HBO is piggybacking on the success of its program, “The Young Pope.” The limited series marks the second television show set in an era of modern papacy from Paolo Sorrentino.
The cable network ordered a follow-up yesterday, and its production will begin this July. There is no information about whether “The Young Pope” star Jude Law will be back for the new episodes or not. Directed by Paolo Sorrentino and scripted by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarrello, “The New Pope” is a joint project of HBO and Sky. FremantleMedia International will handle the global distributions.
‘The Young Pope’ – an English language series
“The Young Pope” is a popular English language drama developed by Paolo Sorrentino for HBO, Canal+, and Sky Atlantic. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2016, where the first three episodes were screened out for a prize.
The show features Jude Law, Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Toni Bertorelli, James Cromwell, Guy Boyd, Andre Gregory, Rayna Tharani, Jan Hoag, Kevin Jackson, Ignazio Oliva, and Sebastian Roché.
Rising prominence of original programming
“The Young Pope” is financed by HBO, Sky, and Canal+, which contributed over $60 million. Production of the first season took place between March 2014 and January 2016.
Filming was done in Villa Medici, while some interior shots were taken inside Palazzo Venezia. Parts of the last few episodes were shot in Venice.
The show received positive reviews in the United States, Ireland, and Italy. Jasper Rees from The Daily Telegraph admired the performance of Jude Law. On U.S. review aggregator Metacritic, the average rating is 65 out of 100 based on 43 reviews.
“The Young Pope” has a 72% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 109 critics.
Home Box Office (HBO) is a premium cable and satellite television network of the United States. In 2014, the network had an adjusted operating income of $1.7 billion compared to the $1.6 billion it accrued in 2013. Currently, HBO has more than 52 million subscribers in the United States and over 120 million viewers worldwide.
In 1990, HBO achieved tremendous success with its original series such as “Arliss,” “Dream On,” “Tales from the Crypt,” “Tracey Takes On,” and “Mr. Show with Bob and David.” Also, its “The Larry Sanders Show” received positive comments from television critics and audiences. The show received several awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, and ranked #36 on TV Guide's greatest television shows of all time.
