WATERTOWN, NY (October 9, 2023) – The glamorous period drama series HOTEL PORTOFINO returns for a second season on Sunday, October 15 at 8 pm on WPBS-TV and across all PBS platforms. 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 WPBS 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” (Sunday, October 15 at 8:00 pm)
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” (Sunday, October 22 at 8:00 pm)
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” (Sunday, October 29 at 8:00 pm)
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” (Sunday, November 5 at 8:00 pm)
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” (Sunday, November 12 at 8:00 pm)
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” (Sunday, November 19 at 8:00 pm)
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.
About PBS
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About EAGLE EYE DRAMA
Eagle Eye Drama was formed by Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp, the same three founders and creative team behind the global drama company Walter Presents. The company produces dramas and animations, based on adaptations and original ideas. In 2022, they launched two new companies under the Eagle Eye umbrella, Belgian based Happy Duck Films and animation focused Eaglet Films. Follow Eagle Eye Drama on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 650,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, inform, and engage its two-nation region with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of extraordinary public media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and borders. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
