# The New Pope (2020)

> A charming English aristocrat is installed as pope while the rightful pontiff lies in a coma, and the Vatican struggles to control the image of its new leader.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/75046

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 9
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Paolo Sorrentino
- Network: Sky Atlantic 
- Cast: Jude Law, John Malkovich, Silvio Orlando, Cécile de France, Javier Cámara, Ludivine Sagnier, Maurizio Lombardi, Henry Goodman
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7157248/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: mild
- Tone: sardonic, melancholic, surreal, lavish, intimate

## What critics say

Critics and audiences found the sequel to The Young Pope visually lavish and provocatively satirical, though its shift in leading man and dense Vatican intrigue divided opinion.

## Synopsis

The New Pope (2020) is an Italian prestige drama miniseries created by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic. Set inside the Vatican, it follows Sir John Brannox (John Malkovich), a charming English aristocrat placed on the papal throne as John Paul III while the ailing Pope Pius XIII (Jude Law) lies in a coma. Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando) and a circle of ambitious prelates maneuver around the new pontiff, each hoping to shape the church's public face, while a sharp, glossy media-savvy world watches every gesture. The engine of the nine episodes is the tension between Brannox's serene performance of holiness and the machinery of cardinals, scandal management and institutional image that surrounds him. Its texture is lavish: gilded Vatican interiors, theatrical ceremony and sly satire of papal vanity. The tone blends sardonic wit with melancholy and a surreal, dreamlike unease. Fans of The Young Pope, The Borgias and The Crown will find resonance in its stylized portrait of power, faith and spectacle, delivered as a single self-contained limited series.

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- [The Young Pope (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/55720)
- [The Kingdom (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/107855)
- [The Leopard (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/144047)
- [The Envoys (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/116274)
- [The Borgias (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/30388)
- [1992 (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55527)

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