Rocco Schiavone on Walter Presents is a fun Italian series about an unorthodox yet brilliant detective in Rome who gets in trouble and is transferred, much to his dismay, to a small mountain town in the North. Schiavone (a perfectly cast Marco Giallini), who often curses a blue streak, judges his day by what level pain-in-the-ass he is facing. Dealing with magistrates is a level 8. A closed tobacco shop is 9th level. Level 10 is murder. Especially one involving snow. It’s an episodic series, with a new crime introduced every other episode. The first one is a doozy-a snow plow runs over a body, mangling it beyond recognition.
Did you know that the Rocco Schiavone character is based on a popular series of books by Antonio Manzini? You can find the first book, translated in English, here. Note that we are an Amazon affiliate, and if you use our link to buy these books, we will get a few bucks, at no cost to you!
Rocco Schiavone funny, dark
Rocco Schiavone, with its grumpy hero, is a genuinely funny show. Picture House but more…Italian. Schiavone refuses to accept mountain life, insisting on wearing his weather-inappropriate suede shoes in the snowy town. Every time he wrecks a pair, he buys a new one. He is often frustrated with his staff, many times rudely banishing them from his sight. Schiavone jettisons his bosses, sneaking off to solve crimes, and somehow always missing the press conference he was supposed to give. Every few episodes his shady Roman friends show up to crack a safe or relieve a truck of its sizable haul of marijuana. And he does tend to run through the ladies in town. But for all of his bluster, Schiavone nurses a private heart break, which I won’t spoil here.
Rocco and his team
The people of the town aren’t sure what to think of Rocco, and neither are we, the viewers. One thing Schiavone understands very well is human nature, and that often leads him to the solution of the case. While the crime that he was punished for involved beating up a serial rapist, Schiavone is not simply a crank with a heart of gold. His character is more complex and self-serving than that. His colleagues run the gamut from competent to dim-witted, and with few exceptions, have an entertainingly combative relationship with Schiavone. Two standouts are his squeamish mentee, Italo (Ernesto D’Argenio), and the cheerful forensic pathologist, Fumagalli (Massimo Reale).
Our review of Rocco Schiavone
We’ve seen the cranky protagonist before, but Rocco Schiavone is more fun, probably because it’s Italian. The mysteries are gruesome, and make good use of the mountain surroundings. Rocco solves the mysteries using his powers of observation and asking good questions with a poker face. My only beef is that some of the characters’ obtuseness can get absurd. Because the series is episodic, viewers can dip in and out as they please, but it’s always good to check back in with Rocco.
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I have to say this is the best review I’ve found so far (going down the Google results), some reviews say its unoriginal without giving examples or overstate the protagonist’s lack of charm and immorality; while he is often surly, tacit and bad tempered, and his disdain for the letter of the law veer equally between rough justice and compassion while falling just short of actual corruption, even if his somewhat unconventional acquisition of herbal contraband does dip its toe over that line
I have yet to find egregious plot holes, unlikely motives and psychology or ridiculous red herrings and wild goose cases that draw out two hour story lines (1h 40m without ads) as too many other recent detective dramas do
I agree with Larry’s assessment of 4 out of 5, as a bit too much tomfoolery with inept colleagues does detract a little, though more in some episodes than others, and I’ve seen more pronounced in other Italian detective dramas
I usually give TV series and films that I think are okay but not great three stars out of five. I love this series so much that I give four stars and a definite two thumbs up. It is so refreshing to watch a series that isn’t loaded with all of the current (2020) tropes and memes of its genre. Things that annoy me most are not present in this series. No unnecessary domestic subplots, ( I don’t care if the main character(s) have sick cats or recalcitrant teenage children, (usually daughters for some reason, which I find slightly misogynistic), and above all no main characters doing stupid or ridiculous things to further the plot or add drama. For example, a veteran detective going into an obviously dangerous place or situation without calling for backup. Of course the acting, writing, and scenery are great. This has got to be one of my all time favorite crime series.
I totally agree! Have you seen season 2 yet? Just as good as season 1.