ARLINGTON, VA, August 17, 2023 – The glamorous period drama series HOTEL PORTOFINO returns for a second season on Sunday, October 15 at 8 p.m. ET across all PBS platforms (check local listings). Natascha McElhone (Californication, The Crown) stars in the six-part series following an elite yet dysfunctional British family who open a hotel for upper-class travelers on the magical Italian Riviera during the Roaring ‘20s.
HOTEL PORTOFINO will stream on all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO. HOTEL PORTOFINO will also be available to stream on PBS Passport and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
Set in the breathtakingly beautiful Italian seaside town of Portofino during the “Roaring 20s,” Season 2 begins in the summer of 1927 as Bella Ainsworth is still devoting all her energy into making Hotel Portofino a success. Having overcome earlier blackmailing threats from a local politician, the hotel is finally starting to prosper. Aside from her hotel duties, Bella is also concerned for her children — Lucian, whose marriage to Rose might be facing trouble, and Alice, who needs a break from her responsibilities at the hotel. Bella’s husband, Cecil, has not been seen since returning to England at the end of the previous summer. With Cecil’s unannounced return to Portofino, the messy private lives of her children, and an imminent visit from a travel guide that could make or break the hotel’s future, Bella has her work cut out to keep all the plates spinning.
Episode 1 - “Returns”
Bella’s plans to build a spa in the basement are running over budget while she deals with an unexpected and unwelcome return from someone closer to home. Meanwhile, the hotel is facing an anonymous inspection from an influential travel guide.
Episode 2 - “Alliances”
As Cecil tries to buy his way back into Bella’s affections, Lucian and Constance acknowledge their mutual attraction. Elsewhere, Nish overcomes his qualms to help Gianluca strike a blow against Mussolini’s Fascists with disastrous results.
Episode 3 - “Comings Together”
Cecil becomes embroiled with gangsters who have taken over the local casino. With Nish on the run and now being hunted by Danioni, Bella and Lucian must help him avoid arrest. And emotions between Lucian and Constance come to a head.
Episode 4 - “Contortions”
Alice returns with her new fiancé and Rose turns up with a plan to win back Lucian. Cecil schemes to take control of the Hotel from Bella and drive a wedge between her and Marco, while Bella thinks she has discovered the inspector’s identity.
Episode 5 - “Subterfuges”
Bella schemes to thwart Cecil’s plans of taking over the hotel and helps get Nish to safety while arranging a rendezvous with an old flame. Rose’s attempts to reconcile with Lucian end in disaster, forcing Bella to intervene.
Episode 6 - “Farewells”
Bella must act decisively to salvage her investment in the Hotel Portofino, but at what cost to her relationships and her children? Just when things seem to be going Bella’s way, tragedy strikes with fatal consequences for one member of the family.
Additional returning cast members include Mark Umbers (Home Fires), Oliver Dench (Pandora), Olivia Morris (RRR), Assad Zaman (Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire), Elizabeth Carling, Louisa Binder, Carolina Gonnelli, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Louis Healy, Pasquale Esposito, Rocco Fasano, Daniele Pecci, Lily Frazer and Lucy Akhurst.
HOTEL PORTOFINO was written and created by Matt Baker and directed by Adam Wimpenny. The series is an Eagle Eye Production and is executive produced by Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino. Beta Film handles international distribution for the series.
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