--- title: "The Young Pope" year: 2016 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-young-pope" fi1m_score: 80 critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 10 published: "2026-09-17T17:13:27.916626+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T17:13:28.390119+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Young Pope (2016) Created by Paolo Sorrentino · 55m · MPA TV-MA · Drama **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 74 from 10 reviews *In a sentence:* Jude Law is the sort of pope who could make forgiveness sound like a threat > Jude Law makes an alarming pope in Paolo Sorrentino’s funny, disconcerting drama about authority and faith. We recommend it for the performances and unsettling humour, with a warning that some familiar political manoeuvring slows it down. ## Synopsis Lenny Belardo (Jude Law) takes charge of the Vatican as Pope Pius XIII, bringing an appetite for control and little reassurance for those who must deal with him. Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) and Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando) face a pontiff whose charm offers no guarantee of compromise. Lenny wants authority on his own terms, while the church’s established hierarchy has its own interests to protect. Matters of faith become entangled with the business of managing people, and nobody can safely assume that the man at the centre will behave as expected. ## Review We recommend *The Young Pope* for its alarming central performance and its willingness to find comedy in the exercise of religious authority. Paolo Sorrentino takes the papacy seriously enough to find it frightening: a man can be vain, calculating and difficult, yet still expect to be treated as the answer to other people’s prayers. Jude Law plays Lenny Belardo, Pope Pius XIII, with a sharp understanding of that advantage. The plotting is less reliable. His charm is essential to the threat. It makes the calculation harder to challenge, because we can see why people would want his approval. We were unsettled by the sudden changes from charm to menace; Jude Law makes it difficult to know when a conversation has become dangerous. There is also enough uncertainty in the performance to keep this pope from becoming a simple monster, and the series benefits whenever it lets us wonder how securely he believes his own claims. Silvio Orlando, as Cardinal Voiello, gives that performance the resistance it needs. Their exchanges are funny because both actors make the question of who has the upper hand worth watching, even when the manoeuvring itself feels familiar. The joke lasts longer than the simple pleasure of seeing a pompous churchman inconvenienced. There is also an important limit to the mockery: the series allows loneliness and religious devotion to matter, which prevents its clergy from becoming merely a collection of men to laugh at. Luca Bigazzi’s cinematography makes the Vatican’s ostentation intimidating, even when the images invite us to enjoy it. Ludovica Ferrario’s production design gives the hierarchy surroundings sufficiently grand to encourage its opinion of itself. It is easy to see how someone working amid this splendour might become impressed with his own importance. The visual extravagance earns its place when it makes the vanity funny; when the drama stalls, it begins to look like something being offered to keep us occupied. Cristiano Travaglioli’s editing has a harder task, accommodating a drama that keeps wandering away from straightforward political business. The changes of mood can be invigorating, but some detours ask us to wait too long for the next consequential encounter. Lele Marchitelli’s music is most persuasive when it supports the seriousness of the religious feeling without insisting on our agreement. That solemnity matters, because treating every expression of belief as another joke would soon make the programme tiresome. The weaker material is the familiar contest over who controls whom. Paolo Sorrentino creates a pope whose behaviour is difficult to predict, but the political drama around him does not always escape the usual bargaining for influence. Once that happens, the extravagance starts to feel like an attempt to disguise scenes we have encountered elsewhere. We would have welcomed less of the manoeuvring and more trust in the awkwardness of people trying to practise faith while also protecting their positions. The ten-episode run gives the actors room, and there are pleasures here that would disappear in a brisker treatment. We would allow time between episodes, particularly after the stretches where political bargaining threatens to become the whole point. An entire evening under this pope’s supervision might begin to feel like employment. *Fi1m score 80, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to The Young Pope, with praise clustering around Jude Law’s performance and Sorrentino’s direction. Law’s pope emerges as calculating, vain and unpredictable, with enough charm to make the menace more unsettling. The reviews also admire the surreal Vatican atmosphere, dark humour and playful treatment of institutional power. Several find serious thought about faith, devotion and loneliness beneath the provocation, rather than simply an exercise in religious mockery. The reservations concern storytelling more often than performance: implausibility, dramatic contrivance and familiar political manoeuvring interrupt the stranger, more rewarding passages. There is broad agreement in favour, though enthusiasm varies over how much the series’ digressions and obscurity repay attention. Collider supplies the lone negative assessment, finding the visual style overworked and the treatment of faith shallow. That dissent challenges what the favourable reviews value most: the sense that Sorrentino’s eccentric approach has substance behind it. ### Reviews we read (10) - **Variety**, Maureen Ryan (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the series important and subversive, praising its playfulness and profundity, spectacular visuals, and Law's masterful performance. It balances critiques of religious institutions with portraits of spiritual experience, though narrative can be jarring. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/the-young-pope-hbo-jude-law-review-diane-keaton-james-cromewell-sorrentino-1201952916/) - **Radio Times**, Tim Glanfield (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the series as intriguing and atmospheric, highlighting Jude Law's superb performance as the vain and unpredictable pope. They note the drama's dark humor, controversy, and Sorrentino's creative flair, calling it a journey into an exceptional filmmaker's world. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/jude-law-shines-as-the-young-pope-in-paolo-sorrentinos-intriguing-uncomfortable-and-amusing-drama/) - **The Guardian** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the series fantastically anxiety-inducing and praises its surreal elements and layered madness. Jude Law delivers a lacerating performance as the brutally calculating, occasionally charming and terrifying young pope. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/jude-law-young-pope-sky-atlantic) - **The Independent**, Christoph Hooton (4/5): The review highlights Sorrentino's visionary direction and Law's menacing portrayal of an unorthodox, power-hungry pope who subjugates those around him. It compares the tone to House of Cards and notes the eerie, cool atmosphere of the Vatican setting. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-young-pope-sky-atlantic-episode-1-review-jude-law-is-menacing-in-paolo-sorrentino-s-papal-house-a7383426.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Tim Goodman (75/100, inferred): The critic notes the series' weirdness and humor but highlights its shift to a serious meditation on loneliness and faith. It challenges expectations and offers substantial themes beyond memes, engaging viewers with its unpredictable vision. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/critics-notebook-how-hbos-young-pope-is-fooling-us-all-964674/) - **IndieWire**, Ben Travers (70/100, inferred): The review praises Jude Law's commanding, irreverent performance as the conservative yet surprising Pope Pius XIII. It highlights Sorrentino's bold, contradictory take on Catholicism and the Vatican's power dynamics. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/the-young-pope-review-jude-law-hbo-paolo-sorrentino-tv-show-1201767154/) - **Vulture**, Matt Zoller Seitz (70/100, inferred): The series is described as compelling yet strange, with plausibility issues but strong novelty, Law's charisma, and Sorrentino's playful, digressive style. It notes the show's inscrutability alongside its visual and tonal flair. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/01/tv-review-the-young-pope.html) - **Paste**, Matt Brennan (80/100, inferred): The series is a comedy nearly great, with Sorrentino's sly mockery of Vatican ostentation blending awe and scorn in sumptuous, impish images; it shines in tonal slipperiness and the Law/Orlando dynamic but falters into dramatic contrivance. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-young-pope/the-young-pope-is-a-comedy-and-nearly-a-great-one) - **Consequence** (70/100, inferred): The series is a captivating but frustrating bold vision, surreal and stylistically arresting with strong performances; it excels when pondering faith and devotion but falters on familiar political tropes. [Read](https://consequence.net/2017/01/hbos-the-young-pope-dont-believe-everything-you-meme/) - **Collider**, Chris Cabin (★★): The critic finds the series visually overworked and stylistically rigid, lacking depth in exploring faith or the Vatican, ultimately representing the status quo rather than radical change. [Read](https://collider.com/the-young-pope-review/) ## Details - **Created by:** Paolo Sorrentino - **Creator:** Paolo Sorrentino - **Director:** Paolo Sorrentino - **Writer:** Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello, Stefano Rulli, Tony Grisoni - **Cinematography:** Luca Bigazzi - **Editor:** Cristiano Travaglioli - **Music:** Lele Marchitelli - **Production design:** Ludovica Ferrario - **Costume design:** Luca Canfora, Carlo Poggioli - **Producer:** Jude Law, Ben Jackson - **Cast:** Jude Law as Lenny Belardo / Pope Pius XIII; Diane Keaton as Sister Mary; Silvio Orlando as Cardinal Voiello; Javier Cámara as Cardinal Gutierrez; Scott Shepherd as Cardinal Dussolier; Cécile de France as Sofia Dubois; Ludivine Sagnier as Esther Aubry; Toni Bertorelli as Cardinal Caltanissetta - **Runtime:** 55m - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 21 October 2016 - **Genres:** Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ZFdepTu-w ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming, leaving 2026-10-18 - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-18 - Hulu: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-17 - Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd - Apple TV: buy, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AT, CA, DE, GB, IN, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Habemus Papam* (2011): Another troubled pontiff, with more hesitation and a gentler sense of humour - *Black Narcissus* (1947), Fi1m 88: Faith, authority and forbidden feeling, expressed through colour and carefully arranged spaces — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/black-narcissus.md) - *Borgen* (2010), Fi1m 84: For the bargaining, vanity and compromised convictions beneath the official public face — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/borgen.md) - *Winter Light* (1963): Religious duty and private doubt, stripped of the comforting ceremony and finery - *The Gospel According to St. Matthew* (1964): A spare, searching account of belief, for a change from papal splendour --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-young-pope