CTV has signed on as a co-producer of The Borgias, the Canadian-European co-production to shoot in Hungary before bowing on Showtime and CTV next year.

The Jeremy Irons-starring family saga set in Renaissance Italy will kick off with ten episodes, recently commissioned by Showtime to replace The Tudors, which aired on the CBC for four seasons.

The Borgias will be the latest intricate US cable drama to show up on CTV’s prime-time schedule, after FX’s Nip/Tuck, Showtime’s Dexter, AMC’s Mad Men and HBO’s The Sopranos.

Toronto-based Take 5 Productions will co-produce the costume drama, which also has Colm Feore in talks to play Cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere, the arch-rival to Irons’ Rodrigo Borgia.

Sponsorship opportunities for the broadcast will be available, the network confirmed yesterday.

From Playback Daily