News

   
26. March 2012

Shooting start for second season of international hit series BORGIA

Munich, 26 March 2012. After history-making viewer ratings across Europe and abroad, BORGIA, created by Tom Fontana, has been picked up for a second season. Atlantique Productions / Lagardère Entertainment, EOS Entertainment (all producers), Beta (world sales) as well as Canal + (coproducer and broadcaster in France) announced on Monday the shooting start in Prague and in Italy for the next twelve episodes about the Renaissance papal clan, including outdoor shots on original locations. Shooting will wrap in November. BORGIA, which was also coproduced by ZDF and ORF, has been sold in 50 countries, including the United States and Great Britain (Netflix). The international series, whose ambition is to create a European production model, scored record ratings last fall in France (Canal+), Germany (ZDF), Italy (Sky Italia), Spain (Cosmopolitan TV) and Poland (Canal+ Poland).

Season 2 will open a new chapter in the adventures of this highly controversial family. It begins in 1494, eight months after the death of Juan, Rodrigo Borgia’s eldest son, and explores different facets of this family, one of the most notorious in history – its bloody battles, its intrigues to keep hold of the long-coveted papacy, and the meteoric rise of Prince Cesare Borgia (Mark Ryder). This new season takes the viewer across Italy and its varied landscapes, and also features illustrious personalities who marked the transition period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Niccolò Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Starring alongside Ryder are John Doman (“The Wire”), Isolda Dychauk (“Faust”), Andrea Sawatzki, Marta Gastini (“The Rite”), Art Malik (“True Lies”) and Assumpta Serna (“Matador”).

Quotations:

Tom Fontana, Creator of the series:
"BORGIA has been and continues to be a creative joy and a personal pleasure. I love the mix of talented Europeans (and Americans) we've assembled, both in front of and behind the camera. Working with Lagardère, Canal + and Beta has been a unique and thrilling experience. And I know that our new season of stories will take us where we were last year and launch us Heavenward!"

Ferdinand Dohna, Producer of the series – EOS Entertainment/Beta Film:
“Tom Fontana’s scripts promise the same opulent mix of history and entertainment that already thrilled vast audiences in the first season. Visually, we’re even going one step further, since many scenes of the second season will be shot at original locations in Italy such as the medieval castle of the Orsini in Bracciano or the splendid Renaissance villa of the Farnese in Caprarola. By the way: Beta Film has extended its relationship with Tom Fontana and is currently shooting with him the ten-part event series Copper, which takes place in 1860s New York.”

Fabrice de la Patellière, Director of fiction - Canal+:
“CANAL+ is proud to be the privileged partner of this ambitious international production conceived by Tom Fontana, one of the greatest creators of television series. Season 1 gave rise to a veritable event on our channel last October, beating all the ratings records for the ‘Création Originale.’ We now look forward with enthusiasm and impatience to proposing this new season of BORGIA to our subscribers.”

Klaus Zimmermann and Olivier Bibas, General Managers - Atlantique Productions and Producers of the series:
“The audience really dug into it, and we received many requests to continue the fascinating stories about this dysfunctional family. With the second season in the making, BORGIA now takes on the status of a long-running series with a universal resonance. It is a (great) premiere for a European initiative that affirms our feeling that there is truly a market for audiovisual production in the future.”

BORGIA SEASON 2
A series of 12 x 52’
Created by Tom Fontana
Produced by Klaus Zimmermann, Olivier Bibas, Ferdinand Dohna
Production: Atlantique Productions / Lagardère Entertainment & EOS Entertainment / Beta Film
With the participation of CANAL+
Directors: Dearbhla Walsh (“The Tudors”), Christoph Schrewe (“The Sea Wolf”)
Starring: John Doman (Rodrigo Borgia), Mark Ryder (Cesare Borgia), Isolda Dychauk (Lucrezia Borgia), Assumpta Serna (Vannozza Cattanei), Diarmuid Noyes (Alessandro Farnese), Marta Gastani (Giulia Farnese), Andrea Sawatzki (Adriana de Mila), Art Malik (Gacet)