Original TV is all the rage at the moment, and it doesn’t come much more original than the sight of a fag-smoking American Pontiff played by Jude Law. The Young Pope, Sky’s new miniseries, has a first trailer to share. Watch it below.
The Paolo Sorrentino-directed miniseries has Jude playing Lenny Belardo, AKA Pius XIII, the Vatican’s first ever American Pope. Why have the College of Cardinals picked this unlikely candidate from a pool of venerable types? Good question. Expect the man they’ve picked to be more devious and less easily steered than they thought.
Runs the official synopsis: "Shrewd and naïve, old-fashioned and very modern, doubtful and resolute, ironic, pedantic, hurt and ruthless, Pius XIII tries to walk the long path of human loneliness to find a God for mankind. And for himself."
If you’ve seen any of Sorrentino’s movies – The Consequences Of Love and The Great Beauty, in particular – you’ll know what to expect: glorious visual, effortless style, social comment and just a sprinkle of Fellini-like decadence to sugar it all. Will there be parallels to make with House Of Cards’ Frances Underworld and his Machiavellian ways in His Holiness?
A co-production between those telly powerhouses Sky, HBO and Canal+, the show also boasts Diane Keaton, Scott Shepherd, James Cromwell and Ludivine Sagnier.
Look out for The Young Pope on Sky Atlantic – as well as in Italy, Germany, Ireland and Austria – in October over eight parts.