'The Borgias,' starring Jeremy Irons, to end after three seasons

LOS ANGELES, June 5 (UPI) -- Showtime says its Budapest-shot historical drama "The Borgias" will wrap this month after three seasons.

The series finale is to air June 16.

Created by Neil Jordan, the show stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI, the patriarch of the Borgia dynasty, "who builds an empire by bribing, buying and muscling his way into the papacy," a synopsis said.

"It has been an honor to work with the great Neil Jordan and the incomparable Jeremy Irons on 'The Borgias,'" David Nevins, president of entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc., said in a statement Wednesday. "Neil has written nearly every episode of this series himself. His extraordinary storytelling combined with Jeremy's fascinating portrayal of the infamous Pope Alexander VI, has made for truly outstanding television that will live on. I look forward to future collaborations."

"I never thought I would make a cable series and have enjoyed every minute of it," said Jordan. "For a variety of reasons we won't be doing a fourth season, but, 'The Prince' [the final episode], when I wrote it and shot it, did seem like the end of a journey for the family. Whatever bonded them as a family dies in this episode, and the center of the drama for me was always the family. I want to thank Showtime and David Nevins for their unstinting support over the last three years, and look forward to working with them in the future."