Starz Da Vinci’s Demons Already Renewed for a Second Season

Wow, only after one episode.

Da Vinci’s Demons, the Starz original series, has officially been renewed for a second season after the monumental ratings the pilot drew in last week. Here is the official press release from Starz:

(Beverly Hills, Calif. – April 17, 2013) – Starz Chief Executive Officer, Chris Albrecht, announced a second season order for the STARZ Original series, “Da Vinci’s Demons,” following its recent record-setting first season weekend debut on STARZ on Friday, April 12. The historical fantasy created by David S. Goyer and produced by Adjacent Productions, follows the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence.  More than 2.14 million total viewers tuned-in opening weekend to “Da Vinci’s Demons,” making it the highest-rated premiere weekend ever for a STARZ Original series.

Production of season two of “Da Vinci’s Demons” is expected to begin in Wales in May 2013, with an on-air return expected on STARZ in 2014.

“’Da Vinci’s Demons’ serves up action, adventure and history in a unique and highly entertaining way that only someone like David S. Goyer can,” said Albrecht. “The first season premiered to strong audience engagement and we are excited to bring the next chapter of Leonardo da Vinci’s adventures to audiences around the world.”

“I’m excited that we get to continue the adventures of the world’s most eccentric and glorious polymath.  Long live Leonardo and thanks to Starz for helping to make it happen,” said Goyer.

Jane Tranter, Executive Producer of “Da Vinci’s Demons” and Head of Adjacent Productions, commented, “’Da Vinci’s Demons’ has been a great passion project for us and it has been a privilege to work with Chris, Carmi and their terrific team at Starz, and with the creative vision of David S. Goyer.  We’re excited to continue this journey for another season and to bring the genius, passion and adventure of Goyer’s Leonardo da Vinci to viewers around the world.”

Outside of the United States and English-speaking Canada, “Da Vinci’s Demons” is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide. Fox International Channels (FIC) acquired the first season of the series and premiered it to audiences in 120 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa following Starz’s exclusive premiere in the U.S. on April 12^th.

Brilliant and passionate, 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” stars 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, Lucrezia Donati; Elliot Cowan (“Marchlands,” “The Fixer,” “Lost in Austen”) who plays the shrewd de factor 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 serves as showrunner and directed the first two episodes of the first season, is co-writer of The Dark Knight Trilogy and screenwriter of the highly anticipated Man of Steel premiering June 2013.  Goyer’s additional credits include serving as a 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 Adjacent Productions’ Head, Jane Tranter.  Tranter and Gardner have been responsible for a plethora of titles in their careers including “Doctor Who,” “Torchwood,” “Little Dorrit,” “Bleak House,” “Girl in a Café,” “Ashes to Ashes” and “State of Play.”

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 December 31, 2012, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56 million subscribers, including 21 million at STARZ, and 35 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 over 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 scripted series under the Adjacent Productions label is Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz). The second season of Breaking Pointe (The CW) and Life Below Zero (National Geographic Channel) will be the first two unscripted series to broadcast under Adjacent Productions.