April 25, 2011

Showtime has renewed The Borgias for a second season. The period drama premiered on the network earlier this month and has thus far actually outpaced the ratings of The Tudors' final season with an average 1.1 million viewers.

The Borgias is set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance and follows a corrupt patriarch's rise to the papacy. Season 1 is set to wrap up its nine-episode run on Sunday, May 22 at 10:00pm ET/PT.

"The Borgias has become Sunday night appointment viewing for a broad swath of our subscribers," said Showtime's President of Entertainment, David Nevins. "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."

Season 2 of the series starts production this summer and will debut sometime in 2012 with 10 new episodes.

(Source: TV by the Numbers)