Starz Entertainment’s new eight-episode action-adventure series Da Vinci’s Demons is set to premiere on Friday April 12th at 10/9C, following the series finale of Spartacus: War of the Damned. Succeeding episodes will be run in the 9/8C slot.
The series, which follows the exploits of the young Leonardo Da Vinci comes from David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Trilogy) and – and trust me, I’ve seen the first three episodes – may be considerably less violent than Spartacus but is even more fun. For the official series description, check out the equally official press release following the jump.
STARZ TO PREMIERE ACTION ADVENTURE SERIES
“DA VINCI’S DEMONS” FROM DAVID S. GOYER ON FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH
Eight-Part Series Will Also Launch Globally in 120 Countries on Fox International Channels
Beverly Hills, Calif. – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –Starz announced today that the historical fantasy “Da Vinci’s Demons,” an original series created by David S. Goyer, co-writer of The Dark Knight Trilogy, will premiere on STARZ in the U.S. on Friday, April 12 at 10 pm, following the finale of “Spartacus: War of the Damned.” After the premiere on April 12th, the series will air Friday nights at 9pm et/pt. The eight-episode drama, produced by Adjacent Productions, follows the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence. BBC Worldwide is distributing the series internationally and Fox International Channels (FIC) has acquired the series across FIC’s portfolio of 200 pay -TV entertainment channels. FIC will be premiering the show to audiences in 120 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the month of April.
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. He begins to not only see the future, but invent it.
“Da Vinci’s Demons” will star Tom Riley, who has received wide critical acclaim in the UK for his performances in theater, film and on television and was nominated by the Drama Desk Awards for his performance in the 2011 Tony® Award nominated Broadway play, “Arcadia.” Riley’s co-stars include Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie, “Honest,” Captain America: The First Avenger) who plays the celebrated beauty with obscure motives, Lucrezia Donati; Elliot Cowan (“Marchlands,” “The Fixer,” “Lost in Austen”) who plays the shrewd de facto ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici; Lara Pulver (“True Blood,” “Sherlock,” “Robin Hood”), who plays his wife Clarice Orsini; and Blake Ritson (Serena, “Upstairs Downstairs”) plays the ruthless and unwavering Count Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.
Goyer, who wrote the series, served as showrunner and directed the first two episodes, is also screenwriter of the highly anticipated Man of Steel premiering June 2013 and served as script consultant and story developer for “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” and “Black Ops II”, the most successful video game franchise of all time. Julie Gardner is Executive Producer, along with Jane Tranter, head of Adjacent Productions. The series was shot in Swansea this summer. The series is produced by Adjacent Productions, a label launched in 2012 that sits within BBC Worldwide Productions and serves to identify new formats created and produced under the company’s umbrella.
About Starz
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, 2012, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 55 million subscribers, including 21 million at STARZ, and 34 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third flagship brand, 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 five core businesses under BBC Worldwide 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 original series under the Adjacent Productions label is “Da Vinci’s Demons” (STARZ), set to premiere spring 2013.