What does an honest cop do when his bosses are on the side of the lawbreakers? Outwitting prosecutors, politicians, mobsters and run-of-the-mill kidnappers and killers, Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not, on Zen, a trio of spellbinding cases based on the bestselling novels of by British crime writer Michael Dibdin, airing on Masterpiece July 17-31, 2011.

Rufus Sewell (Middlemarch) stars as Zen, a Roman police detective hailing from Venice, where "Zen" is a local shortening of the name Zeno. Separated from his wife and living with his mother, he is too frazzled by his job to think about romance. That is, until he meets Tania Moretti (Caterina Murino), his chief's new secretary.

Three encore episodes airing in 2012, Vendetta (June 10), Cabal (June 17) and Ratking (June 24), showcase an international cast including Ed Stoppard (Upstairs Downstairs), Ben Miles (The Forsyte Saga), Stanley Townsend (Sherlock) and Greg Wise (Return to Cranford).

Video Q&A: Sewell and Stoppard Zen stars Rufus Sewell and Ed Stoppard on the cool and complex character of Zen, life on the laid-back set and the chic style of the series.

Behind-the-Scenes Video On set in Italy, the Zen cast and crew on adapting Michael Dibdin's novels, the casting and chemistry.

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Zen | Masterpiece | PBS