The Borgias (2011 TV series)
| The Borgias | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Created by | Neil Jordan |
| Written by | Neil Jordan David Leland Guy Burt |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Trevor Morris |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 29 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Location(s) | Hungary |
| Cinematography | Paul Sarossy |
| Running time | 48–58 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| First shown in | Canada United States |
| Original release | April 3, 2011 – June 16, 2013 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| Production website | |
The Borgias is a historical-fiction drama television series created by Neil Jordan; it debuted in 2011 and was canceled in 2013.
The series is set around the turn of the 16th century and follows the Borgia family. It stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI with François Arnaud as Cesare, Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia and David Oakes as Giovanni. Colm Feore also stars as Cardinal della Rovere (later Pope Julius II).
It premiered on April 3, 2011, at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime in the United States and 10 p.m. Eastern (UTC−04:00) on Bravo! in Canada, and received its first major television network premiere on June 21, 2011, on Canada's CTV Television Network. The second season premiered on April 8, 2012. On May 4, 2012, Showtime ordered a third season of 10 episodes, which premiered on April 14, 2013.
On June 5, 2013, Showtime canceled the series, a season short of Jordan's planned four-season arc for the series. The cancellation was implied to be due to the expense of production, with plans for a two-hour wrap-up finale also scrapped. A fan campaign was started in an attempt to convince Showtime to revive the series. On August 12, 2013, it was announced that the two-hour series finale script would be released as an e-book, after it was determined that a movie would be too expensive to produce.
The series follows the rise of the Borgia family to the pinnacle of the Roman Catholic Church and their struggles to maintain their grip on power. The beginning of the first season depicts the election of Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy through simony and bribery, with the help of his sons, Cesare and Juan. Upon winning the election, Rodrigo Borgia becomes Pope Alexander VI, which then thrusts him and his family deep into the murky heart of politics in fifteenth-century Europe: from shifting loyalties within the College of Cardinals to the ambitions of the kings of Europe to the venomous rivalries between the noble families of Italy at the time.
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Wikipedia