Merrick here...
Over the past week I've finally caught-up with the THE BORGIAS via the blessing of Showtime HD On Demand and I'm loving it. The series stars Jeremy Irons, Colm Feore, Joanne Whalley, the extremely impressive Holliday Grainger and a rather amazing Francois Arnaud and is created, Executive Produced, and so-far written by Neil Jordan (THE CRYING GAME, MICHAEL COLLINS, THE END OF THE AFFAIR - he directed a few episodes of the show as well).
It begins with Irons' Rodrigo Borgia maneuvering and buying his way to the Papacy in the 1400s, and chronicles the personal and political shockwaves radiating from his unwelcomed arrival. Part historical drama, part soap opera, part political thriller, this show includes scheming Cardinals, psychotic rulers who kill their enemies to stuff them & sit them around a dinner table, a cold-blooded assassin whose often not as efficient or effective as his Vatican commanders would like, and no small amount of violence and debauchery. Sometimes breathtaking in the elegant simplicity, accessibility, and poetry of its writing and often darkly comedic, THE BORGIAS a generally smart and breezy series that is easy to get hooked on and regularly enjoys unexpected twists and turns.
I'm mentioning all of this for two reasons: 1) we haven't said much about the series so far here on AICN and I thought I'd call it to your attention, and 2) because I wanted to mention that Showtime has picked up THE BORGIAS for a second season (it's roughly half way thorough its first season now). The next season - consisting of 10 episodes - will debut Summer 2012 on Showtime, where THE BORGIAS is currently airing on Sunday nights. As I mentioned above, all back episodes are currently available via the Showtime On Demand option that likely comes with your subscription to the network, but they do have a n expiration date next to their listing so don't wait too long if you're interested in diving in.
— follow Merrick on Twitter ! ---
