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TL;DR: 

  • The 1920s-set period drama Hotel Portofino premieres June 19 on PBS; episodes will also stream on the PBS Video app. 
  • The six-episode show follows a British family who opens an upscale hotel on the Italian coast. 
  • A second season is already in the works. 
Natasha McElhone standing outside in the PBS series 'Hotel Portofino'
Natasha McElhone as Bella Ainsworth in ‘Hotel Portofino’ | Courtesy of © Eagle Eye Drama Limited 2021

Attention, Downton Abbey and Durrells in Corfu fans. PBS is delivering a dose of glamorous escapism with its new must-watch period drama, Hotel Portofino. Here’s what you need to know about the show, the cast, and how to watch. 

An English family opens an upscale hotel in Italy in ‘Hotel Portofino’ 

Set in the 1920s, Hotel Portofino follows Bella Ainsworth and her husband Cecil Ainsworth, a pair of British expats who open an upscale hotel on the Italian coast. It’s set in the town of Portofino and focuses on the time of upheaval in the aftermath of World War I, when British travelers were influenced by Italy’s culture, climate, and cuisine. 

In the first episode, the Ainsworth family’s hotel opens its doors to guests from around the world, including the difficult-to-please Lady Latchmere. As Bella works to make the hotel a success, she tends to her son Lucian, a soldier who was wounded in the war, and her widowed daughter Alice. She must also deal with a scheming politician, Signor Danioni, who threatens to extort her. 

The ‘Hotel Portofino’ cast includes Natasha McElhone and Mark Umbers

Natasha McElhone, of Paramount+’s new series Halo, Californication, and Designated Survivor, plays Bella Ainsworth in Hotel Portofino. Mark Umbers plays Cecil Ainsworth. Oliver Dench plays the Ainsworths’ son Lucian and Olivia Morris plays their daughter Alice. 

Louise Binder, Elizabeth Carling, Louis Healy, and Carolina Gonnelli play members of the Hotel Portofino staff. Anna Chancellor plays Lady Latchmere. Assad Zaman, Dominic Tighe, Bethan Cullinane, Lucy Akhurst, and Claude Scott-Mitchell are among the other guests at the hotel. Pasquale Esposito plays Signor Danioni. 

It premieres June 19 on PBS and the PBS app

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Hotel Portofino debuted on BritBox in the U.K. earlier this year. It premieres in the U.S. on Sunday, June 19 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS. New episodes air on subsequent Sundays through July 24. 

The six-episode series will also be available to stream on all PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, as well as the PBS Masterpiece channel on Prime Video. PBS members with access to the Passport benefit will be able to stream all episodes beginning the day of the premiere. 

Viewers who fall in love with the Ainsworth family can be confident of a return visit to Hotel Portofino. The show has already been renewed for season 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

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