8.2 /10 1 Votes8.2
75% Rotten Tomatoes | 8.4/10 IMDb 8.8/10 TV First episode date 21 October 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by Paolo SorrentinoStefano RulliTony GrisoniUmberto Contarello Starring Jude LawDiane KeatonSilvio OrlandoJavier CámaraScott ShepherdCécile de FranceLudivine SagnierToni BertorelliJames Cromwell Theme music composer Timothy McKenzieBob DylanJimi Hendrix Cast Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Young Pope is an English-language Italian drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+. The series stars Jude Law and Diane Keaton.
Contents
- Main
- Recurring
- Flashbacks
- Guests
- Production
- Broadcast
- Critical response
- DVD and Blu Ray
- Audience viewership
- References
The world premiere of The Young Pope was on 3 September 2016, at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, where the first two episodes were screened out of competition. It was the first time in the history of the festival that a TV series was a part of the program. The series premiered on TV on 21 October 2016 on Sky Atlantic in Italy. On 20 October 2016, Wildside producer Lorenzo Mieli announced that a second season of the series was in development.
Main
Recurring
Flashbacks
Guests
Production
The Young Pope, the first TV series by Paolo Sorrentino, was produced by Fausto Brizzi, Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani, together with the French company Haut et Court TV and the Spanish company Mediapro. The project was financed by Sky, Canal+ and HBO, which contributed 40 million euros, with part of the money coming from the European Regional Development Fund. Production of the first 10 episodes of the first season took three years between 2014 and 2016.
The script was written by Sorrentino, Stefano Rulli, Tony Grisoni and Umberto Contarello. The cast, announced between July and August 2015, includes Jude Law as the young pope; Diane Keaton as Sister Mary; James Cromwell, Silvio Orlando, Scott Shepherd, Javier Cámara and Toni Bertorelli. It also includes Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Guy Boyd, Andre Gregory, Sebastian Roché, Marcello Romolo, Ignazio Oliva, Vladimir Bibic, Daniel Vivian 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.
Filming of the first season, which took seven months, started in August 2015 and took place mainly in the Cinecittà 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, and Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza", while some interior shots were also taken inside Palazzo Venezia. Parts of the last episode were shot in piazza San Marco in Venice.
Although originally designed as a limited series, the show was renewed for a second season.
Broadcast
The series premiered on 21 October 2016 on Sky Atlantic in Italy, 27 October 2016 on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, 28 October 2016 on HBO in various European countries, and on 15 January 2017 on HBO and HBO Canada in the United States and Canada.
Critical response
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, while the Italian weekly Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana objected to "caricature-like characters created to appeal to an American audience".
On U.S. review aggregator Metacritic, it has a rating of 69, indicating "generally favorable reviews." The show also has a 75% rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
DVD and Blu-Ray
The complete first series was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK by Dazzler Media in December 2016.
Audience viewership
In Italy, it drew the highest rating ever for the pay TV SKY. With 953,000 viewers, it beat the initial release of Gomorrah and the Italian release of Game of Thrones.