Zen is a British television series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF.[1] It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin.[2] The series was filmed on location in Italy, but the dialogue is in English. The series, which comprises three 90-minute films, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sunday evenings from 2 January 2011 on BBC One.[3] The three films were based on the books Vendetta (1990), Cabal (1992) and Ratking (1988).[4] The series was cancelled by BBC One in February 2011; BBC One controller Danny Cohen later said there were already enough male crime-fighters on TV.[5] Left Bank, the show's producer, tried to find other broadcasters to fund another series but were unsuccessful.[6]
| Zen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Police drama |
| Based on | Aurelio Zen by Michael Dibdin |
| Written by | Simon Burke Peter Berry |
| Directed by | John Alexander (Vendetta) Christopher Menaul (Cabal) Jon Jones (Ratking) |
| Starring | Rufus Sewell Caterina Murino Ben Miles Catherine Spaak Stanley Townsend Ed Stoppard Francesco Quinn Anthony Higgins |
| Opening theme | Adrian Johnston |
| Composer | Adrian Johnston |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Italy Germany |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Andy Harries, Francis Hopkinson, Raffaella Bonivento, Rebecca Eaton, Anne Mensah |
| Producer | Michael Casey |
| Production location | Rome |
| Cinematography | Tony Miller |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production companies | Left Bank Pictures, Mediaset, Masterpiece, ZDF |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 2 January – 16 January 2011 |
Regular cast
edit- Rufus Sewell as Aurelio Zen
A smart and honest police detective in Rome who struggles to maintain his integrity amongst the bureaucracy and political interference in the department. He is in love with Tania Moretti, but long odds in the betting for who will sleep with her first. - Caterina Murino as Tania Moretti
Office support worker for the squad. She is beautiful, smart and compassionate. She likes Zen and is trying to divorce her husband. - Ben Miles as Amedeo Colonna
The Minister's fixer. He is a powerful, connected and amoral man who believes that Zen is working for him, something that Zen encourages. - Stanley Townsend as Moscati
Zen's boss. He is a gruff, no nonsense man who does not suffer fools gladly. He is fond of Zen and Tania. - Francesco Quinn as Gilberto Nieddu
Zen's ex-partner who now runs a private security business. The two have remained friends and Zen asks Gilberto for help when he needs advice or to go outside the department. - Catherine Spaak as Donata
Zen's mother who was widowed when her husband was shot on the job. Zen moved in with her after he separated from his wife. She is wise, caring and concerned for her son. - Vincent Riotta as Giorgio de Angelis
A colleague whom Zen trusts. - Ed Stoppard as Vincenzo Fabri
A detective with a powerful and wealthy uncle who is more interested in playing politics to advance his career than solving cases. - Anthony Higgins as Eduardo Guerchini
The Minister, who leaves all the dirty work to Colonna. - Cosima Shaw as Nadia Pirlo
Powerful Prosecutor in the case against the cabal, who also tries to get romantically involved with Zen.
Complete main cast
edit| Character | Vendetta | Cabal | Ratking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepe Spadola | Gregg Chillin | ||
| Fausto Arcuti | Adrian Hood | ||
| Francesco Pirotta | Franco Maria Salamon | ||
| Ana Bini | Katrine De Candole | ||
| Alessandro Antonioni | Rocky Marshall | ||
| Giulia | Selene Rosiello | ||
| Rossella Nieddu | Yasemin Samino | ||
| Mario | Joseph Long | ||
| Giuseppe Bini | Adrian Schiller | ||
| Gilberto Nieddu | Francesco Quinn | ||
| Eduardo Guerchini | Anthony Higgins | ||
| Ernesto Heuber | Michael McElhatton | ||
| Sister Anna | Katy Murphy | ||
| Tomassini | Massimiliano Ulaldi | ||
| Silvia | Cariddi Nardulli | ||
| Angeto | Garry Cooper | ||
| Arianna von Falkenhayn | Valentina Cervi | ||
| Donata | Catherine Spaak | ||
| Avel Vasko | Francis Magee | ||
| Branco | Daniele Monterosi | ||
| Jdg. Corrado Bertolini | Roberto Nobile | ||
| Maria | Nathalie Rapti Gomez | ||
| Aurelio Zen | Rufus Sewell | ||
| Paolo | Roberto Laureli | ||
| Mara | Julie Cox | ||
| Evie | Susan Duerden | ||
| Lucia | Chiara Nicola | ||
| Mazzotta | Emil Marwa | ||
| Tania Moretti | Caterina Murino | ||
| Nadia Pirlo | Cosima Shaw | ||
| Amedeo Colonna | Ben Miles | ||
| Luca La Guardia | Paolo Mazzarelli | ||
| Donatella Pirotta | Zoe Tapper | ||
| Moscati | Stanley Townsend | ||
| Carlo Fagioli | Callum Blue | ||
| Ramizi | Sargon Yelda | ||
| Tito Spadola | Peter Guinness | ||
| Fellini | Enzo Squillino, Jr. | ||
| Giorgio de Angelis | Vincent Riotta | ||
| Cinzia Miletti | Sarah-Jane Potts | ||
| Michelangelo Gattuso | Allan Corduner | ||
| Renato Favelloni | Greg Wise | ||
| Vincenzo Fabri | Ed Stoppard | ||
| Massimo Colanna | Hilton McRae | ||
| Oscar Faso | Alessandro Cica | ||
| Silvio Miletti | Sebastian Armesto | ||
Episodes
editSeries 1 (2011)
edit| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | UK viewers (million)[7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Vendetta" | John Alexander | Simon Burke | 2 January 2011 | 6.24 | |
|
Detective Zen is sent to a remote village to re-investigate a murder, which may spark a political scandal. Zen is under pressure from the politicians and the Chief of Police, but he would rather be spending time with Tania, the Chief's beautiful assistant. Meanwhile, a gangster is after Zen, seeking revenge. | ||||||
| 2 | "Cabal" | Christopher Menaul | Simon Burke | 9 January 2011 | 5.64 | |
|
The death of a famous aristocrat, Umberto Ruspanti, leads Detective Zen into the shadowy world of the Cabal—an organisation more powerful and secret than the Mafia. The Ministry want a quick verdict of suicide, but Zen's not so sure. Meanwhile, things are looking up with Tania. | ||||||
| 3 | "Ratking" | Jon Jones | Peter Berry & Simon Burke | 16 January 2011 | 5.21 | |
|
Detective Zen works against the clock to recover the kidnapped Ruggerio Miletti, a wealthy industrialist with political ties. The involvement of the manipulative family and a beautiful grieving widow complicate matters. Meanwhile Tania's husband does everything he can to get rid of Zen. | ||||||
Series 1 was first shown in the USA on the PBS network: Vendetta, Cabal, and Ratking on 17, 24 and 31 July 2011, respectively.
References
edit- ^ Conlan, Tara (2 March 2011). "Zen could survive after being sold abroad". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "Rufus Sewell confirmed to play Aurelio Zen for BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ Vine, Richard (1 January 2011). "Zen and the art of Sunday night television scheduling". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "Zen". Left Bank Pictures. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "BBC One controller to cull male crime-fighters". BBC. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ Conlan, Tara (22 February 2011). "BBC1 axes Rufus Sewell detective drama Zen". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB. Archived from the original on 8 November 2008.
External links
edit- Zen at BBC Online
- Zen from the Masterpiece website
- Zen at IMDb
- Zen at epguides.com
