Rocco Schiavone

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.

For U.S. sensibilities the way the Italians make TV may be a bit too much. That is exemplified here by the main character who apparently has zero morals when it comes to how he deals with and treats women.

I'm sure this will be off-putting for some viewers. The Italians, the French... well, either you have to get use to the way they portray some of the men in their shows, or you'll stop watching.

Schiavone is not a very likable guy in some ways. He smokes ALL THE TIME. He treats women badly. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the first season on Amazon Prime. If there comes a time the later seasons are available, I'm pretty sure I'll watch them as well.

All the sort of stock elements are there that are so perfected in Montalbano. In fact the resemblance becomes a bit uncanny (if not intentional). Rocco is sort of a mixture of Mimi and Salvo. Fazio is here. Pasquano is here. Caterella is here. The mountain scenery is beautiful, but it is not Sicily. It is maybe unfair that I say these things, but if you have not watched Montalbano, I'd recommend it before this show.

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.

/refers to all 4 Seasons and episodes/

Well, I mean, no constant sunshine, lambent sea, people with a few sexy clothes, but high snowy mountains, cold and moisture - this is Aosta, almost Switzerland, far away from Rome, a real hinterland... But crimes occur there as well, although not often, so the personnel is not too gifted and experienced. So Mr. Schiavone (splendidly performed by Marco Giallini, who was before unknown to me) has to deal with both current crimes and his "demons" from the past, sometimes helped by some dubious childhood friends and balancing on a thin line of right and wrong...

In spite of some evident exaggerations in depicting some officials, the Series is pleasant to watch, gloomy crimes are stressed by the bad weather, and the wrongdoer is not revealed too soon. Schiavone´s past enables to include leitmotifs in addition to the cases to be solved (usually 1 per episode), thus being part of the modern, 21st century approach and moving beyond Poirot-Wallander type of series.

Funny, touching, good stories with great characters: American cop shows could take lessons from Rocco!