There’s a ton of hype surrounding the upcoming “The Young Pope” series that’s set to air on HBO early next year, and kicks off in the UK next week. Starring Jude Law, the series tells the story of the conservative, chain-smoking first American Pope who is looking to make changes to the Vatican. The first two episodes premiered at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews. Now, HBO, Sky, and Canal Plus are looking to begin work on a second season.
At the Rome premiere, producer Lorenzo Mieli announced that writing has begun on the second season, however, no official pickup was announced. “We are of course hoping to do it, but nothing is signed yet,” Mieli said. He went on to explain the Academy Award-winning writer/creator Paolo Sorrentino has started writing the potential season, but they won’t make a formal commitment until they receive the script.
The 10 episode series begins airing internationally later this month, with HBO releasing it in the United States early next year. If the series gets picked up for a second season, production is expected to begin in the summer of 2018. Why the delay? Because the very busy Sorrentino is hoping to shoot his Silvio Berlusconi picture, “Loro,” next summer. [Variety]