'The Young Pope' Latest News: HBO, Sky Atlantic to Develop Show's Spinoff Titled 'The New Pope'
HBO and Sky Atlantic are partnering again to develop a new miniseries that will take off from the success of the recently concluded "The Young Pope." To be titled "The New Pope," the show will be a spinoff of its predecessor which indicates that plans for a second season for the original series had been dropped.
The forthcoming series will be helmed by original director Paolo Sorrentino, who will also write the script. It will also be set in modern Vatican, as did "The Young Pope," but with a different twist, Andrea Scrosati, Sky Italia's content chief said. Production is slated to begin in Italy late next year.
"The Young Pope," fronted by Jude Law, is the story of Pope Pius XIII, the first American pontiff whose unconventional methods shook the Vatican. The 10-part series premiered on Sept. 3, 2016 at the 73rd Venice Film Festival. It was the first time a TV show was included in the program.
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As with other HBO series, work on "The Young Pope" was elaborate with a budget of $45 million, making it Italy's most expensive TV production. The show worked with consultants from the Catholic Church throughout the production process. Freemantle sold the series to more than 110 territories.
The creators of the miniseries revealed in October that they were developing a second season after fans were left hanging by the dramatic conclusion that showed the pope suffering a heart attack while giving a speech from a balcony in Venice. Now, producers may use that plot to justify the election of a "new pope."
While "The New Pope" will have an entirely new cast, sources said there will be elements that would refer strongly to its precursor, indicating the reappearance of some characters from the first series. This may include Law's fictional character whose personal issues were left unresolved in the previous episodes.
