Jude Law is a smoking Young Pope in the first trailer for Sky Atlantic and HBO drama from Paulo Sorrentino

The Oscar-winning Italian director has created a striking new miniseries
Ben Travis15 June 2016

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Jude Law in a papal gown, scowling and smoking a cigarette.

But that’s exactly what you’ll see in the moody first trailer for new TV drama The Young Pope.

Forget white doves and holy sermons – the teaser clip sees Law kneeling at the bottom of a swimming pool, in front of a row of trucks, and offering a menacing mumble about ‘revolution’.

He even delivers an ominous monologue straight down the barrel of the camera – it’s the religious House of Cards you never knew you wanted.

The series, a joint production between Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+, comes from Paulo Sorrentino, director of the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty.

Across eight episodes, it tells the story of Lenny Belardo who becomes Pius XIII, the world’s first American pope. From the looks of things, he won’t be the most traditional leader of the Catholic church.

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Starring alongside Law is Diane Keaton as Sister Mary, an American nun who raised Belardo and helped him achieve his new-found status.

The series is due to arrive in October on Sky Atlantic.

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