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 series stars Jude Law, reprising his role as Pope Pius XIII, and John Malkovich as Pope John Paul III, the titular new pope. It was co-produced by European production companies The Apartment, Wildside, Haut et Court TV and Mediapro.
The series premiered on 10 January 2020 on Sky Atlantic in Italy.

Cast

Main

Production

The New Pope production began in Italy in late 2018. Filming took place inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City in November 2018. Some scenes were shot in Milan in January and February 2019. The production crew also filmed in Venice in January and April 2019. Most of the filming took place at Cinecittà, in Rome. The crew returned to Rome to film at the St. Peter's Square in March 2019. Additional scenes were shot in Abruzzo and on the river Piave. The opening sequence of the series with dancing nuns was filmed inside San Giorgio Monastery in Venice.

Release

The series had its world premiere on 1 September 2019 at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, where episodes 2 and 7 were screened out of competition. It debuted on television on 10 January 2020 on Sky Atlantic in Italy, on 12 January on Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland and on 13 January on HBO and Canal+.

Marketing

The official teaser for the series was released on 28 August 2019. The second teaser trailer premiered on 3 November 2019. The official full trailer was released on 10 December 2019.

Critical reception

The series received positive response from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 88% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 7.72/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though its predecessor's shadow looms large, devout fans will still find much to like in The New Pope's exploration of power dynamics and sumptuous strangeness." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 12 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews."