Honestly, for a long time, we all just thought of Jude Law as the "pretty boy" from The Talented Mr. Ripley or the guy playing Watson to Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock. He was the quintessential movie star. But then something shifted. He didn’t just start doing television; he started making some of the weirdest, most provocative TV of the last decade.
If you're looking for Jude Law TV shows, you aren't just looking for a list of credits. You're looking at a mid-career reinvention that most actors would be too terrified to try. He went from the guy everyone wanted to be to the guy playing a chain-smoking, Cherry Coke-obsessed Pope who might actually be a saint—or a total monster. It’s been a wild ride.
The Young Pope: Not Your Grandma’s Vatican
When The Young Pope dropped in 2016, people didn't really know what to do with it. Was it a satire? A serious drama? A fever dream? Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, the show gave us Law as Lenny Belardo, aka Pius XIII.
He’s the first American Pope, and he is, basically, a nightmare for the Vatican establishment. He doesn't want to be "relatable." He wants to be a shadow. He refuses to let the church sell merchandise with his face on it. He’s obsessed with his own abandonment issues, and he treats the cardinals like they're interns at a tech startup he’s about to fire.
Law is spectacular here. He brings this icy, aristocratic stillness to Lenny. One minute he’s delivering a terrifying sermon from a dark balcony, telling the faithful they don’t deserve to see his face, and the next, he’s demanding a Cherry Coke Zero for breakfast. It’s absurd, but Law plays it with such conviction that you start to believe a kangaroo really could live in the Vatican gardens.
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The follow-up, The New Pope (2020), brought in John Malkovich, which is basically an acting masterclass by that point. But Law remains the soul of it, even when he's—no spoilers—literally a "sleeping" presence for half the season.
The Third Day: That Time Things Got Really Weird
If The Young Pope was a dream, The Third Day (2020) was a straight-up panic attack. This wasn't just a "show." It was a psychological experiment split into three parts: Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
Law stars in the "Summer" section as Sam, a guy who follows a girl onto Osea Island and gets trapped there by the tide. The islanders have some... let's call them intense religious traditions. It’s very Midsommar meets The Wicker Man.
What made this project insane was the "Autumn" segment. It was a 12-hour live broadcast on Sky Arts. One continuous take. Law was out there in the mud, performing for half a day straight, essentially doing immersive theater for a global audience. It’s the kind of thing a "movie star" usually avoids because it’s exhausting and there’s nowhere to hide. He leaned right into it.
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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and the Return to Big Budgets
Fast forward to late 2024 and 2025, and we see Law entering the biggest machine in the world: the Galaxy Far, Far Away. In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, he plays Jod Na Nawood.
At first, the kids in the show think he’s a Jedi. He’s got the Force, he’s got the moves, and he’s helping them find their way home. But Jod isn't Obi-Wan. He’s more like a world-weary scoundrel who’s survived some dark stuff—specifically Order 66.
Law has talked about how he wanted to bring a bit of that Han Solo "cynical survivor" energy to the role. He’s funny, he’s a little bit of a coward at times, and he’s definitely looking out for himself. It’s probably the most "fun" he’s had on screen in years, and the critics loved it. The show holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which, if you know Star Wars fans, is basically a miracle.
What's Next? Black Rabbit and Beyond
Right now, in 2026, the buzz is all about Black Rabbit. This is a huge deal because Law isn't just the star; he’s the executive producer. He’s playing a guy named Jake who runs a high-stakes New York City hotspot, and his chaotic brother (played by Jason Bateman) comes back into his life to blow everything up.
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It feels like the culmination of everything he’s learned doing TV. He’s no longer just a hired hand. He told Document Journal recently that producing has changed how he looks at the "machine." He’s more hands-on with the scripts and the "ecosystem" of the show.
Every Jude Law TV Appearance You Should Actually Care About
If you want to do a deep dive, here is the roadmap:
- The Young Pope / The New Pope: Watch for the visuals and the sheer audacity of the performance.
- The Third Day: Watch if you like psychological thrillers that make you feel slightly unwell.
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Great for a weekend binge; it feels like an 80s Amblin movie (think Goonies) but in space.
- Black Mirror: He actually appeared in the 2025/2026 era of the anthology series—specifically the "Eulogy" episode, which is a total gut-punch about memory technology.
- The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991): A fun Easter egg. He played a minor role in "Shoscombe Old Place" long before he became Watson in the movies.
Why Jude Law Wins at TV
Most actors go to TV when their film careers are dying. Law went when he was still at the top. He used the medium to stop being a "face" and start being a "character."
The nuance he brings to Lenny Belardo or Sam in The Third Day is something you just can't get in a two-hour movie. You need the ten hours. You need the space to be boring, then terrifying, then heartbreaking.
If you're jumping into his filmography now, start with The Young Pope. It’s the definitive "Jude Law TV" experience. Just make sure you have some Cherry Coke Zero on hand. You're gonna need it.
Your Next Step: If you've already seen his big HBO hits, look up the 12-hour live stream of The Third Day: Autumn on YouTube or Sky’s archives. It’s a bizarre piece of performance art that shows exactly why Law is one of the bravest actors working today.