Donna Leon: Season 1
Venetian detective commissioner Guido Brunetti investigates and solves crimes, usually including murder, set against the backdrop of Venice. Throughout the stories, Brunetti is assisted by uniformed sergeant Lorenzo Vianello. At the same time, Brunetti faces various distractions and complications from his family, which includes his head-strong son Raffi, his daughter Chiara, and his wife Paola. Additional interferenc
Season 1 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Venetian detective commissioner Guido Brunetti investigates and solves crimes, usually including murder, in Venice.
- Uniformed sergeant Lorenzo Vianello provides help to Guido Brunetti during investigations.
- Guido Brunetti's family, including his wife Paola, head-strong son Raffi, and daughter Chiara, often cause distraction or worse.
- Guido Brunetti's superiors, especially the jurisdiction's vice-questore Patta, often cause distraction or worse as an ambitious politician rather than a law officer.
Season overview
Venetian detective commissioner Guido Brunetti investigates and solves crimes, usually including murder, set against the backdrop of Venice. Throughout the stories, Brunetti is assisted by uniformed sergeant Lorenzo Vianello. At the same time, Brunetti faces various distractions and complications from his family, which includes his head-strong son Raffi, his daughter Chiara, and his wife Paola. Additional interference comes from his superiors, particularly the jurisdiction's vice-questore Patta, who acts more as an ambitious politician than a law officer. The series features canal boat rides instead of traditional car chases, alongside fine cuisine and crime investigations adapted from crime novelist Donna Leon's bestselling novels.
Episode Guide
Season 1 Progress Shield
Vendetta
Oct 12, 2000 · 90 min
A truck crashes on one of the treacherous mountain roads in the Italian Dolomites, spilling a terrible cargo. Meanwhile, a prominent international lawyer is found dead in the carri
The Anonymous Venetian
Oct 16, 2000 · 90 min
Brunetti's hopes of a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in Marghera - a body so badly beaten that the face is completely unrec
Fatal Remedies
Oct 10, 2002 · 90 min
For Commissario Brunetti, it began with an early morning phone call. In the chill of the Venetian dawn, a sudden act of vandalism shatters the quiet of the deserted city. But Brunn
A Noble Radiance
Oct 17, 2002 · 90 min
The new owner of a farmhouse at the foot of the Italian Dolomites is summoned to the house when his workmen disturb a macabre grave. Once on the job, Brunetti uncovers a clue that
Death at La Fenice
Oct 23, 2003 · 90 min
During a performance of La Traviata at La Fenice opera house the distinguished German conductor is found dead, apparently poisoned by a cup of coffee. Brunetti embarks on a voyage
Friends in High Places
Oct 31, 2003 · 90 min
Commissario Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the construction of Brunetti's apartment years before. What began as a red tap
Quietly in Their Sleep
Oct 28, 2004 · 90 min
Brunetti comes to the aid of a young nursing sister who is leaving her convent following the unexpected death of five patients. At first, Brunetti's inquiries reveal nothing amiss,
Acqua Alta
Nov 11, 2004 · 90 min
As Venice braces for a winter tempest and the onslaught of acqua alta - the rising waters from torrential rain - Commissario Guido Brunetti finds out that an old friend has been sa
Doctored Evidence
Oct 13, 2005 · 90 min
A wealthy elderly woman is murdered. Soon after her Romanian maid was hit by a train while trying to leave Italy with a large amount of money and forged papers. The case appears to
Uniform Justice
Nov 10, 2005 · 90 min
Brunetti faces an unsettling case when a young cadet has been found hanged, a presumed suicide, in Venice's elite military academy. As he pursues his inquiry, he is faced with a wa
Death in a Strange Country
Oct 19, 2006 · 90 min
Brunetti confronts a grisly sight when the body of a young American is fished out of a fetid Venetian canal. Though all the signs point to a violent mugging, something incriminatin
A Sea of Troubles
Nov 2, 2006 · 90 min
The murder of two clam fishermen off the island of Pellestrina, south of the Lido on the Venetian lagoon, draws Commissario Brunetti into the island's close-knit community, bound t
Wilful Behaviour
May 15, 2008 · 90 min
The student Claudia Leonardo asks Commissario Brunetti for advice about a retrial. Patta is especially pleased about the support of the pretty new colleague Franca Capari. Before B
Blood from a Stone
May 22, 2008 · 90 min
On a busy shopping street in Venice an African street vendor is shot dead. Nobody knows the dead African and only by chance Brunetti and his assistant Vianello find the victim's ac
Through a Glass, Darkly
Oct 22, 2009 · 90 min
The Venetian island of Murano is known for its artisans who specialize in the traditional craft of glassmaking. When the owner of a glass factory is found murdered, Commissario Bru
Suffer the Little Children
Oct 7, 2010 · 90 min
When an illegal Albanian immigrant gives birth, she’s told that her baby has died and she should ask no further questions. Her personal devastation brings Brunetti into the world o
The Girl of His Dreams
Apr 28, 2011 · 90 min
A ten-year-old Roma girl is found dead in a Venetian canal. Brunetti goes to the encampment where she lived, but his attempts to speak with the community there are futile. When he
About Face
Apr 14, 2012 · 90 min
The murder of a trucking entrepreneur strikes close to home when Brunetti learns that the victim was involved in shady deals with a friend’s husband. Clues point to the Mafia, and
A Question of Belief
May 11, 2013 · 90 min
Brunetti must contend with ingenious corruption, bureaucratic intransigence, and the stifling heat of a Venetian summer. With his hometown beset by hordes of tourists and baking un
Rich Inheritance
May 1, 2014 · 90 min
A young woman returns from holiday to find her elderly neighbour dead on the floor. A heart attack seems the likely cause, but Commissario Brunetti is not so sure and decides to ta
Beastly Things
Apr 23, 2015 · 90 min
When the body of man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person
The Golden Egg
Mar 31, 2016 · 90 min
The apparently mentally disabled Davide falls into the canal and drowns. As it turns out, he had an overdose of beta blockers in his bloodstream. Ana Cavanelli, Davide's mother, co
By its Cover
Apr 13, 2017 · 90 min
The violent death of a book collector leads Commissario Brunetti to the venerable Merula Library. In precious folios pages are missing. They were ruthlessly cut out. Was the victim
Falling in Love
Mar 29, 2018 · 90 min
The celebrated soprano Flavia Petrelli returns to Venice after almost 15 years. A reason to be happy. However, her comeback is overshadowed: a boat has been set on fire. The Opera'
The Waters of Eternal Youth
Apr 18, 2018 · 90 min
Brunetti is an expert in keeping wishes of Venice's grandees out of his work. The venerable Contessa Lando-Continui, however, cannot escape even the commissario. The 80-year-old as
Earthly Remains
Dec 25, 2019 · 90 min
The last case for Brunetti. During a cure, he befriends a beekeeper. When Brunetti discovers the body of the acquaintance, his criminalist instinct awakens and he is on the track o