The next big adult drama from Starz is Da Vinci’s Demons, an alternate take on Leonardo Da Vinci that turns the famous inventor and artist into a warrior for freedom and the dissemination of knowledge. The first episode and series premiere ‘The Hanged Man’ premieres tonight, but Starz is sharing a censored version online early, which you can watch below.
Starz gained a reputation for nudity and violence with their Spartacus series, and that same tone carries forward into Da Vinci’s Demons. There is no shortage of topless women for Da Vinci to woo, and as it turns out he’s quite the ladies man through only a single episode.
Though it’s still early, Da Vinci’s Demons doesn’t seem to have the same production values of say Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, shows also targeting that coveted 18-49 male demographic. The CGI is extremely rough and unpolished in spots, much more so than Spartacus before it. There’s still plenty of time to iron out the effects in future episodes.
It’s hard not to look at Renaissance Italy and a man fighting against the establishment in Da Vinci’s Demons and not recall Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed video game franchise. There are some obvious parallels between the two franchises, and some of the establishing shots in Da Vinci’s Demons are eerily similar to scenes from various Assassin’s Creed games.
Da Vinci’s Demons is written by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley and Laura Haddock. A total of eight episodes will air on Starz on Fridays at 10/9c in high definition. The pilot episode is available to watch in a censored form below (breasts are obviously blurred out). You will need to tune into Starz to watch the uncensored version.
