Former anti-mafia officer Vanina Guarassi (Giusy Buscemi, best-known for her role as Marshal Cecchini’s daughter in Don Matteo) moves from Palermo to Catania to lead the local homicide unit, discovering new friends and a new life in the process in the addictive Italian mystery series VANINA.

You know it’s a Palomar production not only from the setting but also from the broadly-drawn supporting characters – this is not a show that trafficks in realism. Like The Bastards of Pizzofalcone and Imma Tataranni, VANINA is at least as interested in the private lives of its characters as it is in its twisty murder investigation plots – which, to be fair, are also doozies. There is much fun to be had as we dive head-first into the world of dating with Vanina and her best friend Giuli De Rosa (Dajana Roncione, Detective Montalbano), enjoy delicious Sicilian breakfasts with second-in-command Carmelo Spanò (Claudio Castrogiovanni, Mafia Only Kills in Summer) and get weird with quirky officer-in-camo Nunnari (Giulio Della Monica, The New Pope) and quirky officer-with-a-secret Lo Faro (Danilo Arena, The Hunter). It’s big and brash and loud and not at all subtle – and we love it!

This is a big, wet, sloppy dog kiss of a series that fans can’t help but adore – the perfect show to keep the summer alive with scorching hot locations and mind-bending mysteries. Anyone who enjoys the sun, sand and sleuthing of such Sicily-set series as Makari – Sicilian Mysteries and Detective Montalbano will be sure to enjoy VANINA!