Don Matteo 15 is preparing to pause for a week due to the Sanremo 2026 Festival, which will occupy Rai 1’s prime time from February 24 to 28. The series will return regularly with its eighth episode on Thursday, March 5 in prime time, resuming its usual Thursday appointment. This is a physiological break linked to the flagship network’s schedule and not to production or ratings issues. After the Sanremo break, viewers will be able to return to Spoleto for a new case and further developments in the protagonists’ stories, in a phase of the season that is increasingly approaching its decisive turning point. New developments after “La squadra” The eighth episode will pick up from the tensions left unresolved in the seventh. The relationship between Diego Martini and Giulia Mezzanotte will remain central and even more fragile. The Captain’s insecurities, resurfacing at the prospect of a professional future for Giulia far from Spoleto, risk becoming a real breaking point. Diego, torn between his sense of duty and the fear of losing the woman he loves, might let himself

be guided by pride, while Giulia will have to understand if her desire for change represents an escape or a real opportunity for growth. Undercurrents of tension At the same time, the new case of the episode will start from an apparently ordinary event, destined, however, to reveal personal rivalries and underlying tensions. Don Massimo will immediately sense that behind the facts lies a more complex truth, pushing Diego and Marshal Caterina Provvedi to dig among conflicting versions and unspoken secrets. Caterina, increasingly determined to prove her worth, will be at the heart of the investigation, while her relationship with Cecchini will continue to oscillate between irony and competition. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding the young Maria will thicken further: small details from her past may emerge, putting Don Massimo in front of new responsibilities and difficult choices. Cast and production towards the finale The cast of Don Matteo 15 is led by Raoul Bova as Don Massimo, alongside long-time faces Nino Frassica, Nathalie Guetta, and Francesco Scali, together with Eugenio Mastrandrea and Federica Sabatini, now central to the series’ balance. New additions this season include Irene Giancontieri, Fiamma Parente, Edoardo Miulli, and Andrew Howe, characters who are helping to bring new nuances to the story. The series is produced by Lux Vide, a Fremantle group company, in collaboration with Rai Fiction.