Borgia

It was the age of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, of enlightened creativity and unparalleled intellectual achievement. But it was also the age of Machievelli, of rampant lawlessness, incessant war, and unspeakable depravity. At the heart of the world order was the Vatican, the arbiter of conflicts between kingdoms and empires. And at the center of the Vatican was a man whose quest for power would propel him to seek the ultimate prize, the holy see of Rome. He was a man whose name would become synonymous with ruthlessness, and whose reign as Pope would be remembered as the most infamous chapter of the history of the Catholic church, Rodrigo Borgia. His four children -Juan, the oldest, a prideful, lazy, unscrupulous sexual predator, Cesare, a young man torn between a faith that was not his calling and his dark violent nature, Lucretia, a young girl discovering the secret power that a women's sexuality holds, and Goffredo, an innocent child who would come of age in a family riven by conflict, would provide Rodrigo with a challenge as great as the political maneuvering of his political and religious rivals. This show was a one hour dramatic series that chronicled the rise to power of this Spanish Cardinal and his clan, who sought to establish a dynasty that held sway over the entire world. Though a man of faith, Rodrigo was also in thrall to the pleasures of the flesh. Not only did he have to deal with the plotting and conspiracies of his fellow cardinals and the representatives of the great powers, but he was locked in a struggle to contain the bitter sibling rivalries that threatened to tear his family apart. This show was a cauldron of intrigue, violence, murder, lust, politics, faith, incest, betrayal, and redemption, a story as compelling and enlightening as the age in which it took place. —Tom Fontana