Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
HBO’s ‘The Young Pope’ Smokes Cigarettes and Dons a Big Hat in Teaser Trailer

HBO’s ‘The Young Pope’ Smokes Cigarettes and Dons a Big Hat in Teaser Trailer

Last updated on: June 15, 2016 at 10:18 pm by Kate O'Hare

HBO’s ‘The Young Pope’ Smokes Cigarettes and Dons a Big Hat in Teaser Trailer 2016-06-15T22:18:10-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The first trailer is out for HBO’s upcoming eight-episode series “The Young Pope,” starring British actor Jude Law as the first American pope (of course, heaven forbid we have an American actor play the part). Here’s how co-producer Sky (with HBO and Canal Plus) describes the show:

Lenny Belardo, 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.

Along with Jude — whose character is often described in the press as “conservative,” but who knows what the mainstream media thinks that means in Catholic terms — the cast includes Diane Keaton (Sister Mary), Silvio Orlando (Cardinal Voiello), Scott Shepherd Cardinal Dussolier), Cecile de France (Sofia), Javier Camera (Cardinal Guitierrez), Ludivine Sagnier (Esther), Tony Bertorelli (Cardinal Caltanissetta) and James Cromwell (Cardinal Michael Spencer).

Incidentally, Cromwell played Pope Pius XII in the 2010 film “Under the Roman Sky,” focusing on the pontiff’s efforts to save Jews during World War II (yes, he really did).

It marks filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s first TV project; he previously won a foreign-language Academy Award for the 2013 film “The Great Beauty.”

In a December 2015 interview with Variety, he said:

“How can you reconcile your personal pain with the fact that religion, Catholic religion in this case, says you have to accept that pain; that it’s part of a grand design? But if this person happens to a pope — the man who is designated to believe, more than anyone else — then you have a pretty big dilemma.”

HBO’s official site for the series says this:

From Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Academy Award®-winning film ‘The Great Beauty,’ ‘The Young Pope’ tells the controversial story of the beginning of Pius XIII’s pontificate. Born Lenny Belardo, he is a complex and conflicted character, so conservative in his choices as to border on obscurantism, yet full of compassion towards the weak and poor. The first American pope, Pius XIII is a man of great power who is stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers, unconcerned with the implications to his authority.

The eight-episode series stars two-time Academy Award® nominee Jude Law as Pius XIII, and Academy Award® winner Diane Keaton as Sister Mary, a nun from the U.S. now living in Vatican City.

Sorrentino, who also directed of the upcoming ‘Youth,’ says the series is about “the clear signs of God’s existence. The clear signs of God’s absence. How faith can be searched for and lost. The greatness of holiness, so great as to be unbearable when you are fighting temptations and when all you can do is to yield to them. The inner struggle between the huge responsibility of the Head of the Catholic Church and the miseries of the simple man that fate (or the Holy Spirit) chose as Pontiff. Finally, how to handle and manipulate power in a state whose dogma and moral imperative is the renunciation of power and selfless love towards one’s neighbor.”

Shot mostly in Rome — near, but not inside, the Vatican — and other Italian locations, the film airs in October on Sky Atlantic Channel, which can be seen in Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and Austria. HBO has yet to announce its premiere date.

Based on the trailer — and that’s sometimes not much to go on — “The Young Pope” looks fanciful, overwrought and melodramatic, positing a pontiff whose taste for crowns and robes rivals the sartorial splendor of Cardinal Burke.

Conversely, Law is also seen praying at the bottom of a pool wearing only white shorts, and dropping his bathrobe before a mirror (not to mention going to his knees in front of a bunch of tractor trailer trucks — let me guess, hauling out all the Vatican treasures to sell for the poor? Wouldn’t surprise me a bit.).

Or, as the voice of Law in the trailer says:

“I’m a contradiction. I’m God. One in three, and three in one. Like Mary, virgin and mother; like man, good and evil.”

Asked what he wants, the cigarette-puffing pontiff replies, “Revolution.”

In all likelihood, “The Young Pope” has about as much to do with the lives of real popes and ordinary Catholics as “The Bachelor” has to do with true love, or “The Da Vinci Code” has to do with real Church history, or any other sort of history.

But, as deathbed Catholic convert Oscar Wilde was wont to say, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

We shall see.

Image: Sky/HBO/Canal Plus

Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home at CatholicVote and like my Facebook page; also like the Patheos Catholic FB page to see what my colleagues have to say.

Previous Post

June 12, 2016

Catholic Athlete Brings Prayer to 'Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge'

Next Post

June 19, 2016 McDonald's, Marketing and Mass Appeal -- The Church and the Media

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz