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Airdate: Zen

Rufus Sewell stars as a dashing detective in three BBC telemovies filmed in Rome.

BBC-produced Zen, starring Rufus Sewell as a dashing Italian detective, begins on ABC1 on January 22nd.

Based on the books Vendetta, Cabal and Ratking by Michael Dibdin, the three telemovies filmed in Rome were well-received by critics but ultimately canned by newly-installed BBC1 controller Danny Cohen.

Last March there were rumblings about the possibility of the show being salvaged given it had sold to Australia, Denmark, Holland, Japan and Sweden.

Deception. Subterfuge. Kidnappings. Cover-ups. Organised crime… and that’s just the police force. But as Aurelio Zen is about to discover, bending the rules doesn’t always have to mean immoral standards… and sometimes it’s best to let the heart rule the head.

With a recent marriage break-up and a drifting career, Venetian-born Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell – Middlemarch, The Pillars Of The Earth, The Eleventh Hour) is reaching the end of a bad part of his life. A formidable detective, he’s always put honesty before advancement. As admirable as this may be, it’s made him enemies and held back his career. The arrival of clever and ambitious Tania Moretti (Caterina Murino – Casino Royale, Die, Made In Italy) to the team sees Zen’s vigour reawakened. When offered a high profile assignment at the instruction of the ministry, which is desperate to blame someone – anyone – for the murder of an eccentric billionaire, Zen decides to take it.

Zen’s investigations take him from crowded Rome to the spectacular Italian countryside as he negotiates a complex string of murder cases through three episodes, never afraid to question authority or use a few unorthodox methods to see justice done.

All set against a backdrop of Rome at its most stunning…

8:30pm Sunday January 22 ABC1

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