‘The Borgias’ Canceled By Showtime; How Was It Supposed To End? [VIDEO]

Jeremy Irons will not be returning to "The Borgias" for a fourth season and neither will the rest of the cast. Showtime has canceled its original series "The Borgias" saying the period drama was too expensive.

"The Borgias" creator Neil Jordan spoke with Deadline saying, "When they looked at what it could cost it was just too expensive."

Jordan also said that the actors were heartbroken at the fact they would not be able to return and wrap up each of their character's stories. Show creators had hoped Showtime would allow the finale of "The Borgias" to be wrapped up in a two-hour feature, but that fell through. The original ending of "The Borgias" was supposed to culminate with the death of Pope Alexander VI played by Jeremy Irons.

"I wanted a totally biblical ending, for the Pope to burn in hell," Jordan told deadline. The proposed two hour finale would have ended with the Pope on his death bed waiting for someone to hear his final confession. Before the Pope would be able to confess he would be interrupted by the confessor.

"I'm sorry it's too late, you're already dead and burning in hell," the confessor would say.

On Sunday June 16 Showtime will air the series finale of "The Borgias." The episode will see Pope Alexander and his son Cesare, played by Francois Arnaud, attempting to turn the whole of Italy into a hereditary kingdom.

According to Deadline "The Borgias" has won 10 Emmy awards and Irons has been nominated for a Golden Globe.

Show creator Neil Jordan had hoped "The Borgias" would run for four seasons like the Michael Hirst show that came before, "The Tudors."

For those of you dying to know what happened to your favorite Borgias in real life, the history of the Borgia family is just as intriguing as it appears on the show.

The real Lucrezia Borgia played on the show by Holliday Grainger, would go on to become the reigning Duchess of Ferrara alongside her husband Alfonso. She withdrew from public life in 1512 and died in 1519.

Cesare Borgia was killed in a 1507 battle after escaping imprisonment by Pope Julius II.

Historically it was presumed the Lucrezia and her brother Cesare were longtime lovers. Lucrezia delivers an illegitimate child whose paternity is never discovered. Whispers through Rome at the time suggested that the child was fathered by Cesare.

"The Borgias" series took this rumor to the next level when they showed the Borgia siblings making love on the night of Lucrezia's wedding.