The Young Pope: An Italian ‘celevision’ case study

By analysing the case of The Young Pope by Paolo Sorrentino, this article aims to consider how celebrity culture, a well-known transnational phenomenon, is embodied in Italian media production. The television series, which was aired by Sky Atlantic starting on 21 October 2016, is a typical example of the circulation of movie stars towards television, thus implying a new kind of ‘celevision’. Moreover, media discourse about The Young Pope shows how the very concept of celebrity is constructed. In this broad context, the article first analyses the textual structure of The Young Pope, looking for specific celebrity production features; it also considers media discourse through a qualitative sample of press, TV and social media about the series before, during and shortly after its airing. The overall data thus describe the overlapping dimensions of transnational and national celebrity construction, while also pointing out the transmedia flow of celebrity culture.