Carlo & Malik

No one would credit Italian tv with any quality so this is something of an achievement The stories and plots are pretty thin and riddled with gaps of process and impossible results from really poor policework ...yet,yet ..its quite fun to watch ..largely as the characterisations of the various members of the police squad are well drawn and interesting and mostly believable .Also the acting is really good .. a great ensemble . The pace of the police procedural is fast ..the pace of the character development is slow and dense and interesting . Worth watching ...worth developing .

Is racism that archaic in Italy? Goodness, I hope not. Maybe it's just the translation? Well, barring that wretched part, it's a pretty good cop show.

It features a base background kind of like soap opera story, which on top attaches one crime intrigue foreground tale with quick resolution in each single episode. The base story with attractive characters is what makes it compelling, it resurfaces in full force during the last two episodies where it takes over. Leaves some channels open to make a second season.

I am usually into Scandinavian and British crime series, but from time to time, for widening my horizon, I try to keep up with related productions from other countries. Nero a metà included no performer known to me and the focus was more on colleague relations than on solving crimes, but it was somehow pleasant, seemed realistic (features of Italians still on the surface though). The "racism issue" did not distract me at all.

True, the creators have evidently watched BBC Crime and not all cases were of even interest, but unless you think that only e.g. Bron/Broen and The Millennium series are worth watching, the series in question can be well recommended. At least, Rome seems a more realistic crime scene than a small English village...

PS Season 2 was somewhat more protracted, the disbalance of the "main crime" and other crime episodes bigger, personal feelings of the main characters too confusing -- so 7.5 points meaning still 8. And I have plans to watch Season 3.

To much of racism though, far too much. Take that away and it will be a hit.