At the end of his tour of Italy James May the British TV presenter gave a summation of his impressions of the country, He goes on to list that in spite of its chaotic political system, it’s unfathomable civil service its almost complete disorganization as a country in the nordic sense. But because of its many other attributes.  The food, wine, breathtaking scenery and history, unparalleled art, warmth of its people and general dolce vita ethos. The fact that the words ‘made in Italy’ add value to almost any modern manufactured item. Even its detractors who sneer and joke about the entire archipelago would secretly like to be Italian. I count myself amongst the people who would like to have come from that odd shaped piece of property sticking into the Mediterranean. Which brings me in a very Italian round about way to the TV police series:

The investigations of Lolita Lobosco

After a long period of work in the North, Deputy prosecutor  Lolita Lobosco returns to  Bari her hometown on the Adriatic coast in southern Italy.  In a world stubbornly ruled by males, Lolita chooses to remain herself without repressing her charm and beauty, indeed she uses these qualities to establish herself and fight prejudices. Freely based on Gabriella Genisi’s books. 

The backbone of the series like the dozens of other programs of this genre if fairly prosaic. A murder an investigation a solution. The thing that sets this series apart is the afore mentioned ‘made in Italy’ component. Shot mostly in the very picturesque seaside town of Bari our heroine Lolita (loli) Played by the striking Louisa Ranieri  and her sidekick Antonio Forte played by  Giovanni Ludeno . For Comic relief there is Esposito played by Jacopo Cullin.  All three with Lobosco in the lead set about solving misdeeds and murders in their town. Where this series differs from the others is the back story a kind of an elaborate rom com involving the whole extensive family, including Lobosco's mother Nunzia played by Lunetta Savino and her erstwhile romantic interest the sometimes bumbling greengrocer Trifoni played by Maurizio Donadoni and other neighborhood characters that most of the other series don’t delve into. The back stories are as engrossing and emotionally personal (often involving our lead actor) as the crime aspect. An ongoing story line is the death of Lobosco’s father early on in the series which forever haunts her, and is intent of finally solving.  Helping the cohesiveness, all the actors seem perfectly cast in their roles. You won’t have heard of any of them, its all there on the screen. Despite the crime aspect its mostly fun and romance, which is what sets this series apart.