REVIEW: ‘Hotel Costiera’ Showcases The Fun Of Case-Of-The-Week Storytelling

Prime Video has been excelling at releasing television series that evoke nostalgia for the case-of-the-week dramas that used to air on USA and the police procedurals we all tuned into. Hotel Costiera Season 1 is the former, and one of the best. 

Created by Luca Bernabei, written by Elena Bucaccio, and directed by Adam Bernstein and Giacomo Martelli, Hotel Costiera takes audiences to Italy with Jesse Williams at its center. Williams plays Daniel De Luca, a half-Italian former U.S. Marine who has returned to Italy to live and work. Only his line of work is taking advantage of his unique military skillset, just with more finesse.

A fixer for the rich guests at a luxurious hotel in Positano, Daniel is here to handle problems, big, small, and in between. He meets old friends, solves clever and funny mysteries, and he does it all with one main crime hanging over the series, tying every episode together. De Luca’s main purpose at the hotel, despite providing services to the guests, is to find Alice, one of the owner’s daughters, who vanished a month before.

The Jesse Williams-fronted Hotel Costiera Season 1 feels like nostalgic TV.

Across each of the six episodes, Hotel Costiera Season 1 De Luca gets closer to confronting the people responsible for Alice’s kidnapping, but also winds up in a situation he didn’t necessarily anticipate, especially as those he knows and trusts begin to reveal thornier elements in his story. 

For the most part, Hotel Costiera is a pretty basic series. It’s a case of the week, it’s simple writing, and it thrives on Jesse Williams’ charisma. However, the real selling point is what the cases ultimately become, or rather, the way De Luca resolves them.

While some start off simplistic and become nefarious, others are the exact opposite. Like the one where a man turns up missing after going overboard, only to survive in an alcove instead of being murdered by his extremely young life. Or when De Luca uses a cat to get some background information. The gimmicks throughout Hotel Costiera are just fun to watch and make for an extremely good time.

Hotel Costiera has an endearing cast and charismatic lead, even if it’s far too short.

Hotel Costiera has its fair share of melodrama, but its humor often balances it out. However, the series isn’t carried forward solely by Jesse Williams, although he is the clear star. The endearing ensemble cast propels the success of the story, made up of unique characters that play against and into television tropes in a way that brings humor consistently, even when action kicks up in a few sequences. 

The core group is made up of Genny (Jordan Alexandra), Tancredi (Antonio Gerardi), and Bigné (Sam Haygarth). They’re Daniel’s friends, confidants, and the only reason that he can solve the cases so quickly. At the same time, Adele (Maria Chiara Giannetta) is on the periphery of the group. Daniel’s employer and one of the hotel owners’ daughters has her own secrets. How the cast interacts with each other is what keeps everything worth watching. 

Additionally, the series doesn’t overstay its welcome. With perfectly paced episodes, it’s easy to sit down and watch one after another. However, like much of Prime Video television, the episode order is far too small to deliver anything impactful. But what it lacks in narrative impact, it makes up for with fun whodunnit writing and a production design that makes Italy a character all its own. 

With style and humor, Hotel Costiera Season 1 is well worth your time, but more importantly, it continues Prime Video’s nostalgic television push. But where its other series come close to network and cable TV, this one also shares their weakness: it’s too short. By the time you’re bought into the series, it’s already over. 

Hotel Costiera is streaming right now, exclusively on Prime Video.