HBO’s hour-long drama The New Pope will finish up its second season with two new episodes airing in March 2020. The network’s just released brief plot descriptions for the final two episodes – eight and nine – along with confirmed air dates.
Jude Law returns to reprise his role as Pope Pius XIII and John Malkovich stars as John Paul III.
Paolo Sorrentino created, executive produces, and directs the series. Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, Riccardo Neri, Elena Recchia, Jude Law, Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta, Simon Arnal, Jaume Roures, Javier Méndez, Nils Hartmann, and Sonia Rovai also executive produce.
The Plot:
The follow-up to 2017’s The Young Pope from Oscar-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, The New Pope dives into the inner workings of the Vatican, while exploring the very human desires, vices and fragilities of those in power and the complexities inherent in faith today.
The series picks up where The Young Pope left off, with Jude Law’s Lenny Belardo, known as Pope Pius XIII, in a coma. Following an unpredictable and mysterious turn of events, Secretary of State Voiello (Orlando) succeeds in having Sir John Brannox (Malkovich), a charming and sophisticated moderate English aristocrat, placed on the papal throne, adopting the name John Paul III.
The new pope seems ideal, but he conceals secrets and has a certain fragility, and Voiello 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, with thousands now idolizing him, fueling the contrast between fundamentalisms.
Meanwhile, the Church is under attack from external threats and scandals striking the symbols of Christianity and risking irreversibly devastating the hierarchies. 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 March 2020 Episodes:
- Episode 8
Debut date: MONDAY, MARCH 2 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Sofia (Cécile de France) sets out to bring an ashamed Brannox (John Malkovich) back to the Vatican from the Dolomites. Warned by Bauer of the Church’s demise unless immediate action is taken, Voiello (Silvio Orlando) is called upon to make things right and, later, mourns a tragic loss. The nuns appeal to an unaccommodating Assente. - Episode 9 (Season finale)
Debut date: MONDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
John Paul III (John Malkovich) addresses his followers with a message of love that resonates. A historic meeting of the minds occurs after six children and their teacher are taken hostage on the island of Ventotene. As the Church prepares for battle, Voiello (Silvio Orlando) receives a visit from a man close to the caliph and a rescue mission has an unexpected conclusion.
