Present at Miptv, the companies announced the original drama has been renewed for a second season, which is currently being filmed in Italy. In addition, Beta announced new sales for Eagle Eye’s Professor T, including in Spain and Latin America.
Eagle Eye Drama and Beta Film announced that Hotel Portofino will return for a second series after becoming one of Britbox UK’s highest streaming launch originals and the second most watched VOD series on Foxtel Australia. The series also became the second highest debut for an international drama on Sky Italia’s Sky Serie channel.
Season one of the hit series has already sold to over 55 territories and will be available in five continents.
In the meantime, the second season of Eagle Eye’s Professor T, starring Ben Miller, is currently shooting in Cambridge and Belgium. Beta sold this “outstanding crime drama” (The Express) to more than 100 territories worldwide, most recently to Brazil (Globo TV), South Korea (BBC Studios), Switzerland (CH Media TV) and Iceland (Syn) amongst others. Professor T runs in numerous European countries, including Italy (RAI), France (France Television) and Spain (Movistar Plus+), and beyond in Latin America (HBO Max), Australia (BritBox) and Japan (NHK).
Hotel Portofino’s season two cast and crew will travel back to Portofino, Italy, and along the Croatian coastline. Natascha McElhone (Ronin, Californication, Halo) will again head up the cast as Bella Ainsworth, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist who has moved to Italy to set up a quintessentially British hotel in the breathtakingly beautiful town of Portofino. Mark Umbers (Home Fires) plays her charming but dangerous aristocratic husband, Cecil, and Lily Fraser (Saint Maud, Motherland) will return as the hotel’s most famous guest singer turned movie star, Claudine Pascal.
All six episodes in season two will be written by Matt Baker, who created the original Hotel Portofino series. Adam Wimpenny (Blackwood) also returns to direct all episodes with Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino overseeing as executive producers. Season two sees Ainsworth family relations at breaking point and the future of the hotel itself is threatened, when Cecil does business with the sort of people you just can’t afford to double cross. The series captures the long-established literary tradition of comic and idiosyncratic British ‘innocents abroad’, but also reveals darker, more serious storylines, set against the historical backdrop of the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy. Embracing themes of sexual and social liberation, Hotel Portofino delivers addictive plotlines in a breathtaking Italian setting.
PBS Distribution holds the North American rights to Hotel Portofino. Season one will launch in the US Sunday, June 19, 8:00-9:00p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS and will be available to stream on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. It also can be streamed concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
The series is produced in cooperation with the Beta Group, which also handles the world sales. Production service is provided by Drugiplan.
Jo McGrath, CCO of Eagle Eye Drama, says: “Hotel Portofino became an instant hit with audiences worldwide and the second season will feature another heady mix of romance, intrigue, and dangerous ambitions. The setting and fashions will continue to be a sumptuous feast for the eyes, and next season the stakes get even higher for both the guests and the hotel’s owners.”
Oliver Bachert, Chief Distribution Officer Beta Film, adds: “We are more than pleased to continue our successful relationship with Eagle Eye. It is Beta’s pleasure and honour to be the international partner of Professor T and Hotel Portofino and make both series travel the globe. We can’t wait to embark on new journeys with all-time favorite genius Professor T, and dive with our stellar cast of Hotel Portofino into their Mediterranean adventures. Both really feel like the bright drama we need these days.”
