Pope's life dramatised for US TV

The CBS drama about the late Pope's life is being made on a lavish scale

US broadcaster CBS has commissioned a big-budget drama about the life of Pope John Paul II.

The four-hour mini-series will focus on the late Pope's early years in Poland through to his tenure as Pontiff.

Casting for the part of the Pope has yet to be made, but the series could be screened in the autumn.

The production company making the serial was responsible for the mini-series about the life of Jesus which aired in 1999.

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The title role was taken by Brian Deacon, with Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene, the actress best known for starring in sitcom Will and Grace.

The script for the new factually-based drama, which is set to begin filming in Rome over the summer, was supervised by the Vatican.

The programme's producers were given exclusive access to footage taken in and around St Peter's Square.

Bela Bejaria, CBS vice president for films and mini-series, said the drama was being done "on a large scale".

"It's a fascinating story," she added.

The US production is not the first to cover the life of the late Pope. Italian television screened a drama about his formative years in April, less than a month after his life ended.

There has been a slew of religious-themed progamming on American TV, in part due to the box office success of Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ.