Sorrentino working on New Pope series

(ANSA) - Rome, May 16 - Production of Oscar-winning Paolo Sorrentino's new SKY-HBO series The New Pope, set in the Vatican, will commence near year. The screenplay was written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello and will be produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Wildside and co-produced by Mediapro. The international distributor is FremantleMedia International.
    The casting for the role of the new pope and other characters has just begun. The series will reportedly be an entirely new project and not just a second season of 'The Young Pope'. However, like the latter, it will center on the pope and be set in the Vatican. The same atmospheres and world that caught the interest of the world and critics will be back, as will the Sky-HBO team, an idea that was initially tried out with The Young Pope. After achieving success in Italy and across Europe, The Young Pope - currently sold in over 110 countries throughout the world - found a large audience in the US on the HBO cable television station.