Inspector Montalbano

Inspector Montalbano is an Italian television series produced and broadcast by RAI since 1999, based on the detective novels of Andrea Camilleri. The protagonist is Commissario Salvo Montalbano, and the stories are set in the imaginary town of Vigata, Sicily. In 2012 the series generated a prequel, Il giovane Montalbano.

Inspector Montalbano (1999-2021) is an Italian national-television crime series created by Andrea Camilleri and produced for RAI. Luca Zingaretti plays Commissario Salvo Montalbano, a shrewd, sensual police inspector in the imaginary seaside town of Vigata, Sicily, supported by Peppino Mazzotta as Giuseppe Fazio, Angelo Russo as the flustered switchboard operator Catarella, and Cesare Bocci as Mimi Augello. Each feature-length episode, about 100 minutes, adapts one of Andrea Camilleri's detective novels and follows the inspector as he untangles a murder or a web of local corruption, moving between the police station, crime scenes, and the town's trattorias and beaches. Across fifteen seasons the format stays episodic while the inspector's personal life and the rhythms of Sicilian life give the stories continuity. The tone is wry, humane and sun-warmed, with melancholy undercurrents about justice, loyalty and aging. Dialect, food and the sea shape the atmosphere as much as the cases do. Fans of Wallander, Father Brown and Death in Paradise will find resonance in its mix of puzzle solving and regional charm, a television mystery built on character and place.

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a warm, well-crafted Sicilian detective show, with its lead performance and sense of place singled out, though later seasons are rated unevenly.

• Montalbano (2000s)episodic sicilian police mystery with a charismatic detective and small town setting
• Father Brownshared procedural mystery format with a wry, humane detective at the center
• Wallandershared character-driven crime drama with an eccentric detective and colorful local supporting cast
• Death in Paradiseshared gentle investigative tone with a regional European town setting and a weekly case format

Created by

Andrea Camilleri

Release Date

1999-05-06

Episode runtime

100 min

Rating

8.3 / 10 (80)

What is Inspector Montalbano about?

A Sicilian police inspector untangles murders and corruption in the fictional seaside town of Vigata, with wit and sensuality.

What is Inspector Montalbano like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Inspector Montalbano as measured, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Inspector Montalbano violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Inspector Montalbano as mild.

What did critics think of Inspector Montalbano?

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a warm, well-crafted Sicilian detective show, with its lead performance and sense of place singled out, though later seasons are rated unevenly.

Which shows are like Inspector Montalbano?

Shows with a similar feel include Montalbano (2000s), Father Brown, Wallander, and Death in Paradise.

How long is Inspector Montalbano?

Inspector Montalbano: 15 seasons, 36 episodes.

Is Inspector Montalbano still running?

No, Inspector Montalbano has ended.

Where can I watch Inspector Montalbano?

In United States, Inspector Montalbano streams on Hoopla, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Mhz Choice.