HBO Orders 'Young Pope' Follow-Up 'The New Pope'
10/23/2015 sc. 108 ep. 1
In the picture Jude Law.
Photo by Gianni Fiorito" data-credit="HBO" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1296x682+0+23/resize/900x474!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/ea14814d69f1af6e8fdeef5b8ab2b42a/205274220/the_young_pope_-_still_-_h_-_2016.jpg" data-mep="1743508" data-provider="AOL" data-provider-asset-id="205274220" />All hail "The New Pope."
HBO is ordering a new limited series from the creator of "The Young Pope," which starred Jude Law as the titular pontiff. Paolo Sorrentino will write and direct the follow-up, with an assist from co-writer Umberto Contarello.
"The Young Pope" followed American Lenny Belardo, who is elected as Pope Pius XIII and turns out to be an intensely conservative maverick with plans to remake the Vatican. Diane Keaton and James Cromwell also starred, respectively, as a nun who raised Lenny and a priest who served as his mentor.
It's unclear if Law is returning for the new show, or if "The New Pope" is a sequel (about Lenny's successor) or a prequel (perhaps about his predecessor?). HBO only described it as "set in the world of the modern papacy." Casting will begin soon.
"The New Pope" is expected to film sometime next year, so it may not air until 2019.