On October 10, the first two episodes garnered 1.63 million viewers (26.6% of the total amount of subscribers to Canal+), the best ratings ever for the premiere of a Canal+ original series. Last Monday, episodes 1.03/1.04 were watched by 1.52 million viewers (24.4% of market share on the subscribers). I'm not surprised it was a success, there were lots of promos on Canal+ and billboards everywhere for Borgia (there was that particular poster at my bus stop last week, it does make you curious about the show).
In Italy, on SkyItalia, 420 000 viewers were watching, a record as well. And in Germany, on ZDF, the premiere episode also created a record with 6.2 million viewers (unlike Canal+ and SkyItalia, ZDF is not a pay-cable channel).
Great ratings, great press : there's nothing to stop a second season for being greenlit, but Canal+ said they are waiting the end of the season (on November 14) to officially announce whether or not the show is renewed, but given how it started, it seems like it will just be a formality.
Meanwhile, here are the opening credits of Borgia (in case you want to compare to Showtime's version) :
Cyril Morin is the composer on the show. It's not the first time he's worked for Canal+ since he's also the composer on Mafiosa (the mob drama series coming to an end this Winter with its eight-episode fourth season).
Here's a link to listen to 9 tracks of this original soundtrack. You can also listen samples of all 47 tracks and purchase the soundtrack on Itunes or on Amazon (it was released last Monday).
You can find the new visual for the DVD/Blu-ray sets (released on Nov 17) below. The previous one was perhaps temporary or maybe it's just that the David LaChapelle posters made a really good impression (they're indeed amazing) :
As a reminder, Netflix bought the US rights to broadcast the show, they will likely sell them to a pay-cable channel (Starz, for instance, seems like the right home for Borgia).
I'm glad it is a success because I like it, it feels less rushed and probably more accurate than The Borgias.
ReplyDeleteI saw the frist two episodes in Germany and it was quite boring, I have to say. The Showtime Version is way better.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen it yet but Showtime's version was a mess and felt cheap to me... rushed like you said.
ReplyDeleteWatched it on German TV (Austrian TV was afraid to show it too early and aired it too late for my taste whereelse it got the best time on German TV) and liked it a lot. Way better than the Showtime series I gave up on pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Borgia - Season 1: I think it is so much better than Showtimes version! I cannot wait for Season 2!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's already March. And there hasn't been any announcement for a season 2? I like this show! It's amazing. Anyone know anything? Did Canal change their minds or something?
ReplyDeleteBorgia is already renewed for season 2. The renewal was in an add for WorldScreen Magazine.
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