Everything to Remember Ahead of 'Hotel Portofino’s Season 3 Premiere

It’s time to return to the gorgeous Italian riveria, where the ambiance is exquisite; the food is delicious, the romances are starcrossed, and, except for the pesky rise of fascism, everything is a delight. That’s right, Hotel Portofino returns for a third season on Sunday, July 28, 2024, on PBS. But where did we last leave the Ainsworth family and their friends and employees? Let’s take a look.

Bella (Natasha McElhone) is the lovely British owner of the Hotel Portofino. Unfortunately for her, she’s married to Cecil (Mark Umbers), who is always plotting something and looking for his next get-rich-quick scheme. Cecil’s overall goal in life is to maintain the luxurious life he’s grown accustomed to without ever having to lift a finger. Bella and Cecil’s oldest son died during the war, which leaves a palpitating sadness both parents continue to grapple with. This devastating loss has cast a pall over their marriage as Cecil never truly dealt with his grief and emotionally abandoned Bella.

At first, Bella poured her emotions into letters she wrote to her pen pal Henry. But she soon realized those letters were more therapeutic for her than actually having anything to do with her feelings of romance for Henry. After 12 years of writing to each other but not actually seeing each other, she gently lets a devastated Henry down when they meet briefly in person. In the second season, Bella decides to expand the hotel and add a spa. She falls for Marco (Giorgio Marchesi), the very sexy Italian architect helping her hotel’s expansion. Marco has a tragic backstory — his wife and baby died in childbirth 11 years ago. 

Cecil has fallen in with Danioni (Pasquale Esposito), a scheming politician who rules Portofino with a fascist fist. Danioni connects Cecil with his “friends from Detriot” (a euphemism for the mafia if there ever was one) and a questionable import/export business to bring liquor to the prohibition-laden United States. This is not the first time Cecil has worked an ill-fated scheme. In the show’s first season, he tried to sell a fake Ruben painting.

In the finale, Cecil challenges Marco to a game of cards with Bella as the prize. Marco, a class act and not a total jerk, walks away from the game. Then Cecil turns to gambling away the deed to the hotel. That is the last straw for Bella. “Our marriage is over. There’s no way back,” she tells him. Finally (finally!) free from Cecil, Bella may be able to find happiness with Marco.

Bella and Cecil’s other son, Lucian (Oliver Dench), is married to Rose (Claudee Scott-Mitchell), or “poor Rose,” as everyone referred to her. Their marriage is arranged, and Rose has the great misfortune of being married to someone who is in love with someone else. Lucian is smitten with Constance (Louisa Binder), a nanny who gets promoted to assistant hotel manager. Constance has a secret son, Tommy, that only her mother’s friend Betty (Elizabeth Carling) knows about. Betty is the cook at Hotel Portofino. In the second season, she falls for Lugi (Joseph Baldeerrama), a construction worker who is helping with the hotel’s expansion. Betty’s son Billy (Louis Healy) is well-meaning but has a temper that he often can’t keep in check.

When Constance’s mother in England becomes ill and can no longer care for Constance’s son, Constance realizes she must return home to England. Before all this happens, Lucian and Constance consummate their long-simmering attraction and sleep together. This all dovetails with poor Rose distraught over Lucian’s continued lack of affection and love. In the second season finale, a very drunk Rose asks Lucian what is wrong with her since, after five months of marriage, they have yet to consummate their relationship (!!). “There’s nothing wrong with you. I’m just not in love with you,” he tells her, which is not the best way to deal with the situation. 

An inconsolable Rose has nowhere to turn. Her mother wants her to stay married to Lucian no matter what and tells her daughter she will disown her if the marriage doesn’t work out.  Her well-intentioned mother-in-law is offering her advice in the bedroom. Hearing that her husband isn’t in love with her is too much for poor Rose. Our last image of Rose is of her lifeless body floating in the ocean. Rose leaves a note for Constance, saying, “Love him for me.” Lucian thinks it’s Rose giving them her blessing, but Constance knows it’s actually more of a curse.

Bella and Cecil’s daughter Alice (Olivia Morris) is a widow (her husband died in the war). She has a daughter, Lottie, who she, more often than not, leaves in someone else’s care. In the second season, Alice, who tends to only see the good in her father, gets engaged to a French man named Victor (Roby Schinasi), a con artist anxious to swindle Alice out of her money. The dashing Count Albani (Daniele Pecci) is not-so-secretly in love with Alice and reveals Victor for who he is - a criminal wanted in three different jurisdictions. Alice finally realizes that a wonderful man has been right there all along, and Alice and Count Albani finally kiss.

Bella has forged a friendship with Claudine, an American movie star who started out as a hotel guest in the show’s first season. Claudine is a rare woman in the 1920s. She does what she wants and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. She’s Bella’s confidante, and when it came to protecting the hotel and ensuring Cecil didn’t get ownership, she was also Bella’s accomplice.

Lucian’s best friend Nish had a very troubled second season. He’s a gay man when that isn’t acceptable, and Nish, a pacifist at heart,  falls in love with Gianluca, who is part of the resistance movement. Nish gets injured while trying to stop Gianluca from setting off a bomb. He goes into hiding, where gangrene sets in on his wounds. Lucian does everything he can to help his friend and make his escape from Italy into France possible. But the ever-dastardly Danioni is relentless in his search for Nish. He catches Gianluca and Nish trying to escape. The last image we have is of Danioni taking Nish and Gianluca out into the woods. We hear two shots ring out, but we don’t know for sure if Danioni has killed them both. 

Hotel Portofino Season 3 premieres Sunday, July 28, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET on most PBS stations and streams on the PBS app and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. PBS Passport members will have access to all six episodes on premiere day to watch as a binge. The series will air/stream weekly on Sundays through the beginning of September. As always, check your local listings.