Tonight on Showtime, their latest foray into period drama, THE BORGIAS, premieres at 9/8c.  Starring Jeremy Irons as the man who would be Pope (in this case Rodrigo Borgia who was later named Pope Alexander VI), the show follows his rise to power and all of the dirty deeds that happened along the way.  The show itself is rich with history – set in 1492, and full of amazing costuming, the show immediately transports the viewer back to the time of Columbus, but the slow moving premiere episodes weren’t able to hold my attention.  Later episodes delve fully into the world of the Borgia family, itself the inspiration for Mario Puzo’s GODFATHER trilogy, but I worry it may be too little, too late.  The cast is fantastic and beautiful and a part of me ALWAYS loves to see Joanne Whalley; THE BORGIAS is a lot like THE TUDORS in the quest for telling a salacious story about an intriguing man, but I’ll take Henry the VIII’s stories over Alexander the VI’s, any day.  Check out the trailer for the show – and come back here after the premiere to let us know what you think!