Don Matteo

Don Matteo
Genre	Crime, Comedy
Created by	Enrico Oldoini
Starring	Terence Hill Nino Frassica Flavio Insinna Simone Montedoro Cristina Serafini
Country of origin	Italy
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	194 (List of episodes)
Production
Location(s)	Gubbio
Running time	55 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)	Lux Vide for Rai Fiction
Broadcast
Original channel	RAI
Original airing	January 7, 2000 - present

Don Matteo is an Italian television series that has been airing since 2000 on the premier channel of Italian national television, Rai 1. Protagonist of the series is Father Matteo (portrayed by Terence Hill), a Catholic priest in a parish of the town of Gubbio (PG), who is also known for his unrivaled talent in investigating local crime stories. Father Matteo is a wise and respected person who really manages to understand people's problems, and always appears to be willing to help. Thanks to his charm and positivity, he often helps criminals on their way to redeeming and he always convince them to confess their crimes and to accept their responsibilities. Comedian Nino Frassica portrays Lt. Antonio Cecchini, a middle aged carabineer who also happens to be Matteo's best friend. Cecchini is one of the main co-protagonists and often provides the humor and comic relief in the series. Other notable cast members include Flavio Insinna, who portrayed Captain Flavio Anceschi from 2000 to 2006, Milena Miconi, who played Laura, the mayor of Gubbio as well as Anceschi's love interest and Simone Montedoro who has been playing the role of Captain Giulio Tommasi, successor to Anceschi, since the sixth season. The seventh season of the series has recently been broadcast on Italian national TV.

From season 8, Don Matteo is filmed in HDTV 1080i. RAI announced an eighth season will be aired on Rai 1 and Rai HD by fall 2011.

Syndication

The series is syndicated in the United States by MHz Networks.^[1]

Synopsis

The plot primarily revolves around the titular Matteo, a Catholic priest with an impressive insight in human nature, aiding the carabinieri (police) station in solving crimes (almost always murder cases). In this he usually finds support in Antonio Cecchini, a high-ranking officer who often shares with him important details and clues, but also hostility, in the figure of Cecchini's direct superior, Flavio Anceschi, who has little tolerance for the priest's continuous interference with the investigation.

Cast

The major actor is Terence Hill as Don Matteo, a Catholic priest that always resolves mysteries around his city, Gubbio; Nino Frassica is Maresciallo Cecchini, best friend of Don Matteo; Simone Montedoro and Pamela Saino are respectively the captain Giulio Tommasi and Patrizia Cecchini, the daughter of Nino, they marry on the last episode of the eight season. The minor actors are: Natalie Guettà, the house-keeper of Don Matteo; Laura Glavan, the sixteen year-old mother Laura ; Caterina Sylos Labini is Caterina Cecchini, wife of Nino and mother of Patrizia and Assuntina; other characters are Pippo, Agostino, Severino and Ghisoni.

Episodes

Reception

The series received two awards at the 42nd Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2002: Terence Hill won the award for Best Actor and Alessandro Jacchia won the award for Best Producer.^[2]

References