Television series

The Borgias

Name: The Borgias
Genre: Drama, Romance, History
Released: 2011
Cast: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Sean Harris, Joanne Whalley

Period drama

The Borgias is a lush period drama centered on Pope Alexander VI and his ruthless family's rise to power in Renaissance Italy. It's handsomely made, morally murky, and thrums with ambition, betrayal, and the kind of scheming that makes you lean forward. For anyone who wants their history complicated and their politics operatic.

TVMaze rating

4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like power games told through scheming families, where ambition, faith and sex are all bargaining chips and court politics plays out like a chess match in the dark.

Skip it if you're after a tight, fast plot or a sober history lesson; it runs long, leans on melodrama and lush excess, and its characters are more operatic than subtle.

What it asks of you: Twenty-nine hour-long episodes over three seasons, so it wants patience and steady attention, since its plotting builds slowly and rewards staying the course.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Game of Thrones2011

Sprawling dynastic power games across multiple factions, stunning visuals, and morally grey characters who scheme their way toward thrones. If you loved the Borgias' ruthless machinations, this will feel like home.

But Eight seasons is a serious commitment, and the later seasons disappointed many viewers. The fantasy setting is completely different.

Succession2018

A taut, modern study of a dynasty devouring itself from within. Sharp writing, phenomenal acting, and the same sense that everyone's playing for keeps with the stakes constantly rising.

But Less historical spectacle, more boardroom tension. If you watched for the costumes and pageantry, this will feel austere.

The Crown2016

Exquisite production values, a family at the center of power grappling with duty versus desire, and the messy human cost of absolute authority. Claire Foy is extraordinary.

But It's slower-paced and more introspective than The Borgias. Some plot lines feel like royal soap opera rather than drama.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Borgias

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Prophet2009

Both explore how power accrues to those willing to sacrifice morality and relationship for advancement, and how the appetite for domination becomes its own disease.

A young man builds an empire inside prison through cunning, alliances, and remorseless intelligence. It's a distilled study of how ambition operates in constraint—the Borgias' ruthlessness compressed into 120 brutal minutes and a single setting.

But It's a gritty French-language crime film, not historical pageantry. Darkly violent and claustrophobic where The Borgias is expansive.

Wolf Hall2015

Another period-power story built on intelligence, manipulation, and the rise of a man reshaping the faith and politics of his era. Dense, intelligent, and gorgeously mounted.

But Three episodes across two seasons. If you need narrative momentum and resolution, you'll find it frustratingly sparse.

Medici2016

Italian Renaissance banking family with poison, intrigue, and generational ambition. It has the same DNA—scheming, beautiful backdrops, and people willing to destroy anyone for power.

But Noticeably lower production values than The Borgias. The writing can feel melodramatic rather than grounded.

The Tudors2007

Henry VIII's reign rendered as palace intrigue and sexual chess. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is magnetic, and the politics-through-passion approach mirrors The Borgias' blend of ambition and desire.

But It prioritizes sex scenes over some historical accuracy, and the tone occasionally tips toward camp.

Knightfall2017

Medieval intrigue, religious power structures in flux, and a protagonist navigating the gap between faith and ruthlessness. Scratches a similar itch for historical scheming.

But Cancelled after two seasons on an unresolved cliffhanger. The pacing is uneven and some plotting feels confused.

Penny Dreadful2014

Gorgeously atmospheric, morally dark, and built on the idea that power and ambition corrupt everyone they touch. The visual language is operatic in a way that echoes The Borgias' aesthetic.

But It's gothic horror rather than history, and becomes increasingly experimental. If you want plot clarity, you won't find it.

The Pillars of the Earth2010

Medieval cathedral politics, class struggle, forbidden desire, and the collision between faith and human ambition. Similar scope and richness in its historical texture.

But It's a miniseries with a definite endpoint, so no ongoing character evolution. Some relationships feel rushed.

The Death of Louis XIV2016

The Borgias asks what you'll do to build an empire. This asks what that empire was worth, watching the machinery of power collapse into nothing.

A formal, almost abstract study of absolute power at its moment of dissolution. It moves like a ritual; you watch a king reduced to a body failing, his entire apparatus of control suddenly meaningless.

But It's glacially slow, wordless stretches, and entirely antithetical to drama convention. Some will find it pretentious or dull.

Borgia2011

Same historical family, same period, same fundamental story, but made with an entirely different moral and aesthetic vocabulary. It's not a remake—it's a second opinion.

A German-French co-production with a different cast and sensibility—grittier, darker, more interested in theological torment and less in romance. Offers a parallel reading of the same story with genuine surprises.

But Less polished than The Borgias, less cinematically lush, and harder to find. The tone is consistently bleak rather than operatic.