Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco

This Italian series is centred on Deputy Chief Lolita Lobosco who has returned to her home city of Bari, on Italy's Adriatic coast, after many years away. Here she will work with a team of male officers; mostly Antonio Forte, a man who she has known since they went to school together, and Esposito, a younger officer who lives with his elderly mother. Each episode deals with a separate case but running through the background is the question of how Lolita's father, a local smuggler, died. It was reported as a traffic accident but perhaps there was more to it than that. Away from the mystery we see the personal lives of our protagonists.

Like other Italian crime series I've seen this is as much about the characters as the mystery; in fact one can sometimes forget about the crime while watching character's personal lives... this isn't really a problem though as the characters are such fun to watch; they may fit genre clichés but they still manage to be believable. The settings is impressive; I imagine the series will encourage tourism to the city as it looks so good. The crimes aren't too disturbing with no 'unpleasantness' shown and there are plenty of laughs to be had... more than from some so-called comedies. The cast does a fine job bringing the characters to life. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of character led murder-mysteries set in an attractive location.

These comments are based on watching the series in Italian with English subtitles.

Simply a dose of Italian fun, sun, food... and of course love, all served up in the pretty port of Bari. Lolita Lobosco (Luisa Ranieri) is the latest in a line of Italian Police Inspectors' to hit our TV screens and I for once can be accused of binge-watching. Its as moreish as the gorgeous food and luscious cakes regularly consumed by the cast, along with stunning cinematography, pretty ladies and simpleton (male) police officers who seem to have problems of sorts with the women they love, live and work with.

Seems familiar? Try Inspector Montalbano. The same old story, sunshine, seascapes, sex and pasta. Even the characters occupy strikingly similar roles, all brought up to date with texting and a certain 2020s feminist slant, led by the attractive 40 something Lolita and a couple of other ladies including a wonderful car mechanic who possesses an interesting line when taking her suitors on a first date. The boys of course are besotted, chauvinist and slightly silly - all good Italian TV tropes.

It's great fun, funny and largely predictable. Have fun and don't expect anything too philosophical - just enjoy!

Don't be fooled by the somewhat corny plot gimmicks and romantic entanglements, Italians are speaking out about the oppressive government they have endured for more than a hundred years! In between the lattes and gelato desserts, this show and "The Mafia Only Kills In Summer" let us see that it's nearly impossible to investigate a government official, women police officers are just getting a foothold, and to get a good government job or a good apartment, you have to pull some strings! It's just a fact of everyday life in Italy! The church still holds sway in all parts of Italy though! You can still hear references to God, Christ and the Virgin Mary at almost any time of any day!

This has everything: murder mystery, sunshine, beautiful surroundings, humour and pathos. It's great entertainment and deserving of a far better score than the 6.9 it has.

Each episode is practically the length of a movie and is self contained in its own right; each having its own murder mystery plot whilst carrying an underlying plot continuing throughout the first two series.

The humour that punctuates the seriousness is at times almost English, which is why it works so well to an English audience.

The visual landscape of Bari is stunning in itself and is worked very well into the stories.

Bellisimo!

This lighthearted series is done in typical Italian style. The detective and police work take second place to the usual Italian themes of love, food and family. There is the usual older woman, younger man dynamic. A lot of crying and histrionics and constant reference to foods and cooking in the region. The lead character goes to work always dressed fashionably. Every now and again issues of women's rights and their treatment is alluded to in the various episodes. The first season is better than the second as the dialog in the latter seems to be more improvised. Watch it for what it is, light entertainment along the lines of the French counterpart, Candace Renoir!