The New Pope is not to be confused with The Two Popes, the buddy comedy about Francis and Benedict that Netflix released before Christmas (and which, inexplicably, many people liked). The New Pope is the second series of the HBO show that previously went by the name of The Young Pope – and it returned to Sky Atlantic on Sunday.
If you’re a touch bewildered, then let me explain. The Young Pope, directed and co-written by the Italian film-maker Paolo Sorrentino, was released in 2016. Jude Law played Lenny Belardo, the pontiff of the title, an ultra-conservative American who came from obscurity to claim the papacy and shake up the Vatican as Pius XIII.
