Zen (TV series)
| Zen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Police drama |
| Written by |
Simon Burke Peter Berry Michael Dibdin (novels) |
| Directed by |
John Alexander (Vendetta) Christopher Menaul (Cabal) Jon Jones (Ratking) |
| Starring |
Rufus Sewell Caterina Murino Julie Cox Callum Blue Valentina Cervi Catherine Spaak Ben Miles Stanley Townsend Ed Stoppard Anthony Higgins |
| Opening theme | Adrian Johnston |
| Composer(s) | Adrian Johnston |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom, Italy, Germany |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andy Harries, Francis Hopkinson, Raffaella Bonivento, Rebecca Eaton, Anne Mensah |
| Producer(s) | Michael Casey |
| Location(s) | Rome |
| Cinematography | Tony Miller |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Left Bank Pictures, Mediaset, Masterpiece, ZDF |
| Distributor | BBC Worldwide |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | Film 16:9 Colour |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 2 January 2011 – 16 January 2011 |
| External links | |
| BBC website | |
| Production website | |
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, Cabal and Ratking.[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]
Cast
| 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 | | ||
| Gilberto Nieddu | | ||
| Eduardo Guerchini | | ||
| Ernesto Heuber | Michael McElhatton | ||
| Sister Anna | Katy Murphy | ||
| Tomassini | Massimiliano Ulaldi | ||
| Silvia | | ||
| Angeto | | ||
| Arianna von Falkenhayn | | ||
| Donata | | ||
| Avel Vasko | Francis Magee | ||
| Branco | | ||
| Jdg. Corrado Bertolini | Roberto Nobile | ||
| Maria | Nathalie Rapti Gomez | ||
| Aurelio Zen | | ||
| Paolo | Roberto Laureli | ||
| Mara | Julie Cox | ||
| Evie | Susan Duerden | ||
| Lucia | Chiara Nicola | ||
| Mazzotta | Emil Marwa | ||
| Tania Moretti | | ||
| Nadia Pirlo | | ||
| Amedeo Colonna | | ||
| Luca La Guardia | Paolo Mazzarelli | ||
| Donatella Pirotta | Zoe Tapper | ||
| Moscati | | ||
| Carlo Fagioli | Callum Blue | ||
| Ramizi | | ||
| Tito Spadola | Peter Guinness | ||
| Fellini | Enzo Squillino, Jr. | ||
| Giorgio de Angelis | | ||
| Cinzia Miletti | Sarah-Jane Potts | ||
| Michelangelo Gattuso | Allan Corduner | ||
| Renato Favelloni | Greg Wise | ||
| Vincenzo Fabri | | ||
| Massimo Colanna | Hilton McRae | ||
| Oscar Faso | Alessandro Cica | ||
| Silvio Miletti | Sebastian Armesto | ||
Episodes
Series 1 (2011)
| # | 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
- ↑ 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 press releases. 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. 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.
External links
- Zen at BBC Online
- Zen from the Masterpiece website
- Zen at the Internet Movie Database
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