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Coming to MHz Choice in October (2017)

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Press inquiries click here: PRESS CONTACT FORM

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Fall premieres? We’ve got ’em! Here’s a run down of new and returning series premiering in October ONLY on MHz Choice!

FULL PREMIERE SCHEDULE

Oct. 3: Missing

MYSTERY | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

In this dark and suspenseful four-part miniseries, Helena Bergström (the original Annika Bengtzon) plays Maja Silver, an inspector with the Stockholm police department who returns to her hometown in the Swedish Bible Belt in an attempt to reconnect with her daughter.


Related article:
First Look: Missing


Oct. 3: A Dangerous Fortune

DRAMA | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-MA

Based on Ken Follett’s world-wide bestselling novel (more than 7 million copies), A Dangerous Fortune is a story of love, unfulfilled passion, greed, power and intrigue, set against the backdrop of Victorian London’s financial world. Rich and poor co-exist fitfully across an economic chasm and the first budding women’s movement begins opening new doors to empowerment. Directed by Christian Schwochow (“West”, “Open The Wall”, “The Tower”), the opulent drama stars Dominic Thorburn, Laura de Boer, Jeanette Hain (“The Reader”), Maria Dragus (“The White Ribbon”), Luca Marinelli (“The Great Beauty”), David Bennent (“Tin Drum”) and many more.



Oct. 10: Henning Mankell: Homo Narrans

NONFICTION – DOCUMENTARY | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

On October 5th, 2015, Swedish writer Henning Mankell sadly passed away in Gothenburg at the age of 67. Mankell was one of the world’s best-selling writers with more than 40 million books sold worldwide. He was a leading figure in the wave of “Nordic Noir” fiction and is perhaps best known for his novels about inspector Kurt Wallander, which resulted in 32 Swedish TV movies starring Krister Henriksson. Mankell was diagnosed with cancer and in 2015 he asked his close friend and renowned documentary filmmaker Stefan Jarl to film his “testament”. The result is a 50-minute documentary, Homo Narrans, which shows never-before-seen footage of Mankell sharing his thoughts on the world and on his life’s work. It was Henning Mankell´s request to release the film after his passing.

Author Henning Mankell


Oct. 10: Turkish For Beginners (Season 2)

COMEDY | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Teenage Lena is horrified when her anti-disciplinarian mother moves their family in with her Turkish boyfriend and his two kids. Cultures clash and hormones rage in this hilarious and critically-acclaimed German comedy – it’s The Brady Bunch with sex! Season Two picks up with Lena caught in a dilemma: should she follow her head and stick with her boyfriend Axel, or follow her heart and pursue a relationship with Cem? Meanwhile, Yagmur starts receiving anonymous messages from a secret admirer, Doris’ sister returns to Berlin (much to the chagrin of Doris!) and Metin begins planning the ultimate proposal… 

Catch up on SEASON 1 here!

Josefine Preuß and Elyas M'Barek star in Turkish for Beginners


Oct. 24: Antarctica’s Secrets/Antarctica: Antarctica: Living on the Edge

NONFICTION – DOCUMENTARY | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

If you liked March of the Penguins, you’ll love these fascinating French documentaries about the frozen continent!

Antarctica's Secrets / Antarctica: Life on the Edge

Oct. 24: Anti-Drug Squad (Season 2)

DRAMA – CRIME | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Detective Daria Lucente has been promoted as the new chief of the Anti-Drug Squad. She’s out for revenge against the drug dealers who killed her husband and partner during a drug deal gone awry. Now, she and her team of experts aim bring down the entire cartel and its new boss…

Catch up on SEASON 1 here!

Laura Glavan stars in Anti-Drug Squad



First Look: Turkish for Beginners (Season 2)

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Season 2 premieres Oct. 10th!

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Get ready for more clashing cultures and raging hormones as Season 2 of the hilarious and critically-acclaimed German comedy Turkish for Beginners premieres October 10th on MHz Choice!

Premieres October 10th!

Praised by DW as “a highly entertaining bonanza of cultural stereotypes,” Turkish for Beginners stars Josefine Preuß as Lena Schneider, a typical German teenager living with a single mom, Doris, and her dorky little brother, Nils. Doris is a free-spirited, anti-authoritarian psychologist; her idea of good parenting is to give the kids free reign and to talk it out afterwards. So far, so good. But Lena is horrified when Doris decides to move the family in with her Turkish boyfriend Metin and his two kids! Now, not only does Lena have to adjust to life in a new house and a new school, but she also has two brand-new step-siblings to deal with – Cem, a macho wannabe whose main goal in life is being cool, and the stern, hyper-religious Yagmur, who masks her grief over her own mother’s death by throwing herself into Islam. Towards the end of the first season, the family expands further when Doris’ right-wing, xenophobic father moves in with them. One big happy, right? Things get even more complicated when Lena and Cem begin to fall for each other. Did we mention this is the most un-PC show ever? Yes, it’s The Brady Bunch with sex!

Season Two picks up with Lena caught in a dilemma: should she follow her head and stick with her boyfriend Axel, or follow her heart and pursue a relationship with Cem? Meanwhile, Yagmur starts receiving anonymous messages from a secret admirer, Doris’ sister returns to Berlin (much to the chagrin of Doris!) and Metin begins planning the ultimate proposal…

One of the challenges of creating English subtitles for a foreign language sitcom is the sheer amount of dialogue in each installment. For example, the average episode of Turkish for Beginners features 400 individual subtitles – that’s a lot of on-screen text to fit into less than a half hour! Combine that with the rapid-fire delivery of the actors, the mixture of spoken German and Turkish (often swapping back and forth in the same scene) and Lena’s stream of consciousness voice-over commentary (which we signify using italics) – not to mention the s-stuttering Costa and his unique v-verbal t-tics – and it’s no wonder that it takes just as long to subtitle a single 25-minute Turkish episode as it does to subtitle a complete 90-minute Tatort! It’s a time-consuming process of laying in the original translations scene-by-scene, re-writing and re-timing each and every subtitle to make sure all the punch lines land – and that they’re up on screen long enough for you to read them! (We watch each episode in real-time with the finished subtitles to make sure they’re just right. And often find ourselves laughing out loud at them again.)

Lena (Josefine Preuß) and Cem (Elyas M'Barek)
Doris (Anna Stieblich) and Metin (Adnan Maral)

So get ready for a bumper season (24 episodes this time!) of love, laughs and a ton of uniquely German* pop culture references! (This is the only show that can casually reference Goethe in one scene and debate the relative merits of Bavarian Tatort in the next.) Growing up has never been this much fun!

Yagmur (Pegah Ferydoni) is in love!
Lena (Josefine Preuß) and Axel (Axel Schreiber)

Random notes:

* In the early episodes, Axel torments Cem by singing the ‘TKKG’ theme song. ‘TKKG’ is a long-running junior detective – think ‘The Hardy Boys’ or ‘The Famous Five’ – series of radio dramas. Yes, that’s still a thing in Germany.

* In the episode where Yagmur tries on makeup, she compares herself to actress Sibel Kekilli. These days, Kekilli is best known for her role as Shae in Game of Thrones. Kekilli joins the regular cast of Tatort: Borowski beginning with Season 2, Episode 6 (‘Borowski and the Matter of Pure Taste’) – playing free-spirit Sarah Brandt.

* One final note: In Episode 209, we reference Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen as being Germany’s defense minister, a post she assumed in 2013. This episode was filmed in 2006, when von der Leyen was the Minister of Family Affairs and Youth. We apologize for the temporal anomaly.


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First Look: Henning Mankell – Homo Narrans

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 Documentary ‘Henning Mankell: Homo Narrans’ makes its U.S. premiere on MHz Choice October 10th.

Premiering October 10th

Before he died in 2015, Swedish writer Henning Mankell asked his friend and renowned documentary filmmaker Stefan Jarl to film his “testament”. The resulting doc shows never-before-seen footage of one of the world’s best-selling writers, a leading figure in the wave of “Nordic Noir” fiction best known for his novels about Inspector Kurt Wallander.

In Henning Mankell: Homo Narrans, he speaks with the candor and the urgency of a dying man. Subjects range from details about his life as an artist, to politics and the avoidance of death by modern Western society. Intercut with his interview are excerpts of his poetry, read by his friend Krister Henriksson, who played the definitive (and longest running) version of Kurt Wallander on TV.

Mankell was prolific – in addition to the 40 novels he wrote during his lifetime, he also wrote many children’s books and 42 plays. MHz Choice viewers are already familiar with Talisman, the series he co-wrote (and appeared in) with Hamilton creator Jan Guillou, and with Kennedy’s Brain, based on his novel. And in an interesting stroke of coincidence, premiering on the same day as Henning Mankell: Homo Narrans is one of two episodes of Tatort: Borowski that Mankell wrote the story for – Season Two, Episode 7, “Borowski and the Fourth Man.”


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The Best TV Series To Learn German

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Hallo!

Tired of struggling with irregular verbs and declension rules? Why not put your textbook aside for a while and immerse yourself in some top notch series from Germany? Good for advanced beginner students to old German language pros!


Tatort: Cologne

DRAMA – CRIME | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Tatort: Cologne. Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Berendt) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär).

Cologne is known for its cathedral and its carnival, but Germany’s party-loving metropolis is also rife with crime. Among those whose job it is to find the city’s murderers and their motives are homicide inspectors Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk. With his chiseled features and melancholy gaze, Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt) is the ladies’ man who can get the most reserved upper-crust woman and the toughest, tight-lipped madam to willingly part with her secrets. But while his quick temper often gets him into trouble, his robust, level-headed partner Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) is always there to help him out. Schenk’s stocky frame and good-natured ways belie his physical and mental agility, as well as his dogged persistence. Together, Freddy and Max are two of the most popular investigators in the 47-year history of the Tatort franchise.



Tatort: Borowski

DRAMA – CRIME | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Tatort: Borowski

Detective Klaus Borowski is a quixotic, social disaster who manages to offend everyone while solving crimes in the port city of Kiel. His infuriating mix of callousness and sensitivity serves him well on the job, but gets him in trouble with everyone in his private life. His assistant, his ex-wife, his daughter and his shrink all want to throttle him most of the time, unless he’s having one of his rare good moments – in which case, he’s delightful.



Crime Scene Cleaner

COMEDY | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Bjarne Mädel stars in Crime Scene Cleaner

In this immensely popular German comedy, Bjarne Mädel stars as Heiko “Schotty” Schotte – a man whose work begins where others pass in horror. He’s a contract cleaner, sent to sanitize crime scenes after the police have finished their investigations.



The Weissensee Saga

DRAMA | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

The Weissensee Saga

A sweeping, gripping family saga of conflicting loyalties, love and betrayal, set behind the Iron Curtain in 1980s East Berlin. Uwe Kockisch (Donna Leon’s Brunetti) stars as Hans Kupfer, a Stasi officer whose youngest son, Martin, falls in love with Julia, the daughter of a dissident singer. Their courtship threatens the safety of both families, and sets into motion tumultuous events which play out over the course of the subsequent decade.



Turkish for Beginners

COMEDY | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Turkish for Beginners, Season 2

Teenage Lena is horrified when her anti-disciplinarian mother moves their family in with her Turkish boyfriend and his two kids. Cultures clash and hormones rage in this hilarious and critically-acclaimed German comedy!


First Look: Antarctica

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Antarctica, a spellbinding new documentary series about the frozen continent, premieres October 24th on MHz Choice!

Premieres October 24th!

In 2016, photographers Laurent Ballesta and Vincent Munier joined a French expedition aboard a polar icebreaker to document the marvels of the frozen continent, both on the ice and under it. The three-part documentary series Antarctica showcases their work, and serves as a chronicle of the effect climate change is having on the unique and diverse wildlife in this harsh environment.

The story is told three overlapping installments: The first two programs are narrated in English, with interviews and testimonies in French with English subtitles, and the final program is entirely in French with English subtitles. ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ and ‘Antarctica: Living on the Edge’ showcase the flora and fauna of the rapidly changing continent, and the feature-length ‘In the Footsteps of the Emperor’ focuses on the life cycle of the emperor penguin.

Production Stills

Needless to say, the photography is stunning  – particularly the underwater sequences – and the penguins are arguably even more compelling than they were in the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins. Laurent Ballesta’s still photographs from the expedition have also been published in National Geographic  – you can see some samples of his work here.

Antarctica premieres October 24th on MHz Choice!

First Look: Anti-Drug Squad (Season 2)

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Premieres October 24th!

Ready for another wild ride through the underbelly of Rome? We can’t tell you much more than that because of spoilers – but if you’re in the mood for a terrific ensemble drama and fast-paced action, tune in! Season 2 of Anti-Drug Squad begins premiering on Oct. 24th on MHz Choice.

Coming to MHz Choice in November (2017)

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Press inquiries click here: PRESS CONTACT FORM

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November premieres? We’ve got ’em! Here’s a run down of new and returning series premiering in November ONLY on MHz Choice!

FULL PREMIERE SCHEDULE

Nov. 14: Nero Wolfe (Series Premiere)

MYSTERY | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

Curmudgeonly aesthete Nero Wolfe may be one of Rome’s finest investigators, but he’d rather tend to his orchids. Newly transplanted from the US, he’s ready for clients who pay well and don’t irritate him excessively. Based on the classic novels by Rex Stout.

Nero Wolfe


Nov. 28: Magellan (Season 2 Premiere)

MYSTERY | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

Inspector Magellan may have one daughter who’s flown the coop, but life is still busy with his youngest, Cordelia and his quirky friend, Paul. Then there’s the day job – solving crimes in the beautiful town of Saignac. For that, he’s got two secret weapons: an intrepid assistant and his journalist girlfriend, Florence. But there’s always time to sit around his favorite restaurant, enjoying his friend Nabil’s cooking and discussing cases with Paul and Florence. As the French say, “Eat well, laugh a lot, love abundantly.” (Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup) Pull up a chair and join the fun!

Magellan

Related article:
NY Times Reviews Magellan


Nov. 28: Anti-Drug Squad (Season 2 Finale)

DRAMA – CRIME | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Detective Daria Lucente has been promoted as the new chief of the Anti-Drug Squad. She’s out for revenge against the drug dealers who killed her husband and partner during a drug deal gone awry. Now, she and her team of experts aim bring down the entire cartel and its new boss…



Nov. 28: Turkish For Beginners (Season 2 Finale)

COMEDY | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

The hilarious and increasingly outrageous German sitcom ends its sophomore season on a high note! Will Cem choose Lena or Ulla? Will Lena learn to relax and stop freaking out about everything? Will Yagmur ever find true love? Will Doris and Metin make it to the shamanic wedding ceremony on time? Will there be a third season? (Yes, there will be!)



NY Times Review: Missing

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In Three Nordic Noir Streaming Series, Women Investigators Fight the Chill

Mike Hale, NY Times 10/25/17

[In Missing], Stockholm detective Maja Silver is unwillingly pulled into a case. Having chosen her career over her family years before, she makes a vacation visit to her small hometown to try to reconnect with the daughter she left behind. [more]

Read full NY Times review here

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Top 5 Spookiest Episodes on MHz Choice

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BOO!

Last year, a very enthusiastic subscriber asked for recommendations on what we thought were the creepiest MHz Choice episodes to watch on Halloween. We put together a personalized list for her, and this year we decided to expand that list and share it with everyone! So, grab your favorite pumpkin spiced beverage and get ready to be scared as we present The Top 5 Spookiest Episodes on MHz Choice!


Dolmen – The Complete Series

MYSTERY | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Dolmen

What could be more perfect than coming home to marry your childhood sweetheart? Watching Dolmen, of course! Police officer Marie Kremaur returns to the beautiful, craggy island of Ty Kern off the coast of Brittany to marry Christian, but wedding plans turn into funeral preparations as the island becomes the stage for strange, nightmarish happenings.

Why it’s great Halloween viewing:
It’s very gothic and very campy, and crabs are scary fun! There are also ghosts, bleeding stones, magical braids and perfectly-coiffed cops.


The Undertaker – Ghosts

MYSTERY | SWITZERLAND | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

The Undertaker

Luc and Fabio find themselves drawn to the case of a young woman found hanged in a haunted castle…

Why it’s great Halloween viewing:
Did we mention the haunted castle? Also – Fabio falls in love with a ghost!



Anatomy of Evil – Fear

MYSTERY | AUSTRIA | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Anatomy of Evil

When a six-year-old girl disappears from her home in the mountain village of Semmering in Lower Austria, ex-con Max Rieger is instantly arrested. Criminal psychologist Richard Brock is called in to make Rieger talk, but Brock doubts his guilt. Something else has happened here, something related to the local psychiatric clinic…

Why it’s great Halloween viewing:
It’s a disturbingly dark riff on Thomas Mann’s ‘The Magic Mountain’ – and you’ll never guess the ending!


Tatort: Cologne – Martinsfire

DRAMA – CRIME | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Tatort: Cologne

The body of a four-year-old boy is found in a remote village. Freddy suspects they’re dealing with a psychopath and Max befriends Mirko, an emotionally neglected eight-year-old whom he suspects knows more than he’s willing to admit. As they investigate the murder, Freddy and Max are drawn further into a world of children’s fears – and grown-ups’ nightmares…

Why it’s great Halloween viewing:
There’s more than a hint of Stephen King in this eerie fever dream of an episode, as Freddy and Max encounter the strange denizens of an impoverished rural community and their disturbed children. Spooky direction by Niki Stein, who helmed some of the most memorable of the early Tatort: Cologne episodes.



Crime Scene Cleaner – An Assignment From Beyond

COMEDY | GERMANY | GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

Crime Scene Cleaner

Schotty is called in to clean a house where a homeless man was found dead. He arrives to discover that he’s not the only one there to cleanse the property; a shaman has also been brought in to perform ancient rites!

Why it’s great Halloween viewing:
Because Schotty rules, OK?



Hey, MHz Choice, Why Only One Season?

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Why Only One Season?

That’s a question we get asked a lot at MHz Choice, and there are a variety of answers depending on which particular series is being referred to. Many times, the answer is simply because that’s all that’s been produced! (We love Blue Eyes, for example, but there is no second season.) Also, the majority of our programs do not follow the standard American production pattern of a set number of new episodes every year. Shows like Detective Montalbano, Tatort:Borowski and Magellan premiere two new (feature-length) installments per year, give or take, in their countries of origin. Other series, like Beck, can have a gap of four or five years between episodes. And lastly, sometimes a series that we love just doesn’t land with our subscribers so we forgo pursuing subsequent seasons due to lack of subscriber interest. So, as you can see, it can get complicated.

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions regarding seasons and our (hopefully) helpful answers!


Why is there only one season of Detective Montalbano?

When we launched MHz Choice, we decided to group all the episodes (26 at the time) together as a single season. Of course, that means that every time a pair of new episodes is produced, they’re added to the end of the existing season rather than forming their own (very short) new season. The same logic applied to Nicolas Le Floch (12 episodes in total) and the 17-episode first “season” of Tatort: Cologne.


Why is there no Wallander Season 2 on MHz Choice?

At this time, we only have the rights to stream Seasons 1 and 3 of Wallander starring Krister Henriksson on MHz Choice.


What’s up with the number of seasons of A French Village? Why are they listed differently on IMDb than how they are on MHz Choice?

A French Village is a great example of why it’s always best to go by the number of episodes rather than by the number of “seasons”. Although A French Village was originally produced in 12-episode blocks, some of the earlier episodes aired in France in six-episode blocks. Thus, the number of “seasons” can vary depending on whether one is referring to a six-episode or 12-episode grouping. For the purposes of MHz Choice, and to keep our DVD releases consistent, the first five seasons of A French Village were grouped together in 12 episodes blocks, for a total of 60 episodes. Episodes 61-66 are grouped together as Season 6 on MHz Choice, and the final six episodes will premiere on MHz Choice in 2018 as Season 7. (No, we can’t wait either!)


Why are there only two episodes in Beck Season 4?

After Beck’s third season ended in 2006, there was a gap of three years before the series returned with two feature films, which premiered theatrically in Sweden in 2009 and 2010. These two movies constitute Season 4, before the series returned to its usual eight-episode format with the fifth (and, at the time, final) season in 2015/16.

What? Why are there only five seasons of Beck on MHz Choice? There’s a sixth season listed on IMDb!

Another good example of why it’s always best to go by the number of episodes rather than by the number of “seasons”. Here, we simply grouped the episodes differently. Episodes 27-30 of Beck originally aired in Sweden in 2015 and episodes 31-34 aired there in 2016. When MHz Choice premiered these eight episodes in the US in September of 2016, we grouped them all together as a single fifth season for ease of use. (Similarly, when MHz Choice premieres the brand-new Beck episodes in 2018, we’ll group them all together as Season 6. And so on.)


Why is there only one season of Bukow & König on MHz Choice? IMDb says there’s 46 seasons!

That’s true, the Internet Movie Database does indeed state that Bukow & König started in 1971 – a year before Bukow actor Charly Hübner was born! The Bukow & König episodes are part of the Polizeiruf 110 series – basically the East German version of Tatort, a banner under which different regions of Germany produce one or two movies a year featuring their own sets of detectives, like Freddy and Max in Tatort: Cologne or Klaus Borowski in Tatort: Borowski. Here’s what happened: after we released our very popular Bukow & König DVD sets several years ago, someone updated the IMDb page for the entire Polizeiruf 110 TV crime franchise, renaming the whole thing as Bukow & König – even though the episodes starring Hübner as Alexander Bukow and Anneke Kim Sarnau as Katrin König didn’t begin until 2010! (Polizeiruf 110 itself did indeed start in 1971, a year after Tatort.) So no, there’s not 46 seasons of Bukow & König. That would be silly. (There are some new episodes though – see our Crime Scene Cleaner answer below.)


I see more episodes of Crime Scene Cleaner have been produced! Why aren’t they on MHz Choice?

We love Schotty. And Sascha. New episodes coming in 2018! Stay tuned!


 MHz Choice is available in the U.S. & Canada. Free 30-day trial at mhzchoice.com

First Look: Nero Wolfe

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Eight-part Italian mystery series ‘Nero Wolfe’ makes its U.S. premiere November 14th only on MHz Choice!

Premieres November 14th!

Move over, MHz Choice investigators – we realize you’re an illustrious, iconoclastic group. The best of the best, from all over Europe. You include the likes of Detective Montalbano, Saga from The Bridge, Kurt Wallander, Inspector Maigret, Guido Brunetti, Martin Beck, Klaus Borowski, Ballauf and Schenk, Maria Wern….  you’re a big group. You’ve worked long hours, risked your lives, strained your relationships and gotten your hearts broken by various cases, You’ve earned your right to be in our hall of fame. But this is one of those times we need to add to your ranks. There’s a new guy in town and some things we need to tell you. Like, he’s a doozy. Meet American expat Nero Wolfe.

Francesco Pannofino stars as Nero Wolfe

He’s smart.  Nero Wolfe got kicked out of the US because the FBI was threatened by his ability. How’s that for starters?

He’s as eccentric as some of you. Nero Wolfe doesn’t leave his house, hangs around in his greenhouse with his orchids six hours a day and is OK with humanity but doesn’t like people… especially women. He’s a gourmand who consumes only high-end foods, with one exception – beer. His most common verbal response is a long, low grunt. For fun, be sure to catch him in his yellow pajamas or bright gardening apron.

You think you got a backstory? Let’s just say his is tortured. Check out episode 8, ‘A Pair of Swords’. The guy did have a dramatic wartime love affair with a woman but there were… complications.

He won’t talk while he’s eating. Hear that, Salvo? Nero’s your soul mate in this. For you both, mealtimes are moments of hushed worship. God help us if either one of you ever encounters chemically processed food. 

You think you got a nice backdrop for your stories? Produced by RAI, Nero Wolfe takes place in Rome during the ‘50s. Talk about a great period for clothing and cars!  Fantastic musical scoring. Outstanding ensemble cast, with Nero Wolfe played by Francesco Pannofino, who looks like he could be John Goodman’s Italian cousin. Nero dresses to the nines in tailored clothing, and could have a second career modeling for big and tall stores.

So people, relax. You’re all brilliant, intuitive, amazing detectives. There’s plenty of love for each of you among the fans. We adore watching you catch criminals over and over again, we really do. Just skooch over to make room for Nero on the bench. Um, more. He’s a big guy. Here’s an introductory clip of his arrival to town:

Deep Background
Nero Wolfe is the brainchild of Rex Stout, a prolific American mystery writer who wrote 33 novels and 39 novellas about Nero and his assistant, Archie Goodwin between the years of 1934 and 1975. Stout first presented his super-human investigator in the 1934 novel ‘Fer-de-Lance’, which the MHz Choice episode, ‘Snake Track’ is based on. Sales for ‘Fer-de-Lance’ skyrocketed, and the subsequent novels were all bestsellers. Besides writing fiction, Stout took active part in civic affairs throughout his life, as a political and social thinker and writer. He served in the US Navy between 1906 and 1908, and during WWII he contributed to the war effort as a propaganda writer, radio host and volunteer coordinator for other writers. After the war, he continued writing Nero Wolfe novels, which earned him multiple awards and accolades from mystery writers around the world. During this period he also served as president of the Authors Guild and Mystery Writers of America and received the Grand Master Award from the latter. Into the ‘60s and ‘70s, he was popular on the radio/talk show/magazine interview circuit.

Like his literary creation, Stout was larger than life. He lived to the age of 89 and published his last book ‘A Family Affair’ during the last year of his life. Enthusiasm for his work still runs strong, and there’s an active group based in New York called The Wolfe Pack that meets regularly, publishes a journal twice a year and boasts membership from around the world.


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Are you ready to join the ‘Nero Wolfe’ pack?

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Eight-part Italian mystery series ‘Nero Wolfe’ makes its U.S. premiere November 14th only on MHz Choice!

My fellow citizens of MHz Nation, we live among those who know nothing of life’s seedier side. Content to traverse the world in innocence, crowding museums and posing in front of fountains, those walking fannypacks out there are missing out the good stuff: the sinister backstreets of Florence, the stark outskirts of Malmö, the bitter cold of a Rostock cobblestone. Not us. We know what evil lurks in the heart of man – and it’s awesome! Settle in for a bumpy ride as we spin the Wheel of Murder.

Francesco Pannofino stars in Nero Wolfe

THE SHOW: Nero Wolfe is an eight-part Italian mystery series, set in Rome, based on the classic detective stories of Rex Stout. It premiers Nov. 14 and trust that I already hear what you’re saying: “But, Al, isn’t Nero Wolfe kind of an American classic?” Well… “And, didn’t he insist on hunkering in his luxurious brownstone pretty much all the time, never diverging from his orderly life?” OK, yes, but stay with me! As iconic as this New York detective truly is, he was, in fact, born in Montenegro – a mere hop, skip and a jump across the Adriatic from Italy — and spent his young adulthood traveling Europe. The guy who hates to get around has, actually, gotten around plenty. It’s not unthinkable, even, that he would speak fluent Italian when he decamps to avoid his jealous rivals at the FBI. Now, considering the historical period we’re dealing with, Italian/Montenegrin relations might not have been at their best, but… wait. You know what? We don’t need a reason for Nero Wolfe and his dapper boy wonder, Archie Goodwin, to be in Italy speaking Italian! Yes, their association with the Empire State is deep but, as they say: when in Rome!

THE FORMULA: Stout broke the mold with his nearly 400-pound detective, setting Wolfe apart from his contemporaries with meticulous habits (obsessive orchid cultivation) and punctilious appetites (a 200-word plain omelet recipe), while still imbuing the stories with the qualities mystery lovers… well, love. Curmudgeonly genius? Check. Loaded down with quirks? See above. Efficient and appealing in-house staff without whom our detective could not function? You bet. Pannofino’s Wolfe does not disappoint. Slimmer than the literary hero, Pannofino still has got plenty of gravitas going on, and his two-way needling relationship with Pietro Sermonti’s Archie Goodwin is perfectly prickly (but rooted in love).

[LOCATION] WAS LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER: It’s hard to beat Rome as a backdrop for anything, really. The breathtaking architecture being, as it were, breathtaking and all. Death looks particularly good under those arches. What really makes this thing zing, however, is the Italian cast. They managed to lift a quintessentially American set of archetypes and give them Italian counterparts that feel both authentic to the original and to the new location. I approached with skepticism and finished by slow-clapping the success of this whole enterprise.

BLANKET STATEMENT: Some Wheel of Murder devotees might prefer their murders to be, ah, slightly less murder-y, employing that universal trick of eschewing televisual blood and guts: “watching” the tense moments from beneath a blanket. Nero Wolfe, I’m glad to say, will not disturb your snugness in the least. In fact, the period clothing, cars and other details – right down to Pietro Sermonti’s perfectly floppy Archie Goodwin haircut – are nothing short of delightful.

Pietro Sermonti (LEFT) & Francesco Pannofino (RIGHT)

HEY, THERE: Hat-tip to Sermonti bringing the subtle smolder as serial ladykiller, Archie G. Check this Saturday Evening Post illustration of ya boy and ask yourself: “Who’s the real wolf(e) here?” Especially in his dealings with Rosa Petrini (the very winning Giulia Bevilacqua) who has his number from the jump, Goodwin can’t hide his bedroom eyes.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: You have to hand it to Casanova Multimedia for allowing Nero Wolfe his single low-brow indulgence: his daily beer. They gave him the perfect in-house Italian chef, the adorable Nanni (Andy Luotto) to fulfill his every gastronomic desire and, here in the mother country for the world’s greatest wines, is Wolfe with his “Remmers.” That’s how dedicated they are to getting this interpretation just right. You can almost see Pannofino steeling himself as he contemplates chugging a brew on top of one of Nanni’s delicious fish sauces, but he does it. The man’s a pro. Still, if we’re planning the perfect menu for a night of Wolfe-watching, must we also fall in line with this flagrant foul? While I suppose it would be okay to throw down a pizza and toss back a cold one, these things are 90-minutes long and full of meaty mysteries and savory details. Make it autentico and curl up with the perfect carbonara with the regional wine of your choice.


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 MHz Choice is available in the U.S. & Canada. Free 30-day trial at mhzchoice.com


About the author:
Allison Lowe Huff is a freelance writer and editor with an overly concentrated interest in mystery stories from anywhere and everywhere.


NY Times – What’s on TV Tuesday: ‘Nero Wolfe’

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NY Times – What’s on TV Tuesday: ‘Nero Wolfe’

From the NY Times 11/14/17:

Based on the detective fiction of the novelist Rex Stout, this series stars Francesco Pannofino as Nero Wolfe, a crabby aesthete and investigator who heavily relies on his assistant, Archie Goodwin (Pietro Sermonti), to do all his legwork. In this second adaptation by the Italian broadcaster RAI, Nero and Archie are newly transplanted from the United States to Italy and ready to crack the toughest of cases.

Read NY Times article here

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First Look: Magellan (Season 2)

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Season 2 premieres 11/28/17!

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MHz Choice subscriber favorite ‘Magellan’ returns for its second season November 28th only on MHz Choice!

My fellow citizens of MHz Nation, we live among those who know nothing of life’s seedier side. Content to traverse the world in innocence, crowding museums and posing in front of fountains, those walking fannypacks out there are missing out the good stuff: the sinister backstreets of Florence, the stark outskirts of Malmö, the bitter cold of a Rostock cobblestone. Not us. We know what evil lurks in the heart of man – and it’s awesome! Settle in for a bumpy ride as we spin the Wheel of Murder.

Navigate the crimes of France with Magellan

Jacques Spiesser in Magellan

THE SHOW: Magellan is an long-running detective series, set in the fictional city of Saignac and starring Jacques Spiesser as the titular commissaire, Simon Magellan. It was created by Laurent Mondy (who also created the cop show Cordier), and if there’s ever been a more charming police detective on any television show in any country, I don’t know about him. Mon Dieu, this guy. The whole thing is so wonderfully watchable, it doesn’t even matter if Magellan solves the crime (he always does), I just want to keep hanging out with him. Season 1 premiered on MHz Choice earlier this year and is available for savoring like a good French meal. Season 2 begins November 28th!

THE FORMULA: When the Wheel of Murder spins, there are many of us, wrapped tightly in our cardigans, on the lookout for the comfort and healing of a heart-warming “cozy.” I mean, as heart-warming as a show about someone’s violent death can be – you know what I’m saying. I’m happy to report that “Magellan” is as comforting a modern cozy as they come. It’s as if they looked across the Channel at England, lit a Gauloises, and were like, ‘let’s show these rosbifs how it’s done.” Jacques Spiesser rises triumphantly to the task, zeroing in on each suspect with a knowing focus, but never cruelty. In fact, he can seem downright sympathetic, perhaps because, in his home life, Magellan takes on the even more difficult job of raising two daughters while re-entering the dating pool. While on paper this last detail sounds like it could be a tired formulaic trope we’ve seen before, it’s truly quite funny, and the show manages to mingle these elements with the lightness of a perfect soufflé.

[LOCATION] WAS LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER: Though it was invented for “Magellan,” Saignac is meant to be a Northern province (though the Internet tells me the -ac suffix indicates Southern France? We won’t quibble), and the program is filmed in and around Lille. Well, what can I say? It’s stunning, as only a city that dates back to the Middle Ages can be. The architecture, the light, the countryside? The beautiful townsfolk with their baskets of flowers and perfectly perfect air of je ne sais quoi? C’est magnifique.

BLANKET STATEMENT: Cast off the blanket, this is a cower-free zone. Commissaire Magellan and his faithful and beautiful Lieutenant Berarya protect us from anything too unseemly. This is less about bloodstains than about Magellan calmly and methodically keeping the eccentric provincial locals and the city big-shots who habitually invade their space in balance.

Jacques Spiesser and Selma Kouchy in Magellan

HEY, THERE: Spiesser is one of those sleeper sex symbols, serving the Baby Boomer heat with an air of seen-it-all bemusement. “Oh, you stabbed someone to death?” [amicable smirk] “Ah, you did it for love?” [wide-eyed sigh]. Could it be that I’m ready to throw over my old favorite DI Tom Barnaby of Midsomer Murders? Let’s not get too crazy – I don’t speak very good French. Still, for a man of a certain age, he’s wonderfully compelling and leads the rest of the cast with excellent energy, as befitting the cinematic and theatrical legend he is.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: It’s MHz Choice night in your house and you’re ready to dig in to this French fare with gusto. Don’t worry if you’re not a Michelin-worthy chef – neither is Magellan. His inexplicable failures in the kitchen somehow only make him more appealing, so if you need to opt for a pizza and a bottle of French wine, who will ever be the wiser? He’s a good detective, but he’s not that good. Make it a French bread pizza. He’ll understand.

Who needs Wonder Woman?

Ever wonder how middle-aged, out-of-shape Magellan catches the bad guy? He’s got his own secret weapon, Lieutenant Berraya! Not that he gives her any props for physical prowess. In fact, after she chases the perp down, he always manages to take credit – with a big eye roll from her every time. Every couple – even crime fighting partners – have their schtick! Watch their schtick below:


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 MHz Choice is available in the U.S. & Canada. Free 30-day trial at mhzchoice.com


About the author:
Allison Lowe Huff is a freelance writer and editor with an overly concentrated interest in mystery stories from anywhere and everywhere. Follow her on Twitter @lowehuff.


MHz Choice Holiday Gift Guide (2017)


MHz Choice Series ‘Mammon’ Wins Emmy for Best International Drama

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We’ve got TWO big announcements to share today! First, at last night’s International Emmy® Awards ceremony in New York, season 2 of Norwegian crime thriller Mammon was given the top honor for Best Drama Series (2017)! With Mammon’s win, that makes a grand total of 2 Emmy® winners now streaming on MHz Choice! French cop drama Spiral won the Best Drama Emmy® in 2015.

By now you’re probably saying – “Where can I watch season 2 of Mammon?” That’s where our second announcement comes in. We’re proud to announce that MHz Choice will be premiering Mammon — Nothing Is Just Politics (Season 2) in the spring of 2018! Exclusively on MHz Choice!

Read more from today’s article in The Hollywood Reporter below.


MHz Networks Takes Emmy Winner ‘Mammon’ for North America

The Norwegian crime thriller won the best series prize at this year’s International Emmy Awards.

MHz Networks has picked up the second, stand-alone season of the Norwegian crime drama Mammon — Nothing Is Just Politics for North America.

Mammon is fresh off its success at this year’s International Emmy Awards, where it won the top honor of best drama series.

The series follows events at Norway’s largest newspaper, which is thrown into turmoil after one of its top journalists is brutally murdered. What follows is a deadly power play between media, national politics and big money interests.

The eight-episode hourlong drama, produced by NRK Drama, stars Jon Oigarden, Terje Stromdahl and Ingjerd Egeberg.

~ Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Report 11/21/17

Read full THR article here


Coming to MHz Choice in December (2017)

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Press inquiries click here: PRESS CONTACT FORM

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December premieres? We’ve got ’em! Here’s a run down of new and returning series premiering in December ONLY on MHz Choice!

FULL PREMIERE SCHEDULE

Dec. 12: Transatlantic Ties (Series Premiere)

DRAMA – CRIME | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

A two-part miniseries chronicling the true story of Boris Giuliano, a policeman in Palermo who revolutionized investigative procedures against the Mafia in the 1970s. His fluent English helped him establish a collaboration with US federal law enforcement to pursue transatlantic Sicilian heroin trafficking rings.



Dec. 19: Inspector Coliandro (Season 2 Premiere)

DRAMA – CRIME | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14

He’s one hot cop and Italy’s answer to Dirty Harry – or so he thinks! Giampaolo Morelli (Song of Napoli) stars as lovable doof Inspector Coliandro, one-part Clint Eastwood, one-part Inspector Clouseau, who along with his best friend Gargiulo works the mean streets of Bologna in a series of stylized and comic misadventures.


Related article:
Coliandro: Loveable Doof


Dec. 5, 12, 19, 26: Nero Wolfe (New episodes)

MYSTERY | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

Curmudgeonly aesthete Nero Wolfe may be one of Rome’s finest investigators, but he’d rather tend to his orchids. Newly transplanted from the US, he’s ready for clients who pay well and don’t irritate him excessively. Based on the classic novels by Rex Stout.



Dec. 5, 12, 19, 26: Magellan (New episodes)

MYSTERY | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-PG

MHz Choice fan favorite Inspector Magellan is back for a second season. He may have one daughter who’s flying the coop, but life is still busy with his youngest, Cordelia and his quirky friend, Paul. Then there’s the day job – solving crimes in the beautiful town of Saignac. For that, he’s got two secret weapons: an intrepid assistant and his journalist girlfriend, Florence. But there’s always time to sit around his favorite restaurant, enjoying his friend Nabil’s cooking and discussing cases with Paul and Florence. As the French say, Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup – “Eat well, laugh a lot, love abundantly.”



First Look: Transatlantic Ties

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Two-part Italian mafia drama ‘Transatlantic Ties’ premieres Dec. 12th only on MHz Choice!

My fellow citizens of MHz Nation, we live among those who know nothing of life’s seedier side. Content to traverse the world in innocence, crowding museums and posing in front of fountains, those walking fannypacks out there are missing out the good stuff: the sinister backstreets of Florence, the stark outskirts of Malmö, the bitter cold of a Rostock cobblestone. Not us. We know what evil lurks in the heart of man – and it’s awesome! Settle in for a bumpy ride as we spin the Wheel of Murder.

Get caught up in Transatlantic Ties

Adriano Giannini stars in Transatlantic Ties

THE SHOW: Transatlantic Ties is a two-part Italian miniseries based on the true story of Boris Giuliano, a legendary Sicilian policeman who boldly took on the Mafia at their most murderous and destructive moment up to that point – which is saying something. The Italian title for this is Boris Giuliano – A Policeman in Palermo, sort of a humble take on what he actually was: a hero. The guy left a stable life to put himself on the line to protect his countrymen from themselves. The modern methodology he instituted – gleaned from FBI training he personally sought out — changed the way organized crime was investigated in the region and likely saved many lives.

THE FORMULA: Obviously, we’re stepping out of the murder mystery formula here for a second – though there’s, sadly, still plenty of murder to go around. But, this fictionalized account of a true police story is still a police story, and comes with all the process-y goodness and tortured cop drama you can take, with the added simmering sauce of the complex Sicilian and Italian law enforcement and legal system. I mean, there’s regular police, state police, military police, magistrates, prosecutors, assorted other officials… If you like watching the secret and often violent ins and outs of how justice is done in a culture that dates back to the beginning of civilization – and I know you do! – Giuliano and co. were putting on a clinic.

[LOCATION] WAS LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER: Picture it: Sicily, 1963. The whole city of Palermo was mobbed up with drug trafficking and construction payola. Corruption, car bombs and, starting the following decade, the infamous mafia impressment of American pizza parlors into international money laundering schemes! Yes! That happened! It was called the Pizza Connection which, I know, sounds like a strip mall slice joint in Central Florida – and it IS that, also – but was actually an illegal heroin enterprise between the U.S. and Sicily and still stands today as the longest criminal jury trial in the federal courts in American history. Talk about a transatlantic tie. So, what I’m saying is: come for the unbelievably picturesque Southern Italian scenery and charming retro ’60s-’70s details, stay for the multicultural crime wave.

BLANKET STATEMENT: We’re spared most of the more sinister victimizations of your average crime show, but when you remember that the events depicted in Transatlantic Ties actually happened, you might want to pull that blanket over your head after all.

Boris (Adriano Giannini) listens in on a Mafia wiretap.

HEY, THERE: Let’s talk Adriano Giannini, who plays Giuliano with equal parts virility and humanity. They can put him in as many brown suits and wide ties as they can find, but nothing will hide the fact that the guy is ciao bello. The son of famed Italian actors Giancarlo Giannini and Livia Giampalmo, he’s famous enough in his own right that you may recognize him from the 2012 ABC series Missing, or more ignominious Madonna vanity project Swept Away. Even association with that turkey could not diminish his star quality.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: My family happens to be making tentative plans to travel to Italy this summer, and sometimes I wake up from dreams where I am happily drowning in a bowl of pasta. I ask you, what better way to go? Still, you have more options if you’re trying to make your MHz Choice night as authentic as possible. For example, Sicilian-style gelato is known to be the creamiest and most delicious of them and, on the streets of Palermo, you eat it on a brioche bun. What? Yes. The Italians even do ice cream sandwiches more intensely than everybody else. I say: go for it. Obviously, you’ll want to avoid your local Pizza Connection for this one, just to stay on the safe side.


You Might Also Like:

 MHz Choice is available in the U.S. & Canada. Free 30-day trial at mhzchoice.com


About the author:
Allison Lowe Huff is a freelance writer and editor with an overly concentrated interest in mystery stories from anywhere and everywhere. Follow her on Twitter @lowehuff.


A French Village Season 7: Premiere Date Set

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New episodes of A French Village coming in 2018!

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We’re proud to announce the final season of A French Village premieres January 30th, 2018 only on MHz Choice!

Premieres January 30th!

Almost a decade in the making, this absolutely superb historical series comes to an emotional and dramatic end when season 7 (episodes 66 – 72) premieres exclusively on MHz Choice on January 30th. Noted by the NY Times as “the first major French television series seriously to address collaboration during the Nazi occupation in World War II”, A French Village skips a conventional retelling of the War and instead, turns the genre on its head by stripping away battle sequences and exploring the complicated moral choices foisted upon ordinary people in an extraordinarily difficult time in world history. Quite frankly, this series is not to be missed.

Watch our exclusive teaser clip below:


Season 7 Production Stills


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First Look: Inspector Coliandro (Season 2)

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Season 2 premieres December 19th!

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He’s still one hot cop – Inspector Coliandro returns with a brand-new season premiering December 19th only on MHz Choice!

Premieres December 19th!

Giampaolo Morelli (Song of Napoli) returns as the lovable, retro doof (one-part Clint Eastwood, one-part Inspector Clouseau) who works the mean streets of Bologna in a series of stylized and comic misadventures. Season 2 sees our handsome but not-too-bright inspector tangling with Colombian drug dealers, scumbag talent scouts, American secret agents and even soccer hooligans!

Also back for more shenanigans are Giuseppe Soleri (mob boss Bosso in Inspector Nardone) as Coliandro’s best friend Gargiulo, and Alessandro Rossi as Coliandro’s immediate superior De Zan. Two actors fresh from supporting roles in *another* Italian favorite round out the returning cast: Paolo Sassanelli (who plays Matteo Ferri in Episode 7 of Nero Wolfe) as Inspector Gamberini – aka Gambero, aka “Shrimp”-  and Veronika Logan (who plays Trina Dei Bosco in Episode 8 of Nero Wolfe) as hard-nosed prosecutor “Justice” Longhi.

Inspector Coliandro Season 2 premieres December 19th only on MHz Choice. Bestiale!

The cast of Inspector Coliandro

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