Premium cable network Showtime has a knack for delivering horned up history lessons that often played fast-and-loose with the facts in favor of sexy, salacious stories about important figures from the past.

Last month, we revisited The Tudors—about the life and many wives of King Henry VIII—which made an impression early on when the royal (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) forced a servant to catch his royal, ahem, seed.

And now it’s time to take a look back at The Borgias, another steamy historical drama that ran on the network for three seasons.

The series premiered in 2011—less than a year after The Tudors‘ finale, which meant it was primed to take its successor’s thirsty throne. And, boy, did it deliver!

But The Borgias wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to be sexy television. It is, after all, set in the Vatican City, telling the tale of the titular crime family, who used their power, intimidation, bribery, murder and more to ascend to the papacy and lead the Catholic Church.

Of course, with lax rules around sex, nudity, and violence, Showtime was able to lean in and make The Borgias as scandalous as possible. At its center was the corrupt patriarch Rodrigo Borgia, a.k.a. Pope Alexander VI, played by the great Jeremy Irons (who still, to this day, can get it).

And there was plenty of drama to be had among the Pope’s three eldest children—jealousy, addiction, illness, and even incest.

Most notable was first-born Cesare Borgia, played by French-Canadian hottie François Arnaud. Cesare would rather have nothing to do with the family business at the series’ outset, but continually proves himself to be pretty good at it.

Take, for instance, an eyebrow-raising scene in The Borgias‘ second episode, “The Assassin.”

Cesare encounters a killer named Micheletto (played by Sean Harris of the Mission: Impossible franchise) who seems especially eager to please. With Micheletto due for an interrogation, Cesare opts to take the criminal down to do the torturing himself.

What ensues is unexpectedly homoerotic, as the prisoner begs his captor, “Whip me, my lord.” He’s… enjoying it?

Cesare decides his captive has proven himself, and eventually enlists him to do his bidding. From that point forward, Micheletto becomes one of Cesare’s most loyal henchmen. While the two maintain an intimate and closely aligned relationship, they never become anything more (even though Micheletto has his fair share of gay trysts).

Still, that didn’t stop fans from ‘shipping these unlikely allies. Look no further than YouTube, where you’ll find plenty of fan edits focused on their charged connection, just like this one:

It’s clear that moment has long lingered in the imaginations of fans of The Borgias. Just a few years ago, one even divulged how hot and bothered the scene makes them now that they’re “older and kinkier”:

In other words, The Borgias has plenty to offer—whether you’re watching through for the first time, or for the 100th!

And we’d also be remiss if we didn’t point out that, since the show has aired, the aforementioned François Arnaud came out as bi.

Back in September of 2020—just before Bi Visibility Day on the 23rd—he posted a lengthy message to his Instagram Story, detailing why he decided to come out then, and why it felt important that he did. He summed it up with the following message:

“So yes, labels are frustrating and words imperfect. But I’ve always considered myself bisexual. Not confused or trying to look edgy. Not disloyal. Not ashamed. Not invisible.”

We’re certainly proud of Arnaud for making his truth known, especially to help push against (as he put it) “stigmas of indecisiveness, infidelity, deception and trendiness are still clinging to bisexuality.”

Indeed, the actor’s remained very visible in the decade since The Borgias premiered. He’s had roles in everything from beloved comedy Schitt’s Creek to Lifetime’s reality TV skewering-drama, UnREAL.

Excitingly, Arnaud will also be seen in the highly anticipated upcoming season of Showtime’s mystery-box survival drama, Yellowjackets, playing a “secret boyfriend” to Scott, the coach who was left marooned with the girls soccer team when their plane crashed in the Canadian wilderness.

While we can’t wait to see him on that fan-favorite show, in the meantime, we’re content with just checking in on all the photos Arnaud shares on his Instagram…