The fate of Young Pope Lenny Belardo was fairly uncertain at the end of what now appears to be the show’s only season. Variety announced today that Young Pope auteur Paolo Sorrentino is developing not a sequel or continuation, but a followup, entitled The New Pope. It will be another limited HBO series written by Sorrentino and his Young Pope collaborator Paolo Contarello.
While we are sad to see the end of Jude Law’s portrayal, “Sources say there will be certainly be elements in The New Pope that refer strongly back to The Young Pope, and some of the characters from the earlier show will return for the new series,” offering hope to fans of Diane Keaton’s Sister Mary or Silvio Orlando’s Cardinal Voiello. These mysterious sources also suggest “that a reappearance by Law in The New Pope, albeit in a much smaller role, has not been ruled out.”
Sky Italia chief of content Andrea Scrosati told Variety: “Just like The Young Pope, Sorrentino is writing the script for the new show, but it will have a different twist than what would be expected.” Which is an odd statement, because The Young Pope proved that when it comes to Sorrentino, not much can be expected: Who could have possibly predicted a kangaroo in a garden or that pronounced placement of an LMFAO song? Sorrentino’s unpredictability and gorgeous artisanship won him many fans with The Young Pope, viewers who will probably be predisposed to check out whatever this New Pope has to offer.