Non uccidere

These comments are based on watching the first season.

This Italian crime drama is set in the northern city of Turin and centred on Valeria Ferro. She is a detective investigating various 'murders of the week'. These tend to feature more personal motives rather than murders that take place as part of another crime.

As well as these murders there is an ongoing storyline regarding Valeria's mother. Early in the series she is released from prison having served seventeen years for the murder of Valeria's father. She has never denied the crime but her former cell mate claims she is really innocent. Valeria initially wants nothing to do with her mother but inevitably gets drawn into looking into the case. Things are somewhat complicated by the fact that her boss, who she is involved with, arrested her mother.

I really enjoyed this series; the cases of the week very much dominate the episodes but the ongoing story regarding her mother nicely serves to link the episodes and make key characters more interesting. The weekly cases are interesting and the identity of the killer isn't obvious. There are always plenty of suspects and motives to keep the viewer guessing.

Miriam Leone is solid in the role of Valeria and the supporting cast also impresses. I liked the setting; the only other Italian shows I've seen have been set further south, mostly way down in Sicily... this feels like different country. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of subtitled crime drama... assuming you don't speak Italian! I hope we don't have to wait too long before season two becomes available here in the UK.

When my wife started to watch THOU SHALT NOT KILL, she only thought there were 6 episode's. From the very first episode. my wife and I, became completely mesmerized. It is normally me who gets so involved with a tv show. Only this time, it is my wife. When she found out that there were infact 36 episode's, spread over 2 season's, she was very happy indeed.

I, have found each episode extremely interesting. Being a UK citizen, the type of murder mystery show's that i watch are, VERA, Midsomer Murders etc. THOU SHALT NOT KILL, is very similar to those type of murder mystery show's.

Watching tv show's from other european country's and also other country's around the world. Gives me a more understanding of other country's cutler's, fashion and indeed location's etc. Country's like Italy, are not that much different to the UK. Many year's ago, my family and I visited Italy for a holiday. I found Italy to be a wonderful, colourful country and would one day like to return.

I hope, whoever does watch THOU SHALT NOT KILL, enjoys it as much as my wife and I do.

Kind regards Graham

I really liked this series for the following reasons. 1) The acting is very good, and the child actors are not only adorable but they are also talented. 2) Each murder the detectives investigate is interesting, and involves a different part of society. There are murders were soldiers, monks, mixed martial arts fighters, and various other groups and professions are involved. 3) I was never able to figure out where an investigation would lead the detectives, and who was ultimately the guilty person. 4) While there is an ongoing subplot, it doesn't distract from the various investigations. 5) While I would have liked to see the last season of the series end a little differently. I was okay with the final episode. 6) This series that spans a good number of seasons, remains consistently good to the end. Many series don't sustain the original good quality of the first season. It is my impression that directors and writers leave series after the first or second season. This can be true of the original cast members also. That causes a change in a series, that is seldom good. I'm really pleased that this series had as many seasons as it did. I will miss it.

My wife and I watched all 4 seasons (48 episodes) and we both thoroughly enjoyed the series which is usual as we often don't like the same shows. It had interesting murder plots in most all episodes mixed with an ongoing family related mystery theme that weaved through all four seasons. The cast and acting was decent and the Turin area scenery was scenic and interesting. While there was a lot of in-office romantic nonsense among the key players, as well as questionable procedural practices at times, the cast and plots kept things moving for us both. My wife liked the romantic stuff more than me and I enjoyed the many attractive Italian women who appeared throughout. The final episode was a bit of a disappointment to us both and we wondered what the writers and producers were thinking with a series wrap like that. Two thumbs up anyway.

'Non uccidere' may be the first crime series coming from Italy that I have ever seen. It's quite an unexpected source for the genre, Italian cinema being quite famous for neo-realism, for comedies, for historical dramas or for the very personal and creative movies of great directors like Fellini. We do have of course the horror stories of Dario Argento, but these are a genre by themselves. Cerebral crime stories are not what I would have considered an Italian specialty, and that is why 'Non uccidere' created by Claudio Corbucci is quite a surprise for me, and a good one, I should say.

I have watched the 12 episodes in the first two seasons, broadcast by ARTE TV, which have been realized in 2015 and 2016. There is a third season that I am yet to see but I need to find a good opportunity and some time. The episodes come in pairs of 40-45 minutes each and I suspect that some stations may have transmitted longer episodes joining two series each time. There are two plans of parallel action - one is a procedural forensics crime drama which finds its solution at the end of the second episode in the pair, the other is a longer thread also comprising a criminal element and involving the main character, police captain Valeria Ferro and her mother, out of jail after serving time for killing Valeria's father. The stories take place in Torino and around the city. I've never been to this city, but I feel that I know it a little after having seen 'Non uccidere'.

There are a lot of reasons to like these series. The stories are well written and their solutions make sense. Most of the characters are credible and acting is good. The only minus if this can be called a minus is that the lead actress Miriam Leone looks too young and too beautiful for her role. The stories tend to take place in various social medias that the script authors and episode directors seem to know quite well - working people and immigrants living in the less fortunate areas of the city, or very rich people in their sumptuous villas. One of the most interesting couple of episodes takes place in a nuns convent. The makers of the series adapted well their cinematographic tools using elements of neo-realist cinema in some of the episodes, or approaching the stories as melodramas for riches in other. Overall this forensic crime drama with touches of soap opera works quite well.