The New Pope : Season 1 Episode 1 Site

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.

The shadowy Ambassador of the Holy See who provides "expository clarity" and is linked to Francis II’s sudden demise. The New Pope : Season 1 Episode 1

Mostly seen comatose, though he remains the central figure of the show's cult-like devotion. After a deadlocked conclave between Voiello and his

The Machiavellian Secretary of State trying to maintain control through a puppet pope. Mostly seen comatose, though he remains the central

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.

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

Nine months after his sudden heart attack, (Lenny Belardo) remains comatose, while a cult of followers gathers outside his hospital, treating him as a living saint. Worried about the rise of "Pius-idolatry," the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Voiello , moves to elect a new pope.