"The Young Pope" Takes an Anxious Look at the Danger of Doubt

If the role of spiritual shepherd has fallen on hard times, HBO's new drama The Young Pope looks to drop the ball from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Created by Paolo Sorrentino, The Young Pope stars the striking, smooth-haired Jude Law as 47-year-old Lenny Belardo, the first American elected to the papacy. Bizarre, purposely disjointed, and irreverently humorous, Sorrentino's dark religious satire won't be for everyone. (It's also an HBO production, which means viewers can expect the same level of sexual content that's become the network's prerequisite.) But for all its absurdity and occasional discomfort, The Young Pope's look at religious leadership feels at once strangely relevant and candid in its exploration of how the quest for power and security often corrupts genuine faith.