Der Kommissar und die Alpen

I loved this series. I binge-watched it. Rocco was such an interesting character, philosophical and sexy. I think it was the first Italian series I've watched.

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.

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.

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.

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.