Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
HBO’s latest original series has already taken the internet by storm, and it hasn’t even premiered yet. As we approach the January 15 premiere date, social media has been flooded with tweets and memes about The Young Pope. During the show’s panel at TCA’s 2017 Winter Tour, series star Jude Law was asked what he thought of all these jokes. He’s cool with it, guys.
“The meme trends are reflective of young people’s interest, and if they are, I’m very excited,” Law said. The panel also revealed that when Paolo Sorrentino’s series premiered in Italy, a remarkable amount of younger fans were interested in the series.
The Young Pope follows Pope Pius XIII, also known as Lenny (Law), the Church’s first American head of the church. The series follows the papal drama that unfolds as the Church deals with the hyper-conservative and unconventional leader they put into power. The series also stars Diane Keaton as Sister Mary, a hopeful nun who raised the orphaned Lenny to be the cold ruler he now is. The resulting show is … bizarre. The Young Pope certainly deserves all the interest it’s been getting, flipping between intense monologues about the meaning of religion to highly stylized getting ready montages set to LMFAO.
Likely due to its name and hat-heavy promotional pictures, The Young Pope has been the recent recipient of the internet’s joking wrath. Not only have all of you budding comedians managed to entertain The Young Pope himself (hence to be referred to as TYP), but you’ve taught Jude Law what a meme is. Good job, internet!
On a more serious note, Law explained that Paolo encouraged him to focus on Lenny as a person instead of as arguably one of the most intimidating people in the world — the pope. “He’s trying to understand this sense of lack of love,” Law said of Lenny. According to the actor, one of the big themes of the limited series is “what it means to achieve so much so young and what alienates him.”
Law was asked what differentiates the brutal Lenny from other larger-than-life and controversial figures, including Donald Trump and Damien. “One thing that differentiates him from all of the above is that he’s not a liar,” Law said, after noting that his answer is going to get him in trouble. “He’s a man full of contradictions.” The actor also explained that TYP’s smoking habit was inspired by Pope Benedict, who reportedly liked to smoke a cigarette after mass.
This series could honestly not premiere soon enough.
The Young Pope premiered on HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now January 15 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
