Leonardo da Vinci: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

This film tells the story of Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, best known as Leonardo da Vinci, a fifteenth-century Italian polymath of soaring imagination and profound intellect, who left behind artistic works of staggering beauty and detailed sketches of futuristic contraptions of warfare and flight marveled at today for their technical ingenuity and foresight.

From his birth out of wedlock to a notary and peasant woman and apprenticeship to a distinguished Florentine painter to his days as a military architect, cartographer, sculptor, and muralist for hire, the film offers an intimate portrait of a singular visionary whose Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Vitruvian Man are among the most celebrated works known to man, but whose artistic endeavors sometimes seemed an afterthought to his pursuits in science and engineering.

Set against a rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy, at a time of skepticism and free-thinking, regional war, and religious upheaval, Leonardo da Vinci brings Leonardo and his towering achievements to life through his voluminous personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life and times, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors, and admirers.

Directed and produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, written by David McMahon and Sarah Burns, and executive produced by Ken Burns, Leonardo da Vinci will broadcast November 18-19, 2024, on PBS (4 hours).

Series details

• Title: Leonardo da Vinci
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: History
• Premiere date: 2024-11-18
• Final broadcast date listed: 2024-11-19
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: PBS
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 120 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.7/10
• TVMaze ID: 77363
• IMDb ID: tt31259169
• TVDB ID: 450536

Cast and credited roles

• Keith David — Narrator
• Adriano Giannini — Leonardo da Vinci

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2024-11-18; final listed air date 2024-11-19; episode order: 2.

Source and licence

Adapted from Leonardo da Vinci on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.