He’s one hot cop and Italy’s answer to Dirty Harry – or so he thinks! Inspector Coliandro season 1 now streaming on MHz Choice!
Who is Inspector Coliandro? If you ask him, he’s a constantly put-upon super-cop who would have completely eradicated crime throughout Italy if only he hadn’t been stuck doing inventory in the police storeroom for a stupid mistake that anyone could have made. If you ask just about anyone else, he’s an ignorant, crude and politically-incorrect buffoon who’s certainly not feared by any criminals he’s chasing! The truth is somewhere in the middle: he’s one-part Clint Eastwood and one-part Inspector Clouseau, a lovable doof who works the mean streets of Bologna in a series of stylized and hilarious misadventures.
Based on the protagonist of a series of novels and short stories by Carlo Lucarelli – who also wrote the popular Detective De Luca series – the tone of the show is established right from the start, by the Saul Bass meets James Bond title sequence, each episode featuring a unique and different motif, to the closing blast of the series’ theme song ‘The Winner’ – inspired by Bobby Womack’s ‘Across 110th Street’ from the 1972 film of the same name.
From that Dirty Harry quote (it’s actually, as Coliandro corrects in one of the episodes, from the sequel Magnum Force), to Coliandro’s 007 ringtone and the movie posters littering Coli’s apartment (we’ll call him ‘Coli’ since he doesn’t have a first name and most of his other nicknames are definitely NSFW), this is a show where the more references you get, the more fun you’ll have. First and foremost, Coli sees himself as the Italian Harry Callahan – one can easily imagine him posing for selfies with his gun in front of one of the numerous Eastwood posters that line his apartment. Oh, look, here’s one now:
Keep an eye on those posters, by the way. If an episode opens and there’s a Bruce Lee one-sheet on the wall, then you know Coli’s in for a 90-minute riff on classic kung fu flicks; if it’s the poster from 1970’s Cotton Comes to Harlem (under its Italian title Pupe Calde e Mafia Nera) then you can expect a rip-roaring spoof of ‘70s blaxploitation cinema. Familiarity with Spaghetti Westerns is also helpful, but not required – and, of course, the Lethal Weapon, Rambo and Die Hard series!
The multi-talented Giampaolo Morelli stars as Coliandro, teaming up with his Song of Napoli collaborators Marco and Antonio Manetti, who direct every episode of the series. The show also stars Giuseppe Soleri (who played mob boss Bosso in Inspector Nardone) as Coliandro’s best friend Gargiulo, Enrico Silvestrin (former English-language VJ for MTV UK in the ‘90s) as his partner Trombetti, and the first episode guest stars Cesare Bocci (Detective Montalbano’s Mimi Augello) as Coliandro’s hero, Malerba.
Inspector Coliandro premieres on MHz Choice beginning January 3rd. Subsequent seasons will premiere later in 2017.
