From the very beginning, Don Matteo won the hearts of the TV viewers. The first season, that ran from January 7 to February 20, 2000, over eight evenings (two episodes per evening), earned an average of 8,285,000 viewers with an average 30.84% share of the audience.
The second season, which ran on Raiuno in the early evening slot in the fall of 2001, earned an average share of 23.75% of the audience.
The third season, which aired starting in November 2002, earned a 27.5% average.
A fourth season was therefore inevitable.

Don Matteo, the successful series produced by Lux Vide for RaiFiction, has arrived at its fourth season.
The first eight episodes are ready; the second eight are in post-production, and they are filming, in record time, the third and last group of eight episodes.
Behind the camera, once again, is Andrea Barzini, and there's a new director, Giulio Base, both of whom will move between Gubbio and Rome to various locations and in the Studios where the sets for the parish and the Carabinieri offices have been recreated.
The new adventures of the famous priest-detective, played by Terence Hill, will air starting in February on Raiuno in the early evening time slot.
The entire cast has returned (Terence Hill, Nino Frassica, Flavio Insinna, Nathalie Guetta, Francesco Scali), and there is the addition of a new and interesting female cast member, the mayor, played by the beautiful and talented Milena Miconi, and there is a young girl, Camilla, who arrives in Gubbio saying she is Don Matteo's daughter...
One interesting point: the actrice who plays the mayor, Laura, was selected by Don Matteo fans in the very first on-line casting in the history of Italian TV series, via the Lux Vide site (www.luxvide.it) in the months preceding the start of filming.

A detective who serves God, that's Don Matteo Bondini: not just your average priest, but an ex-missionary with a special talent. He has amazing intuition that, together with is deep understanding of the human heart, guides him to resolving the most confusing twists and turns of crimes.
Generous, modest, astute, intuitive, intelligent, meticulous, tenacious, easy-going, without prejudice: his main goal is to reawaken one's conscience.
His mission: to expose the guilty party and to help them understand that when it comes to evil and good, it is only the latter that is the best way to live at peace with oneself and with others.

Let's hear what Terence Hill has to say about the new series:
"I'm very happy with the success Don Matteo has achieved. I think that, by now, people are very fond of the character and they tend to see me as a priest. I understood already during the first season, when people would call out to me on the street saying "Reverend" and "Father", that I had been linked to the character, which is something that does not easily happen, and hasn't happened since my Trinity days. To be honest, in the beginning, I didn't expect quite such a success, and one can't ever know exactly why this happens, but I think this is because of a combination of things: wonderful actors, beautiful scripts, the cinematography, the town of Gubbio, finally, that it's a very well-made show.
I've always said that when a story enjoys great success, you shouldn't change a thing. If people identify with certain characters, they want to see the same characters, the same settings, but in this series there will also be some new additions.
Milena Miconi will add some joy and movement, even in the heart of Captain Anceschi, as the new mayor of Gubbio. A young girl by the name of Camilla, will arrive suddenly in town looking for me, saying she's my daughter, which will obviously create some confusion.
In my own character, bit by bit, I'm adding things from my Trinity character and now, for the first time in this series, I will even contribute a beautiful K.O., thrown for a good cause, of course."

...And we agree, actually, it's amazing to see Terence return to fist-fighting!

Laura, the mayor

Laura is in her early thirties, is from Gubbio, but has studied in America. She is liberal-minded, well-educated, open-minded, and a devout environmentalist; she was elected by the citizens of Gubbio because she made them a specific promise: to modernize the town and open it up to the world, while managing and respecting Gubbio's natural and artistic resources. As often happens with successful, single thirty-year-olds, she feels her life is missing something; she misses a family of her own, a husband and maybe even children. So she has her eyes open and pays attention to the men around her. She's athletic, adores nature, often goes hiking and running.
Her relationship with Don Matteo is one of respect and mutual understanding, with a loyalty that is practically like comrades-in-arms. Both are pastors of a flock, of the same flock, even if they tend to them in different ways.
Anceschi is practically head-over-heels-in-love with Laura, even if he doesn't admit it to either himself or to others; seeking instead to get her attention in cliché or studied ways, but he's always unable to escape his identity as a Captain in the Carabinieri.
Laura and Cecchini like each other and are able to create an easy relationship punctuated by jokes and friendly exchanges, which Anceschi envies very much.
With Camilla, she shares a love-at-first-sight; they care about other, draw together; Camilla is the child that Laura does not have; Laura is for Camilla the young and fancy-free aunt with whom she can break the rules.

Camilla

Camilla is a young girl who is just turning eight years old.
She arrives in Gubbio from Bolivia and is brought immediately to the town-hall, by an employee of the Consulate, and handed over to the mayor. Camilla doesn't say much, but when she's asked to explain why she's there, she says: "Don Matteo is my father!"...
Camilla is friendly, intelligent, affectionate, but also stubborn, impetuous, and sometimes disrespectful.
With Laura she is able to create an immediate bond. With Don Matteo she feels she's rediscovered a comforting hug in which to seek comfort. Captain Anceschi is touched by her, and even if he tries to hide it, he's flattered that she has a fondness for him. With Cecchini, Camilla is a terror, but he wins almost every time, trained by the many years of experience with his own daughters...