The series stars Jude Law as the disruptive Pope Pius XIII and Diane Keaton as his confidante, Sister Mary, in a Vatican full of intrigues.

[6] A young cardinal from New York, Lenny Belardo, becomes pope of the Catholic Church when the leading contenders of the Papal conclave fail to win election.

In one of his first acts, he decrees that common people are not worthy to gaze upon the Pope's face and appears to a crowd in St. Peter's Square shrouded in darkness.

Following this, the Pope directs that the Papal tiara be removed from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and returned to the Vatican as his personal crown.

[14] The project was financed by Sky, Canal+ and HBO, which contributed 40 million euros, with part of the money coming from the European Regional Development Fund.

[17] The cast, announced between July and August 2015, includes Jude Law as the young pope; Diane Keaton as Sister Mary; James Cromwell, Silvio Orlando, Scott Shepherd, Javier Cámara and Toni Bertorelli.

It also includes Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Guy Boyd, Andre Gregory, Sebastian Roché, Marcello Romolo, Ignazio Oliva, Vladimir Bibic, Daniel Vivian and Nadie Kammalaweera.

[27] Jude Law's performance has garnered praise by Jasper Rees of The Daily Telegraph,[28] while the Italian weekly Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana objected to "caricature-like characters created to appeal to an American audience".

[33] Its "Critics Consensus": "The Young Pope's original premise and stylish blend of over-the-top melodrama with profane comedy helps overcome an occasionally muddled plot."