New HBO miniseries 'The Young Pope' stars Jude Law as blasphemous, smoking pontiff

Jude Law stars as an unconventional and irreverent pope in the new HBO miniseries, "The Young Pope." The ten-episode show written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino tells the story of Lenny Belardo, the 47-year-old American who has been elected as Pope Pius XIII.

The first episode premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week and the series is expected to air on HBO later this year.

At the opening of the recently released trailer, Belardo makes the claim: "I don't have any sins to confess. I'm a contradiction. I'm god." The official website describes Law's character as "complex" and "conflicted."

There is reportedly a scene where Belardo confesses that he does not believe in God. He then asked a confessor to tell him the sins of the other cardinals.

A film critic from the Telegraph compared the new series to Netflix's series about political intrigue, "House of Cards." The critic described the show as "a mezzopiano frenzy of bickering and backstabbing in the Catholic Church's impenetrable nerve center that might have easily been called House of Cardinals."

Meanwhile a reviewer from The Hollywood Reporter complimented the series for its aesthetics: "Working with top Italian technicians, Sorrentino presents a majestic and slightly creepy Vatican City, whose marbled halls and stunning statues and architecture acquire a sense of timeless beauty in Luca Bigazzi's lighting and Ludovica Ferrario's production design."

Diane Keaton plays the role of Sister Mary, Belardo's chief counselor. Other members of the cast include James Cromwell, Silvio Orlando, Javier Camara and Cecile de France.

"The Young Pope" was produced by HBO in cooperation with Sky, Canal+ and Wildside.

This is not the first television series that portrays the papacy in a bad light. Canal+ produced a television series in 2011 titled "Borgia: Faith and Fear." The series depicts Pope Alexander VI as a ruthless pope whose reign is remembered as the most notorious period in the history of the Catholic Church.