Tradecraft: Violante Placido Joins Transporter TV Series

Violante Placido, the Italian beauty with an awesome name who stunned spy fans in Anton Corbijn's The American (review here), has joined the cast of the Transporter TV series for its second season. In the series based on the Luc Besson-produced neo Eurospy movies, Simon Vance stars in the role Jason Statham originated on the big screen, professional "transporter" Frank Martin. Deadline reports that Placido "will play Caterina Boldieu, a former French intelligence officer who first met Frank when he rescued her from captivity in North Africa. Two years on, the brilliant strategist has come to work for him." While the first season of Transporter aired in many countries in 2012, it did not air in America after Cinemax backed out as the U.S. broadcast partner. Earlier this year, however, we learned that TNT has picked up the series, and will air both the first season and the currently in-production second season starting this fall. It was previously reported that utility player Frank Spotnitz (whose spy credits include Cinemax's Hunted and Strike Back) had come on board to run the show's second season. Vance's contract had to be renegotiated because it had lapsed during the time it took to get a second season up and running. There's no official word so far on whether any other cast members from Season 1 will return for Season 2, but in my opinion Placido is a wonderful addition! Under Spotnitz's care, the show finally has the potential to live up to the films that spawned it.

Besson is separately developing a new trilogy of theatrical Transporter movies starring Ed Skrein and directed by Camille Delamarre (Brick Mansions), but that appears to be unrelated to the TV show.