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 (2011-01-02) – 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
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

Series 1 (2011)

# Title Directed by Written by Original airdate UK viewers
(million)[7]
1"Vendetta"John AlexanderSimon Burke2 January 2011 (2011-01-02)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 MenaulSimon Burke9 January 2011 (2011-01-09)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 JonesPeter Berry & Simon Burke16 January 2011 (2011-01-16)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

  1. Conlan, Tara (2 March 2011). "Zen could survive after being sold abroad". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  2. "Rufus Sewell confirmed to play Aurelio Zen for BBC One". BBC press releases. BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  3. Vine, Richard (1 January 2011). "Zen and the art of Sunday night television scheduling". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  4. "Zen". Left Bank Pictures. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  5. "BBC One controller to cull male crime-fighters". BBC. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  6. Conlan, Tara (22 February 2011). "BBC1 axes Rufus Sewell detective drama Zen". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  7. "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.

External links

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