THE YOUNG POPE
DRAMA
ITALY / FRANCE / SPAIN / UNITED KINGDOM / USA
2016
THE YOUNG POPE is a satirical drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+. THE YOUNG POPE consists of 10 episodes of 55 minutes.
STORY: A young cardinal from New York, Lenny Belardo (Jude Law), becomes pope of the Catholic Church when the leading contenders of the Papal conclave fail to win election. Installed as a compromise candidate, Belardo takes the name of Pius XIII and immediately proceeds to challenge the established traditions and practices of the Vatican.
GAY COUPLE STORYLINE: Monsignor (later Cardinal) Bernardo Gutierrez (Javier Cámara) is Master of Ceremonies of the Holy See and he is gay. Cardinal Andrew Dussolier (Scott Shepherd) is a missionary, Belardo's longtime friend and a fellow orphan. Dussolier discovers that the scandalous command he’s uncovered, in which the Church will hire male prostitutes to seduce potential priests in order to root out homosexuals. Dussolier is bisexual and had threesomes with both genders.
Cardinal Gutierrez (Javier Cámara) & Cardinal Dussolier (Scott Shepherd)
JAVIER CÁMARA (2016) January 19, 1967, Albelda de Iregua, Spain
SCOTT SHEPHERD (2016) December 8, 1966, Raleigh, NC, USA
SPECIAL: As the series begins, American Lenny Balardo is elected Pius XIII, achieving majority support by finding favour among the conservative wing of the College of Cardinals while also, due to his relatively young age, fear that the next pope will be progressive. But it quickly becomes clear to Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Voiello (Silvio Orlando) and other liberal-minded clergy that Belardo’s radicalism doesn’t swing in their direction. They particularly come to realize that he is vehemently anti-gay.
AWARDS: ‘THE YOUNG POPE’ won 2 Primetime Emmy. 5 wins & 28 nominations.
8.6 IMDB
