lo Piccolo.

 

  THIS SIX EPISODE SERIES

is set in Southern Italy, two years after the Unification of Italy: a woman, forced to escape from her village, joins a particular group of brigands and she will become one of the most ruthless and strategic leaders. But she is not the only one to choose this life and soon comes into contact with other women like her. In order to recover the gold of the South and restore hope to the peasants, the various bands of brigands will have no choice but to unite against the common enemy. Brigands against State, but also brigands against brigands, in a struggle where one must be willing to sacrifice even one's humanity to overcome the oppressors. Dense forests, immense glades and desolate landscapes create a precise image system in which the characters come into intimate contact with the wilderness, becoming an integral part of it. Confined to the edges of civilization and forced to live like beasts to survive in hostile places, this environment changes them forever and brings out their darker, more primitive side. A little bit Robin Hood, a little bit Pirates, the bandits protagonists acquire wealth and power to replace the State. A violent criminality is born where the only option to survive is to become an unscrupulous outlaw.

 

SCOTT FOLEY TO LEAD LA DOLCE VILLA ROMANTIC COMEDY MOVIE FOR NETFLIX

  SCOTT FOLEY TO LEAD  

LA DOLCE VILLA ROMCOM MOVIE FOR NETFLIX

Scott Foley will lead the new romantic comedy

Mark Waters is directing a new romantic comedy movie for Netflix titled LA DOLCE VILLA and he has just cast Scott Foley as the lead. In the new movie he will play a successful businessman Eric as he travels to Italy to stop his daydreaming daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) from blowing her life savings on restoring a crumbling villa she purchased for €1. Italy, however, has different plans for him as it delivers on its legendary promise of beauty, magic, and romance. Italian actors Violante Placido and Giuseppe Futia have also been cast in the new romantic movie.

SEE FIRST IMAGES FROM NETFLIX BRIGANDS: THE QUEST FOR GOLD 19TH CENTURY SET HISTORICAL ADVENTURE SERIES

  BRIGANDS TV SERIES  

THE QUEST FOR GOLD

To be perfectly hones with you I was quite under the impression that this one was dead as dodo as we first announced it half a decade ago with the batch of Italian originals ordered by Netflix which also included Lidia Poet (which streamed last year and has a second season ordered), but it seems BRIGANDS: THE QUEST FOR GOLD will finally arrive to the streamer in the following months. Looking at the cast in the first images that you can see today it is rather obvious why they kept it hidden and probably won't promote it at all. In this series, set in mid-19th-century southern Italy, a woman forced to go on the run transforms from dutiful wife to the ruthless leader of a group

It will be a six episode series

of bandits. Gorgeous Ernesto D'Argenio leads the cast with Marlon Joubert, Alessio Pratico, Lorenzo de Moor and Giuseppe lo Piccolo.

 

  THIS SIX EPISODE SERIES

is set in Southern Italy, two years after the Unification of Italy: a woman, forced to escape from her village, joins a particular group of brigands and she will become one of the most ruthless and strategic leaders. But she is not the only one to choose this life and soon comes into contact with other women like her. In order to recover the gold of the South and restore hope to the peasants, the various bands of brigands will have no choice but to unite against the common enemy. Brigands against State, but also brigands against brigands, in a struggle where one must be willing to sacrifice even one's humanity to overcome the oppressors. Dense forests, immense glades and desolate landscapes create a precise image system in which the characters come into intimate contact with the wilderness, becoming an integral part of it. Confined to the edges of civilization and forced to live like beasts to survive in hostile places, this environment changes them forever and brings out their darker, more primitive side. A little bit Robin Hood, a little bit Pirates, the bandits protagonists acquire wealth and power to replace the State. A violent criminality is born where the only option to survive is to become an unscrupulous outlaw.

 

1ST TRAILER FOR DISNEY PLUS 19TH CENTURY ITALY SET HISTORICAL SERIES LIONS OF SICILY

     LIONS OF SICILY SERIES   

FIRST OFFICIAL TRAILER IS HERE

The series starts October 25th!

 

A month or so ago your trusted spy showed you the first images but now we have the first official trailer along with the airing date for LIONS OF SICILY eight episode historical drama that will arrive to Disney + October 25th based on the popular novels by Stefania Auci which have been translated in many countries around the world! This lavish costume family saga is following the story of the Florio family through many decades of the 19th century. It was directed by renowned Italian director Paolo Genovese. You can check out the first Italian trailer below and tell us how you like it, will you be tuning in next month?

  THE STORY REVOLVES AROUND

 Brothers Paolo (Vinicio Marchioni) and Ignazio (Paolo Briguglia) who are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo (Michele Riondino), with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia (Miriam Leone), a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time. A family saga filled with love, family, success, wars and revolutions, the story takes place in Sicily from 1800 until the Proclamation of the Kingdom in Italy in 1861. Also starring are Donatella Finocchiaro as Giuseppina, Eduardo Scarpetta as Ignazio Florio - Vincenzo’s son, Ester Pantano as young Giuseppina and Adele Cammarata as Giovanna D’Ondes.

SEE FIRST IMAGES AND TRAILER FOR NEW ITALIAN WORLD WAR 2 MINI TV SERIES LA STORIA BASED ON ELSA MORANTE'S GLOBAL BESTSELLER

   LA STORIA TV SERIES  

SET IN WORLD WAR 2 ROME

Beside Lions of Sicily and Leopard, another new period set series coming to us from Italy is LA STORIA, an eight part historical drama based on the famous book by Elsa Morante. The show, which will air on RAI later this year, starts on an ordinary day in 1941, when widow Ida Ramundo (Jasmine Trinca), Nino's mother and secretly of Jewish origin, is raped by a German soldier. After the pain, the dismay and the shame, Ida discovers she is pregnant and, nine months later, secretly gives birth to a baby boy who will be lovingly nicknamed Useppe. The family is turned upside down by the events of the war: Nino decides to leave for the front with the fascists, leaving his mother and little Useppe to cope with the Nazi occupation and the round-ups in a flat in Rome's San Lorenzo district. In the July 1943 bombing, Ida loses everything and is forced to evacuate. From then on, every day for her becomes a struggle for her own survival and that of her child. Asia Argento, Elio Germano and Valerio Mastandrea also star in the new series. Check out the first trailer below and tell us what you think.

1ST IMAGES AND AIR DATE FOR DISNEY HISTORICAL SERIES LIONS OF SICILY! SEE BALLOON TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN LORD OF THE WIND INSPIRING MOVIE TRAILER

     LIONS OF SICILY   

FIRST OFFICIAL IMAGES

A few days ago I showed you first set images but now we have first official ones along with the airing date for LIONS OF SICILY eight episode historical drama that will arrive to Disney + October 25th based on the popular novels by Stefania Auci! This lavish costume family saga is following the story of the Florio family through many decades of the 19th century.

  THE STORY REVOLVES AROUND

 Brothers Paolo (Vinicio Marchioni) and Ignazio (Paolo Briguglia) who are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo (Michele Riondino), with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia (Miriam Leone), a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time. A family saga filled with love, family, success, wars and revolutions, the story takes place in Sicily from 1800 until the Proclamation of the Kingdom in Italy in 1861. Also starring are Donatella Finocchiaro as Giuseppina, Eduardo Scarpetta as Ignazio Florio - Vincenzo’s son, Ester Pantano as young Giuseppina and Adele Cammarata as Giovanna D’Ondes. I hope we will be getting a trailer soon, probably with the arrival of Autumn later this year.

    LORD OF THE WIND  

INSPIRING MOVIE TRAILER

The story of Fyodor Konyukhov's round-the-world balloon flight is told in a Russian movie for which we just got a new trailer. He completed it in 2016 in 11 days and set a world record. LORD OF THE WIND (Повелитель ветра), out October,

Lord of the Air arrives this October

follows famous Russian traveler Konyukhov (Fedor Bondarchuk), who has conquered the earth's poles, oceans and the highest peaks, and now sets off on a new, most dangerous journey. He will have to circumnavigate the Earth in a balloon all alone. The flight is prepared by a whole team, but it is impossible to foresee all the dangers that await the traveler in extreme conditions. Konyukhov falls into a hurricane - without communication, without sleep, almost without air, he has to go only forward in order to return to those he loves. And the whole world, with bated breath, is watching the man who challenged the elements. See the stunning trailer below and tell us what you think.

 

1ST LOOK AT LADY ROCHESTER IN BELGRAVIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER COSTUME DRAMA! SEE THE VILE POPE STEAL A CHILD IN KIDNAPPED 19TH CENTURY ITALY SET HISTORICAL DRAMA TRAILER!

 BELGRAVIA: NEXT CHAPTER 

1ST LOOK AT LADY ROCHESTER

Daily Mail has revealed a first look at Sophie Winkleman at the set of BELGRAVIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER series, a sequel to Julian Fellowes 19th century costume drama. Ben Wainwright also features in the photos. She plays lady Rochester in the MGM Plus series set 25 years on from where the last one left off and telling an entirely new story. In real life, Sophie is daughter in law to prince Michael of Kent.

   KIDNAPPED TRAILER  

FOR NEW 19TH CENTURY DRAMA

Ahead of the world premiere at the scandalous Cannes Film Festival, a trailer and poster have been released for Marco Bellochio's historical movieKIDNAPPED (Rapito), an Italian drama about a Jewish boy

The movie is out next week in Italia

kidnapped and converted to Catholicism. The film opens in 1858 in the Jewish quarter of Bologna, where the Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the Mortara family. By order of the cardinal, they have come to take Edgardo, their seven-year-old son. The child had been secretly baptized by his nurse as a baby and the papal law is unquestionable: he must receive a Catholic education. Edgardo’s parents, distraught, will do anything to get their son back. Supported by public opinion and the international Jewish community, the Mortaras’ struggle quickly takes a political dimension. But the Church and the Pope will not agree to return the child, to consolidate an increasingly wavering power. Starring Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Enea Sala and Leonardo Maltese, it will be released in Italy May 25th, and in France in November.

1ST PIC OF ALICIA VIKANDER AS QUEEN KATHERINE PARR IN HENRY VIII FILM FIREBRAND! NETFLIX TEASER FOR THE LEOPARD 19TH CENTURY SICILY SET HISTORICAL TV SERIES! NEIL MORRISSEY TO UNCOVER THE HOARD OF SAXON TREASURE IN NEW MINI SERIES!

 1ST ALICIA VIKANDER IMAGE 

AS QUEEN KATHERINE PARR IN FIREBRAND MOVIE

First image of Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr in new historical movie FIREBRAND is here. Jude Law stars as Henry VIII in the psychological thriller that explores how Katherine, the last of Henry’s six wives, endured her union with the monstrous monarch and kept her head in the 16th Century. Patsy Ferran portrays princess Mary and Junia Rees portrays Elizabeth. The movie will be screened at Cannes when we can expect first look at Law too.

 

 NEIL MORRISSEY TO LEAD 

Neil Morrissey will lead The Hoard

CHANNEL 5'S NEW THE HOARD MINI TV SERIES

Channel 5 has announced a new four part drama and they already have a cast set for it: Neil Morrissey will lead THE HOARD mini series. It will be the story of keen detectorist Martin (Morrissey) and his wheeler dealer soon to be son-in-law Ashley (James Buckley) who, while on a boys bonding trip in the idyllic fields of rural Somerset, discover a hoard of buried Saxon treasure worth millions. Legally, they should declare it, but Ashley spots an opportunity to look after number one, and as pressures are building at home with his wife Anne (Fay Ripley), straight arrow Martin can’t help but have his head turned. It’s tempting. If they sell it on the black market, they could be set for life and Ashley has the connections to make it happen. But with a hoard this good, could it really be that easy? After all, they might not be the only ones out for its spoils. The series will air towards the end of the year on the British channel.

  THE LEOPARD SERIES  

NETFLIX STARTS PRODUCTION!

Netflix Italia has released a very teasing teaser celebrating the start of the production on THE LEOPARD historical series which will shoot till September as the adaptation of  Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's famous classic novel Il Gattopardo. Tom Shankland is directing the six episode saga! While Sicily is struggling in the turmoil of the Risorgimento in 1860, the Prince of Salina Fabrizio Corbera (Kim Rossi Stuart) reigns over his family and his possessions, convinced that even these disorders are destined to pass. He hasn’t come to terms with the idealism of young people like his nephew Tancredi (Saul Nanni), who joins the rebels risking his own life, or the ambitions of men like Sedara, a vulgar man who rides change by pandering to the nascent power of mafia criminal organizations and intends to use his beautiful daughter Angelica (Deva Cassel) to get what he wants. At Don Fabrizio’s side remains Concetta (Benedetta Porcaroli), his favourite daughter, who shares his intelligence and foresight. Her happiness will eventually be sacrificed in an attempt to ensure the survival of the power and of the name of the lineage.