Neil Jordan’s The Borgias didn’t just depict history. It bled it.
If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out on what is basically the original Succession, just with more velvet and significantly more poison. It’s been years since Showtime abruptly pulled the plug on the series, leaving fans staring at a massive cliffhanger that never got resolved. Honestly, it’s a tragedy. Most people remember Jeremy Irons as the voice of Scar, but in this show, he plays Rodrigo Borgia—Pope Alexander VI—with a kind of weary, predatory genius that makes you realize why the name Borgia became synonymous with "corruption" in the first place.
The show isn't just about a Pope. It’s about a family trying to survive a world that wants them dead.
What The Borgias Gets Right (And Where It Just Makes Things Up)
Historical accuracy is a tricky beast in television. While The Borgias nails the suffocating, candle-lit atmosphere of 15th-century Rome, it plays fast and loose with some of the timeline. For instance, the real Lucrezia Borgia was likely more of a political pawn than the master manipulator she becomes in later seasons. But that’s the draw, right? You want to see Holliday Grainger transform from an innocent girl into a woman who can out-poison her enemies.
People often confuse this show with the European production Borgia: Faith and Fear, which aired around the same time. That one was grittier, sure, but the Showtime version had the budget and the costume department to make the Renaissance look like a fever dream. The embroidery alone on those papal robes probably cost more than my first car.
👉 See also: Ted Nugent State of Shock: Why This 1979 Album Divides Fans Today
Let's talk about Cesare. Francois Arnaud plays him as a man trapped between the church he hates and the war he loves. In reality, Cesare Borgia was the primary inspiration for Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. Think about that. The guy was so effective at being a ruthless leader that someone wrote the literal handbook on power based on his life. The show captures that tension perfectly—the feeling that Cesare is always one step away from either conquering Italy or burning the whole thing down.
The Incest Question
You can’t talk about The Borgias without addressing the elephant in the room. The show leans heavily into the rumored romantic relationship between Cesare and Lucrezia. Was it real? Most modern historians like Sarah Bradford, who wrote an incredible biography on Lucrezia, argue it was likely propaganda spread by their many, many enemies (like the Sforzas and the Orsinis).
But for a TV drama? It works. It creates this claustrophobic sense of "us against the world." The Borgias were outsiders—Spaniards in an Italian club—and that "Catalan" identity is something the show highlights frequently. They were seen as parvenus, upstarts who bought the papacy with bags of gold and promises of land.
Why The Borgias Still Matters for TV Buffs
There is a specific kind of "prestige TV" that doesn't really exist anymore. Everything now feels a bit too clean or too reliant on CGI dragons. The Borgias felt tactile. You could almost smell the incense and the rotting sewage of the Tiber River. It explored the intersection of faith and filth in a way that felt incredibly honest. Rodrigo Borgia genuinely believed he was chosen by God, even while he was bedding Giulia Farnese or plotting the assassination of a cardinal.
✨ Don't miss: Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus Explained (Simply)
That cognitive dissonance is fascinating. It’s not just a show about "bad people." It’s a show about people who believe their survival justifies any sin.
The supporting cast is where the show really shines, though. Colm Feore as Cardinal della Rovere is a masterclass in righteous fury. He’s the "hero" in a traditional sense—he wants to clean up the church—but he’s so cold and arrogant that you find yourself rooting for the corrupt Borgias instead. It’s brilliant writing. It forces you to question your own morality.
The Cancellation Sting
It still hurts. Season 3 ended on such a high note, with the family finally feeling untouchable. Then, the news dropped. No Season 4. Neil Jordan originally wanted to finish it with a two-hour movie called The Borgia Apocalypse, but the budget wasn't there.
Instead, we got a published screenplay. It’s out there if you look for it. It’s dark. It covers the inevitable fall of the house, Cesare’s decline, and the reality that power is fleeting. It’s a bitter pill to swallow compared to the lush visuals of the show, but it provides the closure the network denied us.
🔗 Read more: Big Brother 27 Morgan: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going back to rewatch The Borgias, or starting it for the first time, pay attention to the silence. Some of the best scenes have almost no dialogue. It’s all in the eyes.
- Watch the background. The production design won an Emmy for a reason. The Vatican sets are sprawling and gorgeous.
- Look for Micheletto. Sean Harris plays the Borgia assassin with this haunting, quiet loyalty. He’s arguably the best character in the series.
- Track the color palette. As the seasons progress, the world gets darker. The bright golds of the first season give way to deep reds and blacks.
The series is currently streaming on several platforms, including Paramount+ and occasionally through various Prime Video channels. It’s worth the subscription just for the standoff scenes between Rodrigo and his rivals.
Actionable Insights for Fans of Historical Drama
If you’ve finished the show and feel that Borgia-sized hole in your life, don't just move on to the next random sitcom. Dive deeper into the real history to see where the show diverted.
- Read the Source Material: Grab The Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer. It’s a fantastic read that actually defends the family against many of the wilder myths.
- Visit the Borgia Apartments: If you ever find yourself in Rome, the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican are open to the public. They are covered in frescoes by Pinturicchio, and yes, you can see the actual faces of the people the show is based on.
- Contrast with "The Prince": Read Machiavelli’s work while keeping Francois Arnaud’s performance in mind. It adds a whole new layer of depth to the "villain" archetype.
- Explore the "Other" Version: Watch the European Borgia (created by Tom Fontana). It’s a completely different vibe—less "glamour," more "blood and grit."
The legacy of The Borgias isn't just about the history it portrayed, but about how it paved the way for the complex, morally gray protagonists we see in television today. It showed that you could have a show about a "villain" and make the audience weep when they lose. That is the power of great storytelling.