Starring Jude Law and John Malkovich, acclaimed drama The New Pope premieres exclusively on SBS On Demand this Summer Fast-tracked from the US from Thursday 16 January – free, anytime, anywhere.
With over 8000 hours of free, curated content already available to stream on the platform, SBS On
Demand’s summer programming will introduce over ten new series to Australian audiences in
January. From dark comedies to political espionages to mystery thrillers, celebrate the new year with
something different.
Double episodes of The New Pope will drop weekly on SBS On Demand from Thursday 16
January. Created and directed by Oscar® winner Paolo Sorrentino with Umberto Contarello and
Stefano Bises, The New Pope is a continuation of The Young Pope, which premiered on SBS in
April 2017.
The cast features two-time Academy Award® nominees Jude Law and John Malkovich. Returning
cast from The Young Pope include Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Cécile de France, Ludivine
Sagnier and Maurizio Lombardi. New cast for the series are Henry Goodman, Ulrich Thomsen,
Mark Ivanir, Yuliya Snigir and Massimo Ghini. Sharon Stone and Marilyn Manson guest star.
Pius XIII (Jude Law) is in a coma. And after an unpredictable and mysterious turn of events, the
Secretary of State Voiello succeeds in the enterprise of having Sir John Brannox (John Malkovich),
a moderate English aristocrat, charming and sophisticated, placed on the papal throne adopting the
name John Paul III. The new pope seems perfect, but he conceals secrets and a certain fragility.
And he immediately understands that it will not be easy to replace the charismatic Pius XIII: hanging
between life and death, Lenny Belardo has become a Saint and thousands of faithful are now
idolizing him, fueling the contrast between fundamentalisms. Meanwhile, the Church is under attack
from several scandals that risk devastating the hierarchies irreversibly and from external threats
striking the symbols of Christianity. As always, however, in the Vatican nothing is what it seems.
Good and evil proceed arm in arm towards history. And to reach the showdown we must wait for the events to take their course…
The New Pope is an SBS On Demand exclusive. The series will premiere on SBS at a later date in
2020.
It has been a long wait since the rightful and first American pope (Jude Law) descended into a coma in 2017 and in just a few days, he will awaken to the fact that he has been usurped by an English Sir (John Malkovich).
The many accolades won by The Young Pope are rumored to possibly pale in comparison with the impression The New Pope shall leave. We can expect the same sky-high production values and along with Malkovich, the cast will be populated by a number of new extraordinary characters played by such European screen personalities as Ulrich Tomsen, Yuliya Snigir, J.David Hinze and Massimo Ghini. They join returnees from The Young Pope like Cécile de France, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara and Ludivine Sagnier.
Jude Law’s character no longer needs to be established so Sorrentino can cut right to the drama while developing John Malkovich’s screen persona.
A sophisticated and highly entertaining tale of Vatican intrigue awaits.
Hats off to SBS.