Having had such a big success with The Tudors, Showtime has continued the theme of sexy period drama by turning to another turbulent period of history, and another notorious family. Stage left; enter the Borgias. All this is portrayed in the series and then some. Jeremy Irons has top billing as Pope Alexander VI, and the series debuted in April 2011. It has garnered some of the highest ratings on Showtime, and was renewed for a second, and then a third season. Not to be confused either with Borgia the European 2011 version produced by Canal+ and created by Tom Fontana from Oz.