''The Young Pope'' is a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

created and directed by

Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honour ...

for

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...

, HBO, and

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

. The series stars

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

as the disruptive Pope Pius XIII and

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

as his confidante, Sister Mary, in a Vatican full of intrigues. The series was co-produced by the European production companies Wildside, Haut et Court TV, and

Mediapro Mediaproducción, S.L.U., better known as Mediapro, is a multimedia communications group in Spain founded in April 1994 in Barcelona. The company is well involved in movie and television production. The company holds branch offices in Madrid, Se ...

. The world premiere of ''The Young Pope'' was on 3 September 2016 at the

73rd Venice International Film Festival The 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2016. English director Sam Mendes was the President of the Jury for the main competition. The opening night film was Damien Chazelle's musical ''La La Lan ...

, where the first two episodes were screened out of competition, the first time in the history of the festival that a TV series has been a part of the program. The series premiered on television on 21 October 2016 on

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. ''The Young Pope'' was originally designed as a limited series, and was marketed as such especially in the United States. However, it was later followed by ''

The New Pope ''The New Pope'' is a drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO and Canal+. It is a continuation of the 2016 series ''The Young Pope'', originally announced as its second season. The nine-episode ser ...

'', with Law returning and joined by

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

. Production began in Italy in late 2018. On 14 July 2017, ''The Young Pope'' received two nominations for the

69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2016, until May 31, 2017, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

, becoming the first Italian TV series to be nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

Plot

A young cardinal, Lenny Belardo, becomes pope of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

when machinations of the leading contenders to gain the position themselves fail. He takes the name of Pius XIII and proceeds to challenge the established traditions and practices of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. He installs Sister Mary, the

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

who raised him in an orphanage, to serve as his chief adviser. Driven by his desire to confront his parents, who abandoned him as a boy, Belardo takes the church in a new conservative direction, causing disruption inside and outside the Vatican.

Cast

Main

as Pope Pius XIII (born Lenny Belardo), the newly elected

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and former

Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompass ...

as Sister Mary, an American religious sister, who raised Belardo and Dussolier in an orphanage, has helped him throughout his career and is appointed personal secretary to the Pope *

Silvio Orlando Silvio Orlando (born 30 June 1957) is an Italian actor. Orlando was born and raised in Naples, where he started acting in theatre in 1976. He made his film debut in 1988 with a supporting role in the comedy '' Kamikazen: Last Night in Milan'' ...

as Cardinal Angelo Voiello,

Camerlengo Camerlengo (plural: ''camerlenghi'', Italian for " chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin. It derives from the late Latin ''camarlingus'', in turn coming through the Frankish ''kamerling'', from the Latin ''camerarius'' which meant ...

and

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

Javier Cámara Javier Cámara Rodríguez (born 19 January 1967) is a Spanish actor. He became known for two television roles as a priest in '' ¡Ay, señor, señor!'' and ''Éste es mi barrio''. He has since featured in films such as ''Torrente, the Dumb Arm ...

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ...

(later

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

) Bernardo Gutierrez, Master of Ceremonies of the Holy See * Scott Shepherd as Cardinal Andrew Dussolier, a missionary, Belardo's longtime friend and a fellow orphan *

Cécile de France Cécile de France (; born 17 July 1975) is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as '' L'Art (délicat) de la séduction'' (2001) and ''Irène'' (2002), she gained international attention for her lead roles in '' ...

as Sofia Dubois, in charge of marketing for the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

Ludivine Sagnier Ludivine Sagnier (born 3 July 1979) is a French actress and model who has appeared on screen since 1989. She was nominated three times for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Swimming Pool'' (2003), '' Peter Pan'' (2003), and ''A ...

as Esther, the wife of a member of the

Pontifical Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala) is ...

Toni Bertorelli Toni Bertorelli (18 March 1948 – 26 May 2017) was an Italian actor. He performed in over sixty films. Biography Bertorelli was born in Barge, Piedmont, Italy. Bertorelli began his acting career in 1969 working with his friend Carlo Cecchi. H ...

as Cardinal Caltanissetta, an elderly and powerful master of Vatican politics with inscrutable motives *

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include '' Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), '' The Queen' ...

as Cardinal Michael Spencer, former archbishop of New York and Belardo's

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Stefano Accorsi Stefano Lelio Beniamino Accorsi (; born 2 March 1971) is an Italian actor. Early life and background Accorsi was born in Bologna. He graduated from Bologna's Theatrical School in 1993, and acted in the theatre for several years before moving to ...

as the

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

Recurring

* as Father Federico Amatucci, Cardinal Voiello's confidant * as Father Valente, one of the Pope's assistants *

Sebastian Roché Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in ''Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in ''General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in ''Fringe'', Balthazar in ''Supernatural'', Mikael in both ...

as Cardinal Michel Marivaux, Prefect of the

Congregation for the Causes of the Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

* Marcello Romolo as Don Tommaso Viglietti (later created a Cardinal), the Pope's and the cardinals' confessor * Vladimir Bibic as Cardinal Ozolins * as Cardinal Aguirre * Nadee Kammellaweera as Sister Suree, a secretarial worker at the Vatican * as Cardinal Mario Assente *

Daniel Vivian Daniel Vivian (born 1963) is a British actor of Serbian origin. He works internationally. Biography Early life and career Daniel Vivian began acting with Bosnian film director Pjer Zalica in experimental short films. He later appeared in a ...

as Domen, the Pope's

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantry ...

* Biagio Forestieri as Peter, a member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard and Esther's husband * Giancarlo Fares as Franco, Girolamo's caregiver * Unknown actor as Girolamo, Voiello's best friend who has a severe disability * Carolina Carlsson as the

Prime Minister of Greenland The prime minister of Greenland ( kl, Naalakkersuisut siulittaasuat, ; da, Landsstyreformand), officially the premier of Greenland,Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

* Franco Pinelli as Tonino Pettola, a charlatan who claims that he can see the Virgin Mother among his sheep flock * Madalina Bellariu as Elena, an escort * Tony Plana as Carlos García, a Honduran

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

and Maribeth's husband * Monica Cetti as Contessa Meraviglia, a hedonistic Italian noblewoman * Rayna Tharani as Maribeth, Cardinal Dussolier's married girlfriend * Alessia Giulia Trujillo Alva as Blessed Juana * Andre Gregory as Elmore Coen, a writer * Guy Boyd as Archbishop Kurtwell, a suspected

child molester Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whethe ...

* Kevin Jackson as Pete Washington, a potential witness of Kurtwell's crimes *

Jan Hoag Janet A. Hoag is an American film and television actress. Career Since the beginning of the 1990s, Hoag has appeared in several television series, including ''Murder, She Wrote'', '' Step by Step'', '' Married... with Children'', ''Melrose Pl ...

as Rose, the manager of a hotel in New York City * Alex Esola as Freddy Blakestone, an aspiring tennis player that was involved in the Kurtwell case

Flashbacks

* Allison Case as young Sister Mary * Frank Gingerich as young Lenny Belardo * Olivia Macklin as Lenny Belardo's mother * Jack McQuaid as young Andrew Dussolier * Collin Smith as Lenny Belardo's father * Ann Darlington Carr as the Custodian's wife, miraculously cured by Balardo's prayer * Brian Keane as the Custodian

Guests

* Massimiliano Gallo as Captain Becchi, a

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

officer * Emilio Dino Conti as the Italian Prime Minister's advisor * Marcos Franz as Ángelo Sanchez, a young man whose application to become a priest has been rejected * Milvia Marigliano as Sister Antonia, a missionary nun serving in Africa *

Nicolas Coster Nicolas Dwynn Coster (born December 3, 1933) is a British-American actor, most known for his work in daytime drama and as a character actor on nighttime television series, such as ''Wonder Woman'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', '' T. J ...

as an American journalist * Todd Grinnell as Archbishop Kurtwell's assistant * Troy Ruptash as David Tanistone, Archbishop Kurtwell's secret son

Episodes

Production

''The Young Pope'', the first TV series by

, was produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani, together with the French company Haut et Court TV and the Spanish company

. The project was financed by Sky,

and HBO, which contributed 40 million euros, with part of the money coming from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...

. Production took three years between 2014 and 2016. The script was written by Sorrentino, Stefano Rulli,

Tony Grisoni Tony Grisoni (born 28 October 1952) is a British screenwriter. He lives in London. His first feature film, '' Queen of Hearts'', directed by Jon Amiel, won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Festival du Film de Paris. Life and career He has co-written s ...

and Umberto Contarello. The cast, announced between July and August 2015, includes

as the young pope;

as Sister Mary;

, Scott Shepherd,

and

. It also includes

, Guy Boyd, Andre Gregory,

, Marcello Romolo,

Ignazio Oliva Ignazio Oliva (17th century) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active near his natal city of Orta di Atella. He was a pupil of Domenico Gargiulo. He is known for painting outdoor vedute: seascapes and landscapes A landscape is th ...

, Vladimir Bibic,

and Nadie Kammalaweera. The main character is almost always seen only from the waist up, to give the impression that he might be soaring. Sorrentino said he inherited this technique from

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

. Principal photography, which took seven months, started in August 2015 and took place mainly in the

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studio ...

studios, where the interior of the Vatican was recreated. Exterior shots and garden scenes were taken at a number of villas, primarily Villa Lante (Bagnaia),

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

, and Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza", while some interior shots were also taken inside

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval h ...

. Parts of the last episode were shot in

piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Broadcast

The series premiered on 21 October 2016 on

in Italy and

in Germany and Austria, on 27 October 2016 on

in the United Kingdom and Ireland, on 28 October 2016 on

HBO Europe HBO Europe is a premium television group of channels by HBO. It is available as a group of film channels and streaming television services in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Monteneg ...

in various European countries, and on 15 January 2017 on HBO and

HBO Canada HBO (previously known as HBO Canada, and still referred to as such on social media) is a Canadian premium television network from Crave (formerly The Movie Network), which is owned by Bell Media. The channel is primarily devoted to original pro ...

in the United States and Canada. It premiered in Australia on

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS Wor ...

on 29 April 2017. In India it was telecast on ZeeCafe.

Reception

''The Young Pope'' received positive reviews in the UK, Ireland, and Italy. Jude Law's performance has garnered praise by Jasper Rees of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', while the Italian weekly Catholic magazine ''

Famiglia Cristiana ''Famiglia Cristiana'' (meaning ''The Christian family'' in English) is an Italian weekly magazine published in Alba, Italy. The magazine is a Catholic news magazine and has been in circulation since 1931. History and profile ''Famiglia Cristia ...

'' objected to "caricature-like characters created to appeal to an American audience". On US review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a rating of 68, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The show also currently has a 79% positive rating from review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

combining 76 reviews. Its "Critics Consensus": "''The Young Pope''s original premise and stylish blend of over-the-top melodrama with profane comedy helps overcome an occasionally muddled plot." Some Catholic reviewers were put off by what they perceived as the series'

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

stance. Such critics took issue with a presentation of the Church they found to be caricatural and "cartoonish". Other reviewers complained about anti-Catholicism in the entertainment industry more broadly. However, some conservative reviewers praised the show for its portrayal of tradition and authentic religious devotion.

Audience viewership

In Italy, the two-hour premiere drew the highest rating ever for the pay TV network Sky. With 953,000 viewers overnight, it beat the initial release of ''Gomorrah'' and the Italian release of ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

''.

Awards and nominations

Home media release

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Pope, The 2010s Italian television miniseries 2016 Italian television series debuts 2016 Italian television series endings Canal+ original programming English-language television shows Films about fictional popes HBO original programming Sky Atlantic (Italy) television programmes Television series about Christian religious leaders Television shows filmed in Italy Television shows set in Vatican City