Starz & BBC Worldwide Productions Align for New Da Vinci Series

LOS ANGELES: The new original adventure series Da Vinci’s Demons, written by David Goyer and developed and produced by BBC Worldwide Productions, has been greenlit by Starz Entertainment.

The eight-episode series, written by Goyer—co-writer of the films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—is scheduled to begin production in early 2012. Da Vinci’s Demons is a historical fantasy about 25-year-old da Vinci as an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist. It is the first project to enter production under the multi-year agreement Starz signed with BBC Worldwide Productions this summer. Starz will air the worldwide broadcast premiere in 2013 with BBC Worldwide distributing the series internationally.

Goyer said: "Da Vinci was the original Renaissance man—a near-mythic figure that has world-wide appeal. After working with characters like Batman and Superman, it made a strange kind of sense for me to dive into the facts and legends swirling around his origins. This will be a show about secret histories, genius, madness, and all things profane. And I’m particularly excited that I get to do it on premium cable, where the story can be as dark and challenging and irreverent as it deserves to be. Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions have been nothing but supportive."

Carmi Zlotnik, the managing director of Starz Media, added, "David has reimagined some of the most iconic superheroes of all time, and is again building an extraordinary prism through which to rediscover the world’s greatest genius and most mysterious man. If modern day has Tony Stark, the Renaissance had da Vinci. This is a story we believe will captivate the imaginations of audiences around the world and is the first of what we expect to be many productions with our talented partners at BBC Worldwide Productions."

Jane Tranter, the head of BBC Worldwide Productions, commented, “The young life of this incredibly complex and brilliant man has not yet been explored. With David Goyer, whose imagination has created juggernaut and iconic theatrical features, coupled with the premium presence of Chris Albrecht, Carmi Zlotnik and their Starz team, we couldn’t be more passionate about bringing this story to U.S. viewers and international audiences.”