Inspector Montalbano, new episodes without Luca Zingaretti?

New episodes of Montalbano could soon feature on Italian state TV provider Rai but without Luca Zingaretti. Director Maria Pia Ammirati told the media that this possible move is being discussed.

The Montalbano saga continues to be one of Italy’s most popular tv series. A historical production, which keeps viewers glued in front of a screen even when episodes are aired on repeat. Following the death of Andrea Camilleri, writer of the Montalbano stories, and of director, Alberto Sironi, the idea of not going further with new episodes has become more and more realistic.

Now there is talk of new episodes of Montalbano to be made but without starring Luca Zingaretti. A project that, according to what can be deduced from the words of the director of Rai Fiction, Maria Pia Ammirati, would be more than a distant dream. The actor, who gave Salvo Montalbano a face, has long expressed his doubts and his propensity not to continue.

Doubts that have become almost certainties, especially after the disappearance of Camilleri and Sironi. The way forward that has been spoken about now would involve shooting the new episodes taken from two unpublished novels, without Zingaretti. It is difficult to predict how the audience, now accustomed to their traditional cast, might react.

“To date, Luca Zingaretti does not want to continue. We are however reasoning with Palomar on producing a series, even without Zingaretti, because this series is too loved by the public to give it up”, Maria Pia Ammirati said. For over twenty years Zingaretti himself has personified Montalbano, a character who entered the homes not only of Italians, but of the whole world. The fiction, in fact, is one of the few Italian series exported and appreciated all over the world. A success that, without a shadow of a doubt, is linked to those actors that viewers have come to appreciate.

At the moment, the last unreleased episode was “The Catalanotti method”. To get an idea of ​​the success of the production, just think that it turns out to be the most watched program of 2021 (excluding the matches of the national team). But what would be the new episodes of Montalbano?

After fifteen seasons and thirty-seven episodes (all with record ratings), it seems that two more episodes could be made. The first is from Riccardino, the novel released posthumously in 2020. The second from “Il cuoco dell’Alcyon”, published in 2019.

In a recent interview, Luca Zingaretti said: “For me it was a wonderful professional and human adventure. Now it seems to me to have come to an end. The author no longer writes and my director friend, Alberto Sironi, is sadly gone too. Does it make sense to end the saga by filming the last two unpublished novels also as a sign of respect towards them? Or is it their very lack that suggests respectful silence? I lean towards the latter”.

It is difficult to imagine a series without its protagonist. Who could replace him? It is certainly a difficult legacy, which does not necessarily meet the favor of a very demanding public.