Far removed from all the real-life Papal drama, however appropriately-timed, Showtime's buzz-worthy Ridley Scott-directed pilot 'The Vatican' has just grown itself a new flower. In addition to recent castings of 'Friday Night Lights' star Kyle Chandler and 'Stoker's Matthew Goode, 'Pushing Daisies vet Anna Friel has officially joined the modern religious drama, but will she play a sinner or a saint?

Showtime's prestige has seriously jumped up a few notches in recent years, but is it ready to take on 'The Vatican? Directed by genre master Ridley Scott and featuring 'Zero Dark Thirty' star Kyle Chandler, 'The Vatican' follows Chandler as Cardinal Thomas Duffy, “the charismatic yet enigmatic Archbishop of New York, whose progressive leanings excite some and alarm others within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.”

Sources report that 'Pushing Daisies' star Anna Friel has officially joined the cast playing Kayla Duffy, younger sister/foil to Chandler’s Cardinal Thomas Duffy. Kayla is identified as a sexually active, hard-partying New Yorker who rebels against the Church but loves her brother very deeply, and although they retain a close relationship, she proves a liability to his professional goals.

Written by Oscar-winner Paul Attanasio and with a pilot helmed by Ridley Scott, ‘The Vatican’ is described as “a provocative contemporary genre thriller about spirituality, power and politics – set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic church. The series will explore the relationships and rivalries as well as the mysteries and miracles behind one of the world’s most hidden institutions.”

In addition to Friel, Matthew Goode (‘Watchmen’) and Sebastian Koch (‘A Good Day to Die Hard‘) round out the cast as Papal Secretary Bernd Koch and Cardinal Marco Malerba, respectively.

What say you? Do you think 'The Vatican' will cause a stir in real life, and be forced to resign?

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