He is the most popular priest on TV, the most welcoming, the most athletic: Terence Hill he never wanted to change his patched cassock and always rides his bike, ready to solve mysteries. Thursday 31 March arrives on Rai 1 Don Matteo 13 directed by Francesco Vicario, Riccardo Donna and Luca Brignone. It marks the turning point in fiction because in the fifth episode Hill will leave the scene and will arrive Raoul Bova in the role of Don Massimo. A priest who turns so and has a mysterious past. In the series (produced by LuxVide with RaiFiction) he returns Flavio Insinna in the role of Colonel Anceschi, who arrives in Spoleto with his daughter Valentina (Emma Valenti), restless girl. We find again Nino Frassica, Maria Chiara Giannetta, Maurizio Lastrico. Hill, from America, sent his greeting: “Love each other”. She would have liked to continue, perhaps with four episodes of the season. “But Don Matteo is not Montalbano” explained the producer Luca Bernabei “We do seriality, it would not have been possible”.
The strength of Don Matteo – For Terence Hill “Don Matteo is a bit like the gunfighter Trinity. He has no past, he has no relatives. At a certain point in the series it was also thought of making him a career, of making him a bishop, but it would have been a bad choice for a character we don’t know where he comes from or where he goes “.
The name – “I molded Don Matteo on me” explained the actor. “I made him sporty, curious. I try to be wise, on the whole I am a calm person. I only asked to change the title: Don Teodoro didn’t play, I didn’t feel it. And I chose Matteo “.
The affection for Terence Hill – “I have never known – says Maria Chiara Giannetta – a man as generous and unselfish as he is: willing to listen, he has always made everyone agree. Never a misunderstanding. A rare person, with his own inner spirituality, is magnetic , as well as being a great actor known internationally “. With Raoul Bova “we already knew each other, we shot the fiction together good morning mom: he’s an equally good and helpful person, it was fun to meet us in these new roles on the set, he was welcomed into this big family. “
Bova’s challenge – “For me it was important to face a new character. Spirituality is something that has always fascinated me, and I have often looked for it, since I interpreted St. Francis. But that of the parish priest is a figure I wanted to deepen: they are people at which ones to rely on, today we need more spirituality “. On the comparison with Terence Hill he says: “There is only one of Don Matteo, that’s why I wanted to meet Terence. He told me: ‘You will be a new priest, you will have your name’. Don Massimo” continues the actor ” he has a fairly important past, he fought for justice from an early age, he is an evolving religious who wants to get his hands dirty. He knows how to forgive, welcome, fight. Don Matteo will always remain Don Matteo. Terence will always be Terence “.
History – Don Matteo is an all-Italian successful format, aired for the first time on 7 January 2000 on Rai 1. The series was one of the most followed ever in the history of Italian fiction (7 million viewers and 27% share in average from the first to the 12th season), consolidating the success year after year.
The numbers – From the first season to today, about 1600 reruns and premieres have been on the air. In all 265 episodes. 14 directors behind the camera, from 1999 to today. The series is loved by young audiences: 32% share on 8-14 year olds and 29% on 20-24 year olds in the early evening of Don Matteo 12.
Interpreters become stars – At the beginning of their career, in the series they starred today well-known and established actors such as: Alessandro Borghi (Don Matteo 5), Micaela Ramazzotti (Don Matteo 1), Alessandra Mastronardi (Don Matteo 5) Alba Rohrwacher (Don Matteo 4) e Giacomo Ferrara (Don Matteo 10).
Conquering the world – The series is increasingly popular all over the world, from France to Finland, from America to Australia and the format has also been adopted in Poland and Russia.
‘Don Matteo 13’, we leave again. A 22 year long story, Terence Hill was to be called Don Teodoro