The New Pope tv series

"It’s a show with so much at its disposal (...) and one that uses all that to do what it’s done before, less well." 

"It’s more than just a secular, skeptical take on sectarianism (...) What Sorrentino does here is interrogate core aspects of the human condition – death, grief, loneliness, suffering, sex – through a lens of religiosity. Ultimately, it’s excellent." 

"By turns transcendent and fatuous, it's like nothing else on TV (...) For my tastes, it takes more than it gives, beckoning admiration more readily than it entertains or excites" 

"[It] is outrageous, audacious, seductive, sexy and byzantine, to say nothing of visually voluptuous" 

"After watching all nine episodes, I’m still not sure if Sorrentino managed to bottle his many ambitions into anything cogent, but God bless this sumptuous mess all the same (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)" 

"Malkovich is terrific in the role. The problem is that John Paul III is not as fully developed a character as Pius was in the first season (...) The drama spends far too much time on uninteresting side plots" 

"The payoffs of 'The New Pope,' whether you enjoy them or not, are mostly in the visual flourishes and conceits"