Diane Keaton, Jude Law join The Young Pope series on HBO

Diane Keaton is teaming up with Jude Law for The Young Pope. The series from The Great Beauty‘sPaolo Sorrentino is a joint production between HBO, Sky, and Canal+.

Acting opposite Law’s Pius XIII, the Oscar-winning actress will play Sister Mary, an American nun who now lives in Vatican City. The series follows the early beginnings of Pius XIII – formerly Lenny Belardo – as he battles feelings of self-doubt and a fear of abandonment while balancing his mission to serve God.

“The clear signs of God’s existence. The clear signs of God’s absence. How faith can be searched for and lost,” Sorrentino said of the eight-episode series in a recent statement. “The greatness of holiness, so great as to be unbearable when you are fighting temptations and when all you can do is to yield to them. The inner struggle between the huge responsibility of the Head of the Catholic Church and the miseries of the simple man that fate (or the Holy Spirit) chose as Pontiff. Finally, how to handle and manipulate power in a state whose dogma and moral imperative is the renunciation of power and selfless love towards one’s neighbor.”

Executive producers for The Young Pope include Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani with John Lyons (Wildside) as well as Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta and Simon Arnal (Haut et Court TV). Production on the project is slated to begin this week.

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