The New Pope : Season 1 Episode 1 -

Voiello's bitter rival, also played by Orlando.

The shadowy Ambassador of the Holy See who provides "expository clarity" and is linked to Francis II’s sudden demise.

Introduced briefly as the potential moderate replacement for the next conclave. Viewing Guide & Highlights The New Pope Review: Season 1 Episode 1 - Tell-Tale TV The New Pope : Season 1 Episode 1

The Machiavellian Secretary of State trying to maintain control through a puppet pope.

The episode ends with Francis II’s sudden death—implied to be an assassination—and a comatose Lenny Belardo moving his finger for the first time. Voiello's bitter rival, also played by Orlando

The short-lived pope whose radical Franciscan humility threatens the Vatican elite.

Mostly seen comatose, though he remains the central figure of the show's cult-like devotion. Viewing Guide & Highlights The New Pope Review:

After a deadlocked conclave between Voiello and his doppelganger, , Voiello engineers a tactical vote for a supposedly malleable candidate: Cardinal Viglietti . Taking the name Pope Francis II , Viglietti unexpectedly becomes a radical reformer, opening the Vatican to refugees and demanding the Cardinals surrender their personal wealth.