| Zen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Police drama |
| Based on | Aurelio Zen by Michael Dibdin |
| Written by | Simon Burke Peter Berry |
| Directed by | John Alexander (Vendetta) Christopher Menaul (Cabal) Jon Jones (Ratking) |
| Starring | Rufus Sewell Caterina Murino Ben Miles Catherine Spaak Stanley Townsend Ed Stoppard Francesco Quinn Anthony Higgins |
| Opening theme | Adrian Johnston |
| Composer | Adrian Johnston |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Italy Germany |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Andy Harries, Francis Hopkinson, Raffaella Bonivento, Rebecca Eaton, Anne Mensah |
| Producer | Michael Casey |
| Production location | Rome |
| Cinematography | Tony Miller |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production companies | Left Bank Pictures, Mediaset, Masterpiece, ZDF |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 2 January – 16 January 2011 |
Zen is a British television series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF. [1] It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin. [2] The series was filmed on location in Italy, but the dialogue is in English. The series, which comprises three 90-minute films, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sunday evenings from 2 January 2011 on BBC One. [3] The three films were based on the books Vendetta (1990), Cabal (1992) and Ratking (1988). [4] The series was cancelled by BBC One in February 2011; BBC One controller Danny Cohen later said there were already enough male crime-fighters on TV. [5] Left Bank, the show's producer, tried to find other broadcasters to fund another series but were unsuccessful. [6]
