'Hotel Portofino’s Matt Baker Talks About the Show’s Inspiration & Modern Parallels

The luscious Hotel Portofino is both charming and heartfelt and has an opulent setting, a robust and talented cast, and quiet but compelling stories. As Eagle Eye Drama’s first original English-language drama, it had a lot resting on its gentle shoulders and managed to garner a respectable audience. Centered around an aristocratic British woman and her family running a hotel for well-to-do (mostly) British people in 1920s Italy, the focus also includes the dramas of the hotel guests and staff and the looming influence of fascism. Despite the serious themes woven through, this show is undeniably sweet and cozy.

Scriptwriter Matt Baker graciously entertained our queries about Hotel Portofino’s origins and the direction of its second season. Baker’s previous television credits have been mainly adaptations: a string of Walter Presents hits including Professor T, Before We Die, and Suspect. Hotel Portofino is his first original series. Baker weaves an interconnected tale of dreamers and schemers where most characters have something to hide, and everyone has something to lose. The first season was a clear ensemble piece, but Baker reports that Season 2 narrows to concentrate on the central characters.

So pour yourself a cup of tea (or one of Lady Latchmere’s Italian lemonades) and read on!