I don’t know about you, but during the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death in 2019 what for me really seemed to be missing was a schlocky TV drama about the great man. Here, finally, our wish has been granted.
Leonardo would seem to follow on from the success of programmes such as
The Borgias and
Medici: Masters of Florence, both of which are also set in 15th-century Italy. However, what something like
Medici had going for it – in the first series at least – was a genuine interest in the political machinations of Renaissance Florence. The same level of interest cannot be found in the world conjured in
Sunday, 18th April 2021 at 9:00 am
Leonardo da Vinci is the second artist that Aidan Turner has portrayed on screen after his turn as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in BBC2’s Desperate Romantics 12 years ago. But the actor has a confession. “I can’t draw,” he winces sheepishly.
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Artistic skill aside, Turner’s role in Amazon Prime’s Leonardo is an easy sell for fans of his previous eponymous lead role in Poldark. Yes, after a two-year absence from our screens, the 37-year-old is back, and in (and sometimes out of) a well-fitting period costume. As that well-known Leonardo equation goes: “Billowy shirt + gripping plot + Aidan Turner as lead = successful period drama”.