Detective Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell) is scrupulously, almost helplessly honest--which, in the woefully corrupt bureaucracies of Rome, makes everyone think he's incompetent or perhaps a bit stupid. Zen saunters through his cases, not always ahead of things or even on the right track, yet blessed with a gift for landing on his feet when bloody events go down. In "Vendetta," the first episode in this TV series, he investigates a seemingly shut-and-closed case while being hunted himself by someone from a past he's forgotten; in "Cabal," the unveiling of a sinister conspiracy hinges on a safety deposit box and an alluring high-class escort; and in "Ratking," an opulently wealthy family grapples with a kidnapping with precarious political stakes. Throughout, higher authorities push and prod at Zen to come to a desired conclusion, while Zen himself steers towards a delicate romance with a lovely--and married--coworker, Tania Moretti (Italian actress Caterina Murino, Casino Royale). Zen delights the ear and the eye--the plots and dialogue are swift and skilled, while the locations in Rome are gorgeous. Sewell slouches around in tailored Italian suits looking like Marcello Mastraoianni's louche little brother, dissolute on the surface but with a gleam of rectitude in his heavy-lidded eyes. He plays his part with delicious understatement, gleaning sly humor where he can, sometimes playing his cards well and sometimes desperately flailing to catch up with events that have outstripped him. And Zen may have the sexiest theme music in decades. A well-made and informative making-of featurette rounds out this satisfying set. --Bret Fetzer