The Young Pope

2016 • Sky Atlantic

4.4

25 reviews

Eligible

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Season 1 episodes (10)

1 Episode 1

10/27/16

Season-only

Lenny Belardo is the youngest Pope in history but also the first American pontiff. His radical ideas could change the Roman Catholic church, but underlying many of his choices is an ancient sorrow and a tormented relationship with his faith.

2 Episode 2

10/27/16

Season-only

The Cardinal Secretary of State Voiello is worried about some of the Pope's initiatives which threaten to compromise the Vatican's political relationships and the relationship with the faithful. Fears that are confirmed by the new pontiff's first, bewildering speech to the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

3 Episode 3

11/3/16

Season-only

Lenny has shown that he is not the docile, easy-to-manipulate figure that the upper reaches of the Vatican hoped he would be during the Conclave. Ester, the wife of a Swiss Guard, is the first person to understand the new pontiff's message.

4 Episode 4

11/10/16

Season-only

Voiello believes that the only way to stop Lenny is to involve the Pope in a scandal. To obtain his objective, he blackmails Ester into seducing the Holy Father. In the meanwhile, Lenny continues to lay out his increasingly reactionary ideas.

5 Episode 5

11/17/16

Season-only

Pius XIII indulges in a few hours of freedom outside of the Vatican walls in the company of his childhood friend Dussolier as he prepares to summon the cardinals to give them a message destined to revolutionize their concept of faith.

6 Episode 6

11/24/16

Season-only

Nine months have passed since Lenny became Pope and, for the first time, he gives an audience to the Italian Prime Minister, who is shocked by the pontiff's anachronistic demands. Lenny further decides to begin a crusade against homosexual priests and asks Dussolier to take charge of it.

7 Episode 7

12/1/16

Season-only

Dussolier feels responsible for the tragic death of a young man who is denied the opportunity to become a priest because he is believed to be a homosexual. Lenny begins to think that his papacy is destined to end soon.

8 Episode 8

12/8/16

Season-only

Pius XIII makes a surprise decision to take a pastoral journey to Africa. Here he meets Sister Antonia, a greatly beloved and respected symbol of the missionary world who, however, produces a reaction of strong mistrust in Lenny.

9 Episode 9

12/15/16

Season-only

In New York, Gutierrez fails to find the evidence to nail Cardinal Kurtwell for the sexual abuse he's suspected of. But an encounter with a new witness might change things.

10 Episode 10

12/15/16

Season-only

For Lenny, the time has come to settle scores with his past by taking a pastoral trip to Venice, the city where he has always suspected his parents might be. Here, for the first time, he makes a public appearance. It's clear that his state of health is precarious.

About this show

Created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, The Young Pope tells the controversial story of the beginning of Pius XIII's pontificate. Lenny Belardo (Jude Law), aka Pius XIII, is the first American Pope in history. Young and charming, his election might seem the result of a simple and effective media strategy by the College of Cardinals. But, as we know, appearances can be deceptive. Especially in the place and among the people who have chosen the great mystery of God as the guiding light of their existence. That place is the Vatican and those people are the leaders of the Catholic Church. And the most mysterious and contradictory figure of all turns out to be Pius XIII himself. 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.

Ratings and reviews

4.4

25 reviews

Sergei Wareham

February 23, 2017

Wow! Expect the unexpected has never been more relevant :) Perfect acting, cliffhanger, comedy and drama at its best! Love it!

CJ N

January 27, 2017

Not what I was expecting.... In a good way!

Ryu Xerozen

February 1, 2017