UNLOCK MORE VIEWING
Sign up to Showmax and splash out on unlimited data to watch The Young Pope, or watch two shows dedicated to Nelson and Winnie Mandela
REMIND me again why I haven’t connected my Explora to the internet or signed up for Showmax before? Oh yes, that’s right – until this month I didn’t have superfast uncapped fibre at home. What a game changer.
The past couple of weeks have been like Christmas; the above have unlocked literally hundreds of series and movies and I suspect my friends think I’m joking when I say I’m unlikely to ever leave home again. I’m still finding my way around – and must warn you I’ll be sharing stories about these new toys in abundance – but the timing could not have been better.
The excellent Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+ series The Young Pope has recently been added to Showmax and I made it my first port of call in the binge watching experience.I heard about The Young Pope when Graham Norton had the star Jude Law on his couch in the previous season (the latest season is now on BBC Brit at 9pm on Tuesdays).
To call the production lavish is an understatement. From costumes to sets to cinematography, it is one of the most gorgeous things I have watched in years. The English-language Italian 10-part series was created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Law stars as the titular young Pope – the first American pontiff, the youngest in history, and an unknown factor despite having been elected by the Conclave of Cardinals, a move that is suggested to have been orchestrated.
His manner, his motives, and his entire character, are highly controversial. Taking the name Pius XIII, Lenny Belardo is an orphan, raised by Sister Mary (Diane Keaton). The issue of his abandonment by his parents is a theme which runs throughout the series.
Although it was supposed to be a limited series (and without giving anything away it could, or could not, end the way it did) but its popularity since it premiered last year has pushed a second season into development. The first TV series to be part of the Venice Film Festival programme, The Young Pope was shot in Italy, the US, and South Africa.
“While I was thinking about a film for television that would be set against the inevitably challenging backdrop of religion, I came up with an idea that was at first glance quite mad. ‘Why don’t we come up with a Pontiff who is in every way diametrically opposed to Pope Francis?’,” says Sorrentino.
“After a head of the Church who is so deeply invested in a positive relationship with the people and with large crowds, I imagined an alter ego who was totally different from him. A man deeply tied to the traditions and the ancestral rituals of the Roman Catholic church.
“A Pope who shut doors – instead of throwing them wide open and acting the part of a conciliatory shepherd of souls, capable of persuading people who are very distant from his position – and who instead banishes sinners from the church, reviling them as unworthy. A pope who would upbraid the faithful, demanding they make absolute sacrifices, and urging them toward a blindly obscurantist fideism.”
Commenting on the choice of Law for the role, Sorrentino says: “The age, the physical appearance, the charisma, and the ability to embody the duality I wanted to impart to the character. I wanted to direct an actor who was capable of portraying both a certain aspect of life and the opposite of that aspect, and Jude showed that he was indeed that kind of actor. He had exceptional qualities of concentration and endurance. This was a long film, and he committed to the project with a professionalism and a focus that you don’t often find.”
Go to www.showmax.com for information on how to sign up.
TOMORROW
Mrs Mandela (BET, 8pm): A cinematic exploration of the impossibilities of a normal loving marriage of Winnie Mandela (Sophie Okonedo) to her political activist husband, Nelson Mandela (David Harewood). His incarceration marked the loss of what could have been the best years of their family life.
This film explores how Winnie went from innocent country girl to a freedom fighter against apartheid, against impossible odds.
SUNDAY
Ode To Mandela (BET, 8pm): A collaboration between a group of South African musicians working with composer Jonathan de Vries created a sequence of songs, each expressing a different phase in the life of Nelson Mandela. The songs are joined together by spoken word artist S’phamandla (Maraza) Mhlongo, who uses the tradition of the Imbongi.
IN THE WEEK
Seinfeld (Comedy Central, from Monday at 5.40pm): The legendary ’90s sitcom famously referred to as being about “nothing” begins next week and will run in a daily double bill, Mondays to Fridays. It stars New York stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and ran for nine seasons of 180 episodes, from 1989 to 1998, although only the first five seasons are currently scheduled. Trivia for young people: Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her breakthrough in this show playing Elaine. Louis-Dreyfus holds several records for most Primetime Emmy Award wins and nominations.
Change Down (Mzansi Magic, Monday at 7pm): Hosted by comedian Skhumba and Boity Thulo, gear up for a weekly adventure in this new motoring show that will take you across the country, showcasing South African motoring, from ekasi to the suburbs, featuring entry level to luxury cars. Power (Vuzu AMP, Monday at 9.30pm): A fabulous crime drama which has Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as an executive producer – and who also appears in the series – returns for its third season and the good news for fans is that is has already been renewed for two more. To recap, Omari Hardwick plays James St Patrick aka Ghost, a New York nightclub owner slash drug lord.
His sidekick is – or was – Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora). Things became complicated when Ghost got involved with Assistant US Attorney Angela Valde (Lela Loren) without either them knowing the other was on a different side of the law. Season two ended on a cliffhanger which suggested Kana (50 Cent) was still alive, and now we find Tommy and Ghost part ways, with James deciding to leave the drug game and his Ghost persona, while Angie has to choose between love and her career.