Leonardo is a historical drama television series created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson. The series was produced by Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions and Freddie Highmore's Alfresco Pictures in association with France Télévisions and RTVE. The series recounts Leonardo da Vinci's extraordinary life through the works that made him famous and through the stories hidden within those works, revealing little by little the inner torments of a man obsessed with attaining perfection. In March 2021, it was announced that Leonardo was renewed for a second season. However, in August 2024, it was reported that there were no current plans for further seasons beyond the first.
Plot In 1506, Leonardo da Vinci, the most famous artist of his time, is accused of the murder of Caterina da Cremona. Questioned by Stefano Giraldi, an ambitious officer of the Duchy of Milan, Leonardo begins to tell his life, starting from the first meeting with Caterina in Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop. Giraldi, fascinated by the artist's personality, begins to suspect that Leonardo may be innocent and investigates to discover the truth.
Cast and characters
Main Aidan Turner as Leonardo da Vinci. Matilda De Angelis as Caterina da Cremona (Leonardo's friend and muse). James D'Arcy as Ludovico Sforza, known as Il Moro (Duke of Milan). Alessandro Sperduti as Tommaso Masini (Leonardo's assistant). Robin Renucci as Piero da Vinci (Leonardo's father). Gabriel Lo Giudice as Marco (Leonardo's assistant). Josafat Vagni as Giulio (Leonardo's assistant). Andrew Knott as Alfonso (Verrocchio's assistant). Massimo De Santis as Rinaldo Rossi (Giraldi's boss). Giancarlo Giannini as Andrea del Verrocchio (Leonardo's teacher). Freddie Highmore as Stefano Giraldi (Officer of the Duchy of Milan investigating the murder case in which Leonardo is involved). Carlos Cuevas as Salaì, nickname of Gian Giacomo Caprotti (Leonardo's assistant). Giovanni Scifoni as Luca Pacioli (Friar in Milan who urges Leonardo to paint L'Ultima Cena). Max Bennett as Cesare Borgia (Condottiero conquering Romagna). Claudio Castrogiovanni as Ramiro (Military commander under Cesare Borgia). Antonio De Matteo as Galeazzo Sanseverino (Military commander and right-hand man of Il Moro).
Recurring Flavio Parenti as Bernardo Bembo (Venetian ambassador at the Duchy of Milan). Sergio Albelli as Amerigo Benci (Businessman close to the Medici and Leonardo's patron). Poppy Gilbert as Ginevra de' Benci (Amerigo's daughter and Leonardo's muse for her portrait). Miriam Dalmazio as Beatrice D’Este (Duchess of Milan and wife of Ludovico Sforza). Edan Hayhurst as Gian Galeazzo Sforza (Young Duke of Milan). Corrado Invernizzi as Pier Soderini (Gonfaloniere of the Republic of Florence and committent of Battaglia di Anghiari). Davide Iacopini as Niccolò Machiavelli. Maria Vera Ratti as Lisa del Giocondo (Leonardo's Muse for La Gioconda). Pierpaolo Spollon as Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Episodes
Broadcast The series premiered on 23 March 2021 on Rai 1. In the UK and Ireland, it aired on Amazon Prime Video on 16 April 2021. In India, the series premiered on SonyLIV on 9 April 2021. It aired in Canada on 15 April on Telus, while in Spain, on 3 June on RTVE. In March 2022, The CW picked up the series in the United States; it premiered on 16 August 2022 as part of the network's summer programming slate in the 2021–22 television season. China's Hunan TV aired the miniseries from 23 December 2024. The miniseries was aired on primetime slot of 7:30pm (right after Xinwen Lianbo), contrary to previous rules that non-China originated series cannot aired between 5pm to 10pm.
See also Leonardo (2011 TV series) Cultural depictions of Leonardo da Vinci Personal life of Leonardo da Vinci
References
External links Leonardo at IMDb
