''Epitafios'' ( en, Epitaphs) is a 2004 13-episode, Argentinian crime fiction TV

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

with the tagline: ''El Final Está Escrito ... The End Is Written''. The series, which takes place in an unnamed South American city, was shot in Buenos Aires. The series was produced by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Latin America and Argentinian TV/

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

company Pol-Ka Producciones. It was written by Marcelo Slavich and Walter Slavich and directed by

Alberto Lecchi Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Al ...

and Jorge Nisco. Although all of the actors were Argentinian, a neutral Spanish was used instead of the local Rioplatense Spanish, avoiding

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

s such as the local ''vos'' in favor of the more common ''tú''. The series debuted in

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on SBS in May 2007 under the title ''If The Dead Could Speak''. It premiered in Poland on Cinemax on November 6, 2008. In Germany, it premiered on November 6, 2009 on pay TV channel Fox Channel under the title ''Epitafios - Tod ist die Antwort'' (''Epitafios - Death Is The Answer'').

Plot

Bruno Costas (played by Antonio Birabent) seeks revenge on the people involved in the death of four high-school students during a hostage situation gone bad, five years before. The show's two protagonists are ex-

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

Renzo Márquez (played by

Julio Chávez Julio Hirsch (born 14 July 1956), known professionally as Julio Chávez, is an Argentine film and television actor. He was born in Buenos Aires, and received his first film role in 1973. Since 1976, he has had leading roles in Argentine cinema ...

) and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

Laura Santini (played by

Paola Krum Andrea Paola Krum (born June 21, 1970) better known as Paola Krum is an actress, singer, and dancer. Biography Andrea Paola Krum was born on June 21, 1970 in Palermo, Buenos Aires. She is the only daughter of Raúl Krum and Teresita O’Donnell ...

). To add a further twist to this whodunit (although it has many elements of a ''whydunit''), Márquez and Santini are on-again, off-again lovers. In the second half of the series, Renzo is aided by a homicide detective, Marina Segal (portrayed by Cecilia Roth), who herself is eventually held hostage by Costas. During her captivity, the psychopathic murderer forces her to kill her mother who had left the family for another man years before, causing Marina's father to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Her troubled childhood has led Marina to seek thrills by playing high-stakes Russian Roulette. It's as the corpses of her defeated adversaries begin to surface, she is assigned to the case.

Cast

: Renzo Márquez *

: Laura Santini *Antonio Birabent: Bruno Costas *David Masajnik: Martin * Cecilia Roth: Marina Segal * Luis Luque: Commissaire Jiménez *Villanueva Cosse: Marcos Márquez * Mercedes Scápola: Serena

Second Series

A second season of the series - this one's tagline being: ''El Final Ahora Tiene Dos Caras ... The End Now Has Two Faces'' - began airing on

Latin America in Argentina (and elsewhere in Latin America), on April 19, 2009. It premiered in the U.S. on

on September 22, 2010. As with the first, this series stars

and Cecilia Roth, this time on the trail of a killer played by Leonardo Sbaraglia.RealTV (Spanish), March 3, 2009

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{HBONetwork Latin America Series 2004 Argentine television series debuts 2009 Argentine television series debuts 2004 Argentine television series endings 2009 Argentine television series endings Spanish-language HBO original programming HBO Latin America original programming Argentine television miniseries Argentine crime television series Argentine drama television series 2000s Argentine television series Television shows set in Buenos Aires 2000s television miniseries