Series synopsis
Father Matteo, also known as Don Matteo is an Italian drama comedy mystery crime family television series that premiered on RaiPlay on January 7, 2000. It was created by Enrico Oldoini. It stars Terence Hill, Nino Frassica, Nathalie Guetta and Francesco Scali.
Don Matteo is a thoroughly ordinary Catholic priest with an extraordinary ability to read people and solve crimes. He’s a parish priest who never met an unjustly accused person he didn’t want to help.
Premise
Don Matteo is a thoroughly ordinary Catholic priest with an extraordinary ability to read people and solve crimes. He’s a parish priest who never met an unjustly accused person he didn’t want to help.
Premise: An unique priest and an extraordinary detective.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Terence Hill as Don Matteo
- Nino Frassica as Maresciallo Nino Cecchini
- Nathalie Guetta as Natalina Diotallevi
- Francesco Scali as Pippo Gimignani-Zarfati
- Flavio Insinna as Flavio Anceschi
- Caterina Sylos Labini as Caterina Cecchini
- Gastone Moschin as Vescovo
- Pietro Pulcini as Piero Ghisoni
Supporting cast
- Giorgia Surina as Bianca Venezia
- Nadir Caselli as Lia Cecchini
- Valerio Santoro as Lauro
- Astra Lanz as Suor Maria
- Pamela Saino as Patrizia Cecchini
- Mauro Pirovano as Giovanni Della Valle
- Evelina Gori as Nonna Elide
- Renato Carpentieri as Vescovo
- Sara Santostasi as Camilla
- Andrea Cereatti as Appuntato Linetti
- Giada Arena as Assuntina Cecchini
- Giuseppe Sulfaro as Severino Cecchini
Guest cast
- Milena Miconi as Laura Respighi
- Laura Glavan as Laura Belvedere
- Simone Montedoro as Giulio Tommasi
- Maria Chiara Giannetta as Anna Olivieri
- Ines Nobili as Giovanna Cafiero
- Paolo Malco as Carlo De Francesco
- Gippy Soprani as Enrica De Francesco
- Lorenzo Amato as Giampaolo Bonelli
- Renato Campese as Professor Mandini
- Karin Proia as Roberta
- Alberto Molinari as Riccardo Di Salvo
- Glauco Onorato as Ingegner Galimberti
Episodes
This series spans 15 seasons with 286 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 16 | January 7, 2000 | February 20, 2000 |
| Season 2 | 16 | October 21, 2001 | December 9, 2001 |
| Season 3 | 16 | September 27, 2002 | November 15, 2002 |
| Season 4 | 24 | February 19, 2004 | May 6, 2004 |
| Season 5 | 24 | February 1, 2006 | April 27, 2006 |
| Season 6 | 24 | January 17, 2008 | April 10, 2008 |
| Season 7 | 24 | September 10, 2009 | November 26, 2009 |
| Season 8 | 24 | September 15, 2011 | December 8, 2011 |
| Season 9 | 26 | January 9, 2014 | April 10, 2014 |
| Season 10 | 26 | January 7, 2016 | April 14, 2016 |
| Season 11 | 26 | January 11, 2018 | April 19, 2018 |
| Season 12 | 10 | January 9, 2020 | February 6, 2020 |
| Season 13 | 10 | March 31, 2022 | June 2, 2022 |
| Season 14 | 10 | October 17, 2024 | December 26, 2024 |
| Season 15 | 10 | January 8, 2026 | March 19, 2026 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Foreign Man In the series premiere, parish priest Don Matteo investigates a young man's apparent suicide. |
January 7, 2000 |
| 2 |
Trivial Operation The murder of a doctor is investigated. |
January 7, 2000 |
| 3 |
The Courage to Speak Don Matteo's help is needed by a young woman, whose family is in financial distress and being blackmailed. The citizens, surprised about their priest's meetings with this beautiful woman, start to spread rumours. |
January 14, 2000 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Poisoned Apple Many of the town's citizens suffer from food poisoning. Police officers investigate and find out that the cause are poisoned apples sold by the Di Giacomos, a family of farmers. After some interrogations by Captain Anceschi, it seems that the family is not responsible for the case after all. Don Matteo's investigations lead him to a seasonal worker Di Giacomo's who seems to have motive. |
October 21, 2001 |
| 2 |
Branded Skin A young soccer player dies of a drug overdose. Was it an accident or murder? The first person suspected by police officers is the owner of a tattoo shop who was in trouble with drug abuse before. The woman denies to be involved and Don Matteo tries to convince the police. |
October 21, 2001 |
| 3 |
Heart of Ice Nino Coronna is found in a garden of a villa, next to a corpse. The victim is the owner of the house, Giulia Chimenti's husband. Nino seems to be guilty and is immediately accused of homicide. Maresciallo Cecchini has to investigate alone because Captain Anceschi is a 'special friend' of Giulia. When Anceschi seems to be involved in the homicide, Don Matteo and Cecchini have to uncover the truth. |
October 28, 2001 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Secrets of the Heart A laborer is found dead in the cement factory he works in. The suspect is the factory’s supervisor, who had differences with the victim. During research, Don Matteo and the police accidentally uncover a dramatic relationship. |
September 27, 2002 |
| 2 |
Never Too Late in Love The stables of an equestrian center catch fire. Suspicion falls on the old horse groom first, who has a motive to harm his employer. The employer, owner of the stables, might have a motive too - to collect insurance money. With Don Matteo's help and the aid of little boy Simone, the police uncovers the truth. |
September 27, 2002 |
| 3 |
Scandal in the City The manager of a country hotel is found dead. By chance, Don Matteo discovers that the victim blackmailed unsuspecting hotel guests with video recordings. Suspicion falls on a woman who seems to be involved. Her husband accuses himself. |
October 4, 2002 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Election Campaign | February 19, 2004 |
| 2 | Crime in the Library | February 19, 2004 |
| 3 | My Father Was In Prison | February 25, 2004 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Accounts With the Past | February 1, 2006 |
| 2 | Tarot of Blood | February 1, 2006 |
| 3 | By Moon Light | February 2, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome Back Don Matteo | January 17, 2008 |
| 2 | The Aroma of Coffee | January 17, 2008 |
| 3 | Chocolate | January 24, 2008 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Jump | September 10, 2009 |
| 2 | The Art of Growing | September 10, 2009 |
| 3 | Bear Tracks | September 17, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
It Was My Daughter While Don Matteo investigates the attempted murder of an antique dealer, he finds himself taking care of Laura, a rebellious adolescent who is pregnant and currently staying at the rectory. |
September 15, 2011 |
| 2 |
Rave party A girl dies at a rave party after having taken a drug that was cut badly. While Don Matteo and the Carabinieri are working on the investigation, Cecchini tries to prevent Tommasi and his daughter from spending a romantic weekend together all alone. |
September 15, 2011 |
| 3 |
Proof of Love After a young woman dies in labor, the woman’s gynecologist is killed. Meanwhile, Tommasi is preparing for a boxing match and is forced to choose a coach - the ready and willing Cecchini or the professional MP Conti… |
September 22, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A New Beginning | January 9, 2014 |
| 2 | The Second Wife | January 9, 2014 |
| 3 | The Prosecutor's Witness | January 16, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guilt | January 7, 2016 |
| 2 | Prohibited shots | January 7, 2016 |
| 3 | Without exit | January 14, 2016 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Most Beautiful Mistake | January 11, 2018 |
| 2 | Scenes from a Wedding | January 11, 2018 |
| 3 | Salvation | January 18, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Part 1 | January 9, 2020 |
| 2 | Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Part 2 | January 9, 2020 |
| 3 | Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain, Part 1 | January 16, 2020 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Perfect Day | March 31, 2022 |
| 2 | Love and Anger | April 7, 2022 |
| 3 | The Queen's Sacrifice | April 14, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | October 17, 2024 |
| 2 | Episode 2 | October 24, 2024 |
| 3 | Episode 3 | October 31, 2024 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | January 8, 2026 |
| 2 | Episode 2 | January 15, 2026 |
| 3 | Episode 3 | January 22, 2026 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | RaiPlay |
|---|---|
| First aired | January 7, 2000 |
| Last aired | March 19, 2026 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Status | Returning Series |
| Schedule | Thursday at 10:21:00 |