Showtime orders second series of The Borgias

The BorgiasShowtime has ordered a second series of its new historical drama The Borgias it announced yesterday.

The drama premiered earlier this month on Showtime and gave its broadcaster the best launch for a new drama in nearly seven years – beating previous hits such as The Tudors and Shameless. New ratings data has revealed that The Borgias is still performing well and is ahead of The Tudors last season in ratings. The drama is based around the notorious Italian crime family who lived during the renaissance.

“The Borgias has become Sunday night appointment viewing for a broad swath of our subscribers,. Neil Jordan’s cleverly crafted tale of a 15th century papal family has proven quickly addictive. It’s a tribute to his incredible skills as an auteur and to the extraordinary cast led by Jeremy Irons that this show fits so seamlessly into our line-up of quality shows.”  – David Nevins, Showtime entertainment president.

Showtime has ordered an additional 10 episodes of The Borgias to make up the second series which will air in 2012 with filming to begin this summer. The drama stars Jeremy Irons, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Ruta Gedmintas and Colm Feore. In the UK it will air on the recently launched Sky Atlantic.