Hotel Portofino, Season 2

I liked this. It was recycling every character from every period series prior, but it was a passable cold weather diversion.

Love Mark Umbers

Does it have gay stuff?

R3, yes, there's a gay character

R3, yes. As R4 said, there is a gay character called Anish (Assad Zaman) who is secretly in love with Oliver Dench (Lucian).

Mark Umbers is a gorgeous hunk, he was in Midsomer Murders

Mark Umbers played Franklin Shepard in the Maria Friedman "Merrily We Roll Along" London production that's now been imported to Broadway. Jonathan Groff plays Umbers's role.

Watching it right now

Wish we'd see more of the gay couple

Mark Umbers was also in Home Fires (a show that I and perhaps eight other people watched) and he was so deliciously hot in it, in his WWII uniform.

R1 I saw this quote and figured it said the same thing you did: "'It is a drama serial which draws so heavily from The Durrells and Downton Abbey that it could have been assembled from an ITV kit"

Last season was just OK, but the scenery is really lovely to look at - and so was Oliver Dench's ass. So I'll give the 2nd season a look.

If you add up the minutes of each episode that are mise-en-scene shots with no dialogue, they get to be annoying.

Not as annoying as the acting or the plots.

Yeah, I agree, r14.

Beautiful photography but thin plots, bad dialogue, and a ridiculously miscast lead actress.

She's totally vamping it up this season. I like the actress, I thought she did well in The Crown, but on here she's like a bouncing balloon that could cut somebody with those cheeks.

Side note, the 20s were awful for hair and fashion, in my view. Same thing on Downton, where they mired for so long. Hard looks, ugly jewellery, head bands, shifts... hate the twenties as a look era.

And Oliver Dench is trying to nepo baby himself since he was born Oliver Mayer, Dench being his stage name. Judi is great aunt.

Wonder why he chose it?

Probably because his talent so evidently equals hers.