Sky, HBO anoint New Pope with Sorrentino

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino (pictured) will create a second high-end drama about the Catholic Papacy for Sky in Europe and HBO in the US.

The New Pope follows on from the Jude Law-starring drama The Young Pope, which Sky, HBO and Canal+ in France all backed financially.

However, The New Pope is not part of the same canon, and is instead an entirely separate limited series.

Young Pope coproducers Wildside, through Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani, and Mediapro are returning for the new show, which will go into production next year. FremantleMedia International returns as distributor.
Young Pope creator Sorrentino is writing the scripts with Umberto Contarello. They are placing the story within the world of the modern papacy.

Casting for a new pope will soon get underway, with additional roles also being cast.

The news comes a month after Sky, which now offers pay TV in five major European territories, and premium cable channel HBO revealed a US$250 million high-end drama coproduction agreement.

This will see them co-commissioning two dramas a year, with The New Pope appearing to be the first.