With “Chernobyl,” “Barry,” “Veep,” “Big Little Lies,” and most recently, “Watchmen,” HBO has had a hell of a year. (Sorry, “Game of Thrones,” you didn’t quite make the cut.) And it looks like the premium network is kicking off 2020 with a bang, thanks to the return of Jude Law’s ‘Young Pope’ in a new series titled “The New Pope.”

As seen in the trailer for “The New Pope,” Law is back as Pope Pius XIII, but after the events of last season, the character has to retake his title as leader of the Catholic Church.

Continue reading ‘The New Pope’ Trailer: HBO Kicks Off The New Year With A Battle Between John Malkovich & Jude Law at The Playlist.

The now-ubiquitous phrase “Peak TV”—coined by FX networks chief John Landgraf— only first appeared in 2015, but it certainly defined the entire decade of television in the 2010s. The streaming wars are upon us now, really taking off in November 2019 for anyone wanting to keep track— with the arrival of Disney+ and Apple TV+, and the debuts of HBO Max, Peacock, and others in the near future.

Continue reading The Best TV Shows & Mini-Series’ Of The Decade [2010s] at The Playlist.

“The New Pope” might have a different title than its predecessor, “The Young Pope,” but make no mistake, the new HBO limited series is very much a sequel. Picking up less than a year after the shocking end of “The Young Pope,” director Paolo Sorrentino returns with a new story of the papacy and the drama that follows the highest title in the Catholic Church.

Continue reading ‘The New Pope’ Trailer: Jude Law & John Malkovich Battle For The Title In Paolo Sorrentino’s HBO Series at The Playlist.

If you’ve seen his Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty” or last year’s “Loro,” you’ll already be aware of Paolo Sorrentino’s directorial MO: he’s a stylistic auteur who readily embraces the ornate, the flamboyant, and the glamorous. Unlike others of his ilk, though – your Nicholas Winding Refns, your Gaspar Noés, your Tom Fords – it’ll be a rare day when Sorrentino’s aesthetic sensibility comes at the expense of his storytelling aptitude.

Continue reading ‘The New Pope’: The Second Coming Of The Acclaimed Paolo Sorrentino Series Is Dazzling [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope” was a surprise hit for HBO when it premiered in early 2017. The, uh, interesting take on the Catholic Church featured actor Jude Law becoming the new leader, with his unlikely and non-traditional ways of running things. The series was critically acclaimed, with Law earning a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. However, it wasn’t supposed to continue on. Alas, it has, and now the world is about to be introduced to “The New Pope.”

READ MORE: Michael Shannon Joins Jason Clarke In The Cast Of HBO’s Los Angeles Lakers Series Directed By Adam McKay

As seen in the new teaser for the sequel series, which once again sees Law return as Lenny Belardo, aka Pope Pius XIII, “The New Pope” isn’t about to change what made the first series work so well.

Continue reading ‘The New Pope’ Teaser: Paolo Sorrentino’s New Series Finds Jude Law & John Malkovich On Very Different Paths at The Playlist.

Reports of Jude Law’s death at the end of “The Young Pope” have been greatly exaggerated, apparently. At the end of the 2017 limited series, which earned Law a Golden Globe nomination, the fate of the actor’s titular character was left open. Did he die? Will he return? Well, a year ago it seemed as if Law’s character was destined to meet his maker after the actor insinuated that he wouldn’t be returning.

Continue reading Jude Law Joined By John Malkovich For ‘Young Pope’ Sequel ‘The New Pope’ at The Playlist.

If there isn’t already, there ought to be an improbably long German compound word to describe the slightly panicky, drowning feeling of overwhelmed anticipation that is one’s natural state when contemplating just how much good TV there is out there — and that’s even before additional shows like this week’s “GLOW” and “The Mist” have been piled onto the queue. Add in an appreciation of just how few hours there are in a day, and just how much “other stuff” one is supposed to be doing with one’s life, and the prospect of even making a dent in the mountain of unwatched Golden Age TV can actually trigger a full-blown panic attack.

Continue reading The 25 Best TV Shows Of 2017 So Far at The Playlist.

“The Young Pope” had a successful first season as a joint venture between HBO and Sky. The drama series tells the story of a young American man, played by Jude Law, who becomes the new leader of the Catholic Church and turns the Vatican upside down. With the end of the first season, people were asking whether or not it would return. The answer arrived this week, as HBO/Sky announced “The New Pope,” a followup with a new setting and some recurring characters, but no room for Law.

Continue reading Jude Law Talks Not Returning For ‘The Young Pope’ Followup ‘The New Pope’ at The Playlist.

If you were on Film or TV Twitter this winter, you likely saw Jude Law‘s performance in “The Young Pope” become something of a sensation. The actor shined in the titular role in Paolo Sorrentino‘s rather bonkers drama, and last fall word emerged that the director was already working on the second season. Well, a new season of the Pope drama is coming, but it won’t feature Law.

Continue reading ‘The Young Pope’ Is Dead, Long Live ‘The New Pope’ at The Playlist.

Is it “Big Little Lies” or is it “Feud: Bette and Joan”?  It’s almost a coin flip at this point. Our gut says HBO takes the big prize here and Jessica Lange upsets Nicole Kidman in the Lead Actress category. But stranger things have happened… [Updated July 20]

Outstanding Limited Series

1. “Big Little Lies”
2. “Feud: Bette and Joan”
3.

Continue reading 2017 Best Limited Series Emmy Awards Predictions at The Playlist.

For episode 5 of Bingeworthy™, I’m joined by Will Ashton, my fellow contributor at The Playlist. We share our thoughts on HBO‘s latest series, “The Young Pope.” With Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino at the helm, the series has unexpectedly spawned its own meme, making this drama particularly ripe for discussion.

READ MORE: The Beautiful, Bonkers Blasphemy Of Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Young Pope’ [Venice Review]

We also share our picks for most anticipated shows coming this year and avoid the temptation to simply make the podcast all FX shows, all the time.

Continue reading Podcast: Bingeworthy™ Talks ‘The Young Pope’ & Our Most Anticipated Shows For 2017 at The Playlist.

By now you might have finished reading our massive 100 Most Anticipated Movies of 2017 list. You might even be already through yesterday’s look at the stars of tomorrow with Best Breakthrough Performances. And so, to continue in this forward-looking, optimistic vein (frankly, all of us could use a little hope on the horizon), today we get to unveil our picks for the most exciting projects that we faithfully believe will be hitting our small screens for the first time in 2017.

Continue reading The 30 Most Anticipated New TV Shows Of 2017 at The Playlist.

‘Tis the season for shopping, movies, and eating lots of unhealthy food, and for many around the world, attending church. The holidays are a time for both the devout and the occasional churchgoer to visit their places of worship. However, in the upcoming “The Young Pope,” all is not right in the corridors of religious power.

The new series from “The Great Beauty” director Paolo Sorrentino, sees Jude Law reigning at the head of the Vatican, where his actions are far from predictable.

Continue reading Jude Law Leads The Church In New Trailer For ‘The Young Pope’ at The Playlist.

The words “young” and “progressive” are often linked, but it’s not always the case that idealism and youth are connected. And it’s that fissure that forms part of the thematic core of the upcoming series “The Young Pope.” And even though the drama is now airing abroad, and even though it’s currently 2016 and it’s easier than ever to source television from anywhere in the world, stateside audiences will have to wait until next year to experience the show.

Continue reading Your Sins Won’t Be Forgiven In New Trailer For ‘The Young Pope’ Starring Jude Law at The Playlist.

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.

Continue reading Paolo Sorrentino Already Working On ‘The Young Pope’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

Forget any preconceived notions about what you might think a drama set in the Vatican might be like. As our review of the first two episodes reveals, all expectations are off the table in Paolo Sorrentino‘s “The Young Pope,” because in this show it appears that “God is a right bastard.” And at the center of it all is Jude Law who looks like he’s giving the performance of a lifetime.

Continue reading Jude Law Doesn’t Negotiate In New Trailer For Paolo Sorrentino’s HBO Series ‘The Young Pope’ at The Playlist.

We try not to be partisan, but every year when the end of summer rolls around, it’s hard to ignore the slightly unseemly bunfight that breaks out between the various fall festivals trying to snag high-profile premieres. Venice, of course, has the advantage of coming first (indeed, the way it wraps around Telluride and overlaps with the first and biggest weekend of Toronto can make it feel like it goes on forever).

Continue reading The Best And Worst of the 2016 Venice Film Festival at The Playlist.

Bless me, Father for I have sinned: It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get fully on board with Paolo Sorrentino. But showing me and all other unbelievers that the emperor of recent follies like “Youth” and “This Must Be The Place” (and also, in fairness, the Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty” which is fine) has perhaps been fully clothed the whole time — and in gorgeous, gold-accented, flowing robes at that — here’s “The Young Pope,” the twisted, funny, frightening, deeply weird HBO series Sorrentino has written and directed. 

Continue reading The Beautiful, Bonkers Blasphemy Of Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Young Pope’ [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

As you well know by now, the line between cinema and television has started to blur with the latter starting to look like the former with its production values and big name talent (while movies are continually getting more episodic, particularly in ever expanding universe of franchise films). All this means that film festivals are increasingly programming more TV, with the Venice Film Festival this year unspooling the first couple of episodes from Paolo Sorrentino‘s intriguing “The Young Pope.”

READ MORE: The Beautiful, Bonkers Blasphemy Of Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Young Pope’ [Venice Review]

Jude Law leads a cast that includes Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France, Javier Cámara, Ludivine Sagnier, Tony Bertorelli and James Cromwell, in a drama about the first American pope, who proves himself to be a rather unpredictable man of the cloth.

Continue reading New Trailer & 2 Clips From Paolo Sorrentino’s TV Series ‘The Young Pope’ Starring Jude Law at The Playlist.

As you’ll know from our list of the best TV shows of the first half of 2016, and from our summer preview, it’s been a stacked year on the small-screen so far. There have been disappointments —chiefly, a show that starts with V and ends with -inyl— but also some surprises and triumphs, with “The Girlfriend Experience,” “Billions,” “Stranger Things,” “Lady Dynamite,” “The People Vs.

Continue reading The 30 Most Anticipated Fall TV Shows at The Playlist.

The Venice Film Festival is always one of the highlights of the film-going year, and the line-up announced this morning for its 73rd installment, which kicks off next month, suggests that that’ll certainly be the case again, and that Cannes more and more faces some stiff competition from its waterbound competitor.

Venice has sometimes risked being overshadowed by TIFF by the U.S. press at least, but after a killer run of premieres in recent years including big Oscar-players like “Gravity,” “Birdman” and “Spotlight,” it’s attracting big-ticket movies as well as the usual great selection of world cinema that it’s always displayed.

Continue reading New Films By Terrence Malick, Derek Cianfrance, Mel Gibson, Denis Villeneuve Lead 2016 Venice Film Festival Line Up at The Playlist.

With great power comes great drama. Generally speaking, it’s always been the corridors of political power (“House Of Cards,” “The West Wing,” etc.) that have been fertile ground for storytellers looking to explore the collision of ambition, humanity and ruthlessness, but there hasn’t been a show, at least in recent memory, that does the same for religion. But all that is about to change with “Youth” and “The Great Beauty” director Paolo Sorrentino‘s miniseries “The Young Pope.”

Starring Jude Law, Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, Scott Shepherd, Cécile de France, Javier Cámara, Ludivine Sagnier, Toni Bertorelli and James Cromwell, the show will track the crisis of faith of Pope Pius XIII.

Continue reading Jude Law Gets Holy In The First Trailer For Paolo Sorrentino’s Miniseries ‘The Young Pope’ at The Playlist.

Watch: New U.S. Trailer For Paolo Sorrentino's 'Youth' With Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, And Paul Dano

Continue reading Watch: New U.S. Trailer For Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Youth’ With Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, And Paul Dano at The Playlist.

Jude Law To Star In Paolo Sorrentino's TV Series 'The Young Pope'

Continue reading Jude Law To Star In Paolo Sorrentino’s TV Series ‘The Young Pope’ at The Playlist.

Paolo Sorrentino & Baltasar Kormakur Line Up TV Projects

Continue reading Paolo Sorrentino & Baltasar Kormakur Line Up TV Projects at The Playlist.