Press Release
Starz announced today that the anticipated second season of the historical fantasy “Da Vinci’s Demons,” an original series created by David S. Goyer, who most recently wrote the screenplay for Man of Steel and its untitled sequel as well as co-writer of The Dark Knight trilogy, will premiere on STARZ in the U.S. on Saturday, March 22nd at 9pm ET/PT. The ten-episode drama, produced by Adjacent Productions, follows the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, during his turbulent youth during the Renaissance. Starz greenlit “Da Vinci’s Demons” for a second season following its record-setting first season weekend debut on STARZ on Friday April 12, 2013. Outside of the United States and English-speaking Canada, “Da Vinci’s Demons” is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide, in partnership with FOX International Channels (FIC) who broadcasts the series to audiences in 125 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa following Starz’s exclusive premiere in the U.S.
Brilliant and passionate, the 25-year- old Leonardo da Vinci is an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist. As a free thinker, with intellect and talents that are almost superhuman, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time.
Starring Tom Riley (“Monroe,” I Want Candy), as the title character, season two of “Da Vinci’s Demons,” finds Florence thrown into chaos in the wake of the Pazzi conspiracy. Lorenzo is gravely ill and Leonardo da Vinci must push the limits of his mind and body to defend the city against the forces of Rome. While the Medicis go to unthinkable lengths to deal with new threats, da Vinci continues on his quest to find the fabled Book of Leaves and uncover the secret history of his mother. He’ll come to realize that he has lethal competition in his quest — new enemies who may be even worse than the forces of Pope Sixtus. His search will take him to faraway lands and force him to reevaluate everything he knew about the world and his own history.
Riley’s co-stars include Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy) who plays Lucrezia Donati; Elliot Cowan (“Luther,” “Lost in Austen”) who plays the de factor ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici; Lara Pulver (“True Blood,” “Sherlock”), who plays his wife Clarice Orsini; and Blake Ritson (Serena, “Upstairs Downstairs”) who plays the ruthless and unwavering Count Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.
In addition to his high profile film credits, Goyer served as script consultant and story developer for “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” and “Black Ops II,” respectively, the most successful video game franchise of all time.
Jane Tranter, head of Adjacent Productions, served as Executive Producer. The series was shot in Swansea during the summer and fall of 2013. The series is produced by Adjacent Productions, a label launched in 2012 that sits alongside BBC Worldwide Productions in order to identify new and original programming created and produced under the company’s umbrella.
About Starz Entertainment
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of September 30, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.0 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ, and 35.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
About Adjacent Productions
Adjacent Productions is a label that sits within BBC Worldwide Productions, one of the core businesses under BBC Worldwide North America, the U.S. division of BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The Adjacent Productions label serves to identify new programming created by the Los Angeles-based production company, while BBC Worldwide Productions identifies BBC reformats that the team develops and produces for the U.S. market. The first scripted series under the Adjacent Productions label is Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz), currently in production on its second season. Other series from the production companies include Getting On (HBO) and the upcoming Us & Them (FOX), Intruders (BBC America), and Criminal Justice (HBO).
About FOX International Channels
FOX International Channels (FIC) is 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 300+ wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, sports, lifestyle, factual and movie channels in 45 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. FIC’s core channel brands include FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Life and National Geographic Channel. FIC’s movie channels include FOX Movies, FOX Movies Premium, Star Chinese Movies and Moviecity. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 1.6 billion cumulative households worldwide. In addition, FIC owns and operates two production studios and produces thousands of local programming hours for its wholly owned channels and third parties. In operation since: August 14, 1993.
via Starz
