The Borgias brought the most infamous family in Renaissance history to Showtime in 2011, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Neil Jordan’s vision of papal corruption, family loyalty, and political murder was both lavish and compelling. Jeremy Irons headlined as Rodrigo Borgia, who bought his way to the papacy as Pope Alexander VI and proceeded to use the Vatican as both a throne and a family business. The show operated at the intersection of faith and power, and it found rich dramatic territory in the contradiction.
The Renaissance setting allowed for a visual splendor that few television productions could match. Filmed in Hungary, the production created a version of fifteenth-century Rome and Italy that felt both authentic and cinematic. The costumes were exquisite, the architecture imposing, and the overall aesthetic captured the period’s simultaneous beauty and brutality. Jordan brought his filmmaker’s eye to every frame, and the show rewarded viewers who appreciated visual storytelling as much as narrative.
Jeremy Irons and the Art of Holy Corruption
Irons’ Rodrigo Borgia was a creation of magnetic contradiction: a man of genuine faith who committed terrible sins, a loving father who used his children as political pawns, a pope who believed he was serving God while enriching his family. Irons played every facet with an authority that made the character’s rationalizations feel internally consistent, if not morally defensible. His Rodrigo was never a simple villain. He was something more interesting and more disturbing: a man who genuinely believed his corruption served a greater good.
Francois Arnaud’s Cesare Borgia provided the show with its most dynamic character arc. The second son, pushed into the Church when he wanted military command, grew from a frustrated young cardinal into one of the most dangerous men in Italy. Arnaud tracked this transformation with growing confidence, and by the third season Cesare had become the show’s most compelling figure, a political operator whose ruthlessness was matched by genuine strategic brilliance.
Holliday Grainger’s Lucrezia Borgia defied centuries of historical slander to present a Lucrezia who was neither the poisoner of legend nor a simple victim. Grainger played her as a woman learning to wield the only power available to her in a patriarchal world, growing from a naive girl into a sophisticated political player. Her evolution across three seasons was one of the show’s most satisfying threads.
Cancellation, Pace, and the Shadow of History
The Borgias’ most significant weakness was its cancellation after three seasons, which denied the story its planned conclusion. Jordan had plotted a fourth season that would have covered the Borgia family’s downfall, and the show’s abrupt ending left narrative threads dangling that deserved resolution. A planned television movie to wrap up the story never materialized, leaving the series permanently incomplete.
The pacing could be uneven, particularly in the first season as the show established its large cast and complex political landscape. Renaissance Italian politics involved numerous city-states, papal factions, and foreign powers, and the show sometimes struggled to make all these moving pieces dramatically engaging. Viewers who weren’t already familiar with the historical period occasionally found the political machinations difficult to track.
The show’s depiction of the alleged incestuous relationship between Cesare and Lucrezia, while drawing from historical rumor, was a divisive creative choice. Some viewers found it added a taboo dimension to the family’s already transgressive nature. Others felt it was a sensationalized addition that distracted from the more compelling political drama. The show handled the material with more restraint than it might have, but the storyline remained controversial throughout.
Where Family Is the Only Religion
The Borgias’ most resonant theme was the idea that family loyalty could become its own form of religion, one more powerful and demanding than the faith its patriarch claimed to represent. The Borgias protected and destroyed for each other with a devotion that transcended morality, and the show traced how that devotion both elevated and consumed them. In a world where every institution was corrupt, the family became the only thing worth believing in, and that belief made them both magnificent and monstrous.
Should You Watch The Borgias?
If you enjoy political intrigue, period drama, and strong ensemble performances, The Borgias offers three seasons of handsomely produced entertainment. Jeremy Irons alone justifies the investment, and the supporting cast grows into their roles impressively. Be aware that the show ends without a proper conclusion, which may affect your willingness to invest. If you can accept an incomplete story that’s excellent in its individual parts, this is a rewarding watch.
The Verdict on The Borgias
The Borgias delivered three seasons of Renaissance intrigue elevated by Jeremy Irons’ commanding central performance and Neil Jordan’s cinematic vision. The show made papal corruption feel both horrifying and fascinating, finding genuine drama in the collision between spiritual authority and earthly ambition. Its premature cancellation denied it the conclusion it deserved, but what exists is a richly realized portrait of history’s most notorious family operating at the heights of power.