The Borgias Series Premiere Review

Historical period dramas are quickly becoming the basis for the premuim cable networks to launch new primetime series. HBO did it with Rome for two seasons. Showtime has already done it with The Tudors , which was hugely successful. And now Showtime has done it again with The Borgias , a new series following the rise to power of Italy’s most notorious crime family. Only The Borgias , while getting off to a good start, has a lot to prove in order to match the success of historical period series that have come and gone before.

The Borgias takes us back to the city of Rome in the year 1492. The pope at the time dies and it is now up to the Catholic Churches cardinals to decide who will be the next pope. It is here that we meet Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons), who is the head of one of the most powerful families in Rome. Rodrigo is in extreme wanting to be the next pope. So in order to achieve this he manipulates the other cardinals into voting for him. This task proves successful after much deliberation, Rodrigo is elected as the new pope and takes the name Pope Alexander VI. A couple of the other cardinals believe that his election has a fraudalent one and vow to boot him out of the papacy. This is where the true nature of this family begins to come into play. Rodrigo soon begins using the order of confession to attract mistresses. His sons begin committing acts of murder. These are all what we saw in the premiere and the are a lot more to come.

One of the reasons that this show still has a lot to prove as the season progresses is that the premiere episode did not exactly make the show out to be the best of its kind. I mean do not get me wrong the premiere episodes were good but there is room to get better. Although on the positive side of the show, the performances all around are all in great form. It is Jeremy Irons who pretty much anchors the show and delivers an excellent performance that is very worthy of an Emmy nomination. The rest of the supporting cast also does a good job in creating their characters. And the production value of the series is of good nature. That is one of the reasons that these historical period drama series are considered good entertainment because their production value and design is a step ahead of normal primetime dramas.

Overall it was a good premiere however there is room to get better. I am not expecting it to get so good that it becomes the greatest historical period series of all time. All I am saying is that the premiere had enough energy to keep me watching the rest of the season with the hope that it will get better. But I have no doubt that it will get better. It’s not like the premiere was to the point where it was okay and it would have to get better in order to keep the show on the air. The show got off to a good start and all it has to do now is stay on the right track and be better than good.

By Adam Miller

Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show

If you want to learn more about this show or want to share your thoughts about it, send me an email to adam@therpmshow.com. Also visit our website www.therpmshow.com to learn more about movies and television.