I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Blistering performances.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Fantastic performances and absolutely stunning pictures! Jude Law had a few great roles in the past, but this is definitely his best performance in the recent time. The directing is a masterpiece. One of the best series I've had the pleasure to watch. It's a real shame they have cancelled it.

If I could give it a 0 I could have. The main character is an obnoxious idiot. He has no redeeming characteristic and he is a pain to watch. The series has a lot of stupid things. The "new pope" has never had his picture taken? How so? No photographers there in St. Whatever's Cathedral where he attended? And the stupidity goes on and on. And he passes on stupidity as wisdom? Maybe... I have no idea what they expected. The other characters reaction or lack thereof is unrealistic to the extreme. Where is the one guy with integrity enough to slap him in the face and walk out? As it is since I cannot slap him in the face, I will turn to more entertaining activities such as mopping the kitchen floor. It is really beyond horrid and no, I am not Catholic.

Heads up: this series includes - several nude scenes - two simulated sex scenes (one homosexual) - additional homosexual scenesPros: interesting "study" of a supposed Pope who struggles with personal faith and with running the Roman Catholic Church. Not "must see", but "rarely boring".Cons: #1 - My primary complaint is that the Pope, Cardinals and other high-ranking Catholic figures seem unfamiliar with rather basic Roman Catholic doctrines, for example: - - the basic qualifications for sainthood - - papal infallibility#2 - Several additional unrealistic characteristics, such as - - the age of Sister Mary compared to the two orphans (supposed to be 10 years older but appears at least 30 years older) - - the Pope, upon spending considerable effort and time proving that a New York City archbishop is a homosexual child predator, relocates the archbishop to a town of 8,000 in Alaska where - to all appearances - the archbishop will be free to continue preying upon children for the rest of his life - - literally not knowing the meaning of the word "homosexual" (evinced by the man who investigates the homosexual child predator. He contends that the homosexual child predator is not a homosexual.) - - the Pope frequently in the presence of women - LOTS Of women - while at the Papal residence#3 - Several apparently missing (cut) scenes which are referred to in the story#4 - Several story "arcs" unresolved - - who killed the kangaroo? - - did the Pope's strategy succeed? - - Did the FEMEN just give up? etc.Some other problems. For example Sister Mary, VERY frequently shown playing basketball, is about the worst dribbler I've ever seen.Conclusion: though interesting, I object to the several inaccuracies regarding Roman Catholic Church doctrines, to the sex scenes and homosexual scenes, and to the so many failures in realism that I was frequently unable to suspend my disbelief.

...Just as the people of Gotham wondered who Batman was, what made him what he was, I wonder who IS Pope Pius XIII. He is Machiavellian, he has no problems humiliating people such as the Italian prime minister, and boasting about it to a journalist, telling her the secret to humiliating someone is to not let them know they've been humiliated. Hardly Christ-like. After a young woman who had been barren spends time with the Pope and then becomes pregnant and gives birth, Pius visits the hospital where mother, father, and baby are. The parents have chosen the name "Pius" for the child and Lenny finds a way to insult the husband not once but twice, the last time calling the child "Pius XIV" to perhaps cast doubt on the child's paternity. Nope, there was no papal canoodling that produced this child ... but the husband acts unsure and Lenny/Pius picks up on it and needlessly exploits it. He gives his address to the cardinals and starts it with a knock knock joke but segues into a speech where he claims what was once open shall be hidden. He wants no compromise with the world, just fanatics for God, he wants being a Catholic to be hard work. He doesn't care if that means less followers. But Pius XIII is also Lenny Belardo, an orphan raised in a Catholic orphanage with Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) as a stand-in mother, although she warns him not to think of her that way. Actually Lenny was abandoned, and where his mother is and why she found him so disposable is never far from his mind nor far from his acts as pope. How did this happen? The conclave was split between choosing a conservative and liberal pope and picked Lenny as a compromise who they thought could be easily controlled. Ironically Lenny, as pope, has the word "compromise" banned from the cardinals' vocabulary. Besides this there is the cinematography, the acting, the way the delightful dialogue flowed in unexpected ways, and just how Lenny (and Jude Law) made it worth it all. We have the pope chain smoking, in shades, praying underwater for what seems an unnatural amount of time, raising the near dead as a teen and as pope striking down the exploitative while surrounded by 18 wheel trucks, both times with a silent prayer. What he said to God is all of ours to guess. We'll see about season two, but as long as they have Law on board it could be done. Bottom line is that it was a most enjoyably exacting and unique experience. I would be surprised if it does not get an Emmy nod, even if it is unlikely to win due to the views of the young pope. Try it. It will have you thinking about it each week and hoping for a Region One DVD release. I do, and I was raised a Baptist.