'Borgia' beats records on Canal Plus

"Borgia"PARIS -- Tom Fontana's edgy costume drama "Borgia" beat all-time record ratings on Gaul's Canal Plus when the first two episodes bowed in primetime on Monday. Surpassing records previously set by "Desperate Housewives" and Olivier Marchal's "Braquo," the launch of "Borgia" lured more than 1.6 million viewers, 26.7% of the paybox's subscribers, per Canal Plus' spokesperson. The 12-part series, which has completed its run in Italy, also attracted hit ratings on Sky Cinema, making it the pay TV channel's best running TV drama of the year. Benefiting from good word of mouth, the $30 million show became more popular week after week. While 229,000 viewers tuned in for the pilot, 420,000 viewers watched the last episode, nearly 10% of Sky Cinema subscribers. Repped by Jan Mojto's Munich-based Beta Film, "Borgia" has sold in nearly 40 countries and was recently acquired by Netflix for U.S. and Canadian rights. The Renaissance-set show centers on the infamous clan and its cunning, yet charismatic patriarch, Rodrigo Borgia, as he rises to power in the Vatican and becomes Pope Alexander VI. "Borgia" toplines John Doman ("The Wire"), Assumpta Serna ("Matador"), Art Malik ("True Lies") and Udo Kier ("Blade"). Fully-financed in Europe, the costume drama was commissioned by Canal Plus and produced by Gaul's Atlantique Prods., Mojto's EOS Entertainment and Prague's Etic. Show will roll out on Austria's ORF on Wednesday and on Germany's ZDF on Monday. A rival project, Showtime's "The Borgias," which was developed around the same time as Fontana's show, is helmed by Neil Jordan and toplines Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia. A Canada-Hungary-Ireland co-pro, "The Borgias" bowed in April and has been renewed for a second season. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com