X
- 2021
- TV-PG
- The CW
- 2021
- TV-PG
- The CW
Summary In 1506, Leonardo da Vinci (Aidan Turner) recounts his life and career under questioning by Stefano Giraldi (Freddie Highmore) in this drama created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson.
Created By: Frank Spotnitz, Steve Thompson
- 2021
- TV-PG
- The CW
- 2021
- TV-PG
- The CW
Leonardo
Season 1 Premiere: Mar 23, 2021
47
5.0
Summary In 1506, Leonardo da Vinci (Aidan Turner) recounts his life and career under questioning by Stefano Giraldi (Freddie Highmore) in this drama created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson.
Created By: Frank Spotnitz, Steve Thompson
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
47
13% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
47
13% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Could Leonardo ever have been as wracked by the uncertainty and self-doubt Mr. Turner invests in his role? It might contradict the image we have of Leonardo, but Mr. Turner's portrayal makes for a better character. ... "Leonardo" the show has an intelligence that "Leonardo" the concept might not lead one to expect.
There is an attempt to psychoanalyse Leonardo, whose father abandoned him. But this feels like a quick sketch rather than the fuller portrait one of history’s greatest minds surely merits.
You could say that Leonardo is a coming-of-age tale, but it’s also a murder mystery, a love story, and a study of genius all in one. Like the man itself, it perhaps doesn’t quite know what it wants to be.
The drama sometimes feels like the sort of educational film they have on loop at museums, a kind of animated Wikipedia entry, with a script that prefers not to let subtext get in the way of straight facts.
The script is woeful. Half of the actors look absolutely stricken with horror and those who are giving it a good try – including the stalwart Turner – make you want to cry with compassion. The whole thing is paint by numbers and there are moments when all you can do is shake your head in disbelief.
The writers, Frank Spotnitz, Steve Thompson and Gabbie Asher, never bother giving it any real momentum or patching its holes. And since this is, again, the story of a great artist’s life, they make sure to stuff it full of every “great artist” cliché they can find.
There were far too many scenes of people opening and closing doors or creeping up and down stairs without doing or saying anything important. The fact that the production was beset by Covid-related issues really showed: it looked like a film set and not a particularly convincing one.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 5 User Ratings
5.0
40% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
60% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 5 User Ratings
5.0
40% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
60% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- Lux Vide
- Sony Pictures Television
- Big Light Productions
- Alfresco Pictures
- Rai Fiction
- France Télévisions
- Radio Televisión Española (RTVE)
Initial Release Date: Mar 23, 2021
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-PG
Awards
La Pellicola d'Oro
• 8 Wins & 8 Nominations
Sichuan TV Festival
• 2 Nominations
Shanghai International TV Festival
• 1 Nomination
