Some gorgeous (but small) behind the scenes photos, from the set of Da Vinci's Demons season 2, have been shared by USA Today. I hope bigger ones appear, so everyone can appreciate just how gorgeous and detailed the sets actually are. The article includes interviews with Tom and the cast, and a new clip from the premiere featuring Riario. Read it in full on the website
The elaborate sets on Da Vinci's Demons reflect that real history but also colorful bombast.
Da Vinci's workshop is adorned with replica drawings of the inventor's time along with wings and a parachute that he'll need once he gets to South America. (The submarine he utilizes this season is housed in the props area, which also contains a variety of swords and the Ark of the Covenant.)...
...Since the show's inception, Riley has tried his hardest to pay respect to da Vinci while putting him through outlandish circumstances, but he admits that the first four episodes "were testing the waters" of how potentially outrageous the concept was. "Because it was bonkers and mad, people would either freeze or dive in."
Da Vinci's Florence was the home of free thinking at the time, and the bright city is shown in stark contrast to the darker locales of the city's foes. Rome, for example, is a noir-ish and gritty study in black and white, where eagle-eyed viewers can see the fabled Shroud of Turin as wall dressing...
...Broadening the scope of the series and taking characters to an exotic environment such as Machu Picchu also refreshes cast and crew, according to Morris. He jokes that at this rate the third season will probably feature da Vinci in space, yet there is one rather interesting place the hero winds up this year: at the Louvre, face to face with the Mona Lisa.
While Riley is tightlipped on how and why exactly that happens, the episode is "the most Da Vinci's Demons-y episode of Da Vinci's Demons. It's just balls-to-the-wall mental," he says. "We just found what we are and we're going for it in a big way: Yeah, there's going to be Kryptonite in the secret archives and, yeah, the Spear of Destiny that pierced the side of Christ just happens to be knocking about. That's our show."
