Forget any preconceived notions about what you might think a drama set in the Vatican might be like. As our review of the first two episodes reveals, all expectations are off the table in Paolo Sorrentino‘s “The Young Pope,” because in this show it appears that “God is a right bastard.” And at the center of it all is Jude Law who looks like he’s giving the performance of a lifetime.
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Co-starring Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France, Javier Cámara, Ludivine Sagnier, Tony Bertorelli and James Cromwell, the show tells the story of the first American pope, who becomes an enigma to those in the Vatican. Here’s the official synopsis:
The Young Pope tells the story of Lenny Belardo, alias Pius XIII, the first American Pope. Young and charming, his election seems to be the result of a simple yet effective media strategy on the part of the College of Cardinals. But appearances can be deceptive. Above all, in the place and among the people who have chosen the great mystery of God as the compass guiding their existence. That place is the Vatican and those people are the leaders of the Church. And Pius XIII proves to be the most mysterious and contradictory of them all. Shrewd and naïve, ironical and pedantic, primeval and cutting-edge, doubting and resolute, melancholy and ruthless, Pius XIII tries to cross the endless river of human solitude to find a God he can give to mankind. And to himself.
“The Young Pope” will air on HBO in 2017.
