Epic series Borgia on TV Barrandov

The story of the infamous Borgia dynasty, which took control over Renaissance Italy through behind-the-scenes intrigue, unscrupulousness and a limitless desire for power, is coming to television screens once again. The creator of the series is the acclaimed Tom Fontana, while direction was taken on, among other, by Olivier Hirschibiegel (Fall of the Third Reich, Invasion). The bloody pope Rodrigo Borgia is played by an experienced film and television actor John Doman, while his virginally beautiful and fatally dangerous daughter Lucrezia is played by the young Isolda Dychauk. Supporting roles will also see Czech actors like Tereza Voříšková and Jiří Mádl. All this on sets built in Barrandov!

In early March, one of the largest projects that Barrandov Studio has been involved in in recent years and the most expensive series project in the history of European production will come to the screens of Barrandov television. The exterior lots became the site of the streets of Rome and a faithful copy of St. Peter’s Square as it was in approximately 1492. The Sistine Chapel was built in studio no. 5...

In an interview of the German Press Agency some time ago, academic architect Jindřich Kočí noted: “It was extraordinary, because sets like these are not built every day and it is very difficult to obtain references, create the blueprint documentation and finally maintain the progress of construction so everything is just right. The blueprint documentation for the Sistine Chapel was drawn by my colleague, architect Milena Koubková, and she did an exceptionally good job. The same goes for the construction headed by leading foremen and built by first-class craftsmen. The period paintings created by sixteen scenic painters over four weeks were also difficult. The painters were managed by the best scenic painter in the Czech Republic, Jiří Čihák. In short, they are the elite and it is a pleasure to work with a team like this.”

The series has been garnering positive critical reviews since it premiered last autumn in the foreign and Czech media. For instance, TV Max magazine expressed the minute accuracy and immense complexity of the entire project, writing: “Just like the power struggles of the Borgia family affected the whole of Europe, artists from all of Europe contributed to depicting their life. The director’s chair was taken by German Oliver Hirschbiegel, filming took place in Barrandov in Prague and the roles were played by actors from 18 countries. The Czech colours were defended by Miroslav Táborský or Jiří Mádl, for example. The complicated sets used 20 tonnes of wood, 46 tonnes of scaffolding, 100 m2 of glass, 300 m2 of polystyrene and 4.5 tonnes of joining materials. The actors put on a total of 340 costumes and 150 wigs, and 157 litres of fake blood were spilled during the tumultuous battles. Filming took 1573 hours. You can judge whether all the effort was worth it every Saturday at 8:05 pm on TV Barrandov.”

This year, the French-German-Czech production team headed by screenwriter Tom Fontanawill return to Barrandov to film a second season of the successful series.

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