Think you’ve binged all you can binge on Netflix? Wondering what’s next with the wait for more X-Files uncertain and the holiday season usually being a bit barren of fresh tv drama? Well, wait no more and step right up because Frank Spotnitz, executive producer of The X-Files and Man in the High Castle, and Nicholas Meyer, the man who wrote and directed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan have an early Christmas present for you. Medici: Masters of Florence is set in 15th century Italy and follows the Medici family, wealthy bankers and political heavyweights of the time.
The Medici family is credited with helping to usher in the Renaissance with their support of the arts alongside their political capital at the Vatican. The show is shot on-location in Italy, providing gorgeous cinematography, and the story delivers a deep and human look at what might have brought along this revolution. The show stars Dustin Hoffman as patriarch Giovanni de Medici and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden as his son, Cosimo.
In short, grab some snacks, pick a comfy sofa, and don’t miss it.
Medici: Masters of Florence premiers today, December 9th, on Netflix in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, and Ireland. Frank Spotnitz took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to answer some of our burning questions. Read more after the jump.
The ratings results in Italy for the first season of Medici were amazing, (congrats) it seems Italians really embraced this retelling of one of their most famous families history. How did you think audiences who are not as familiar with the Medici’s importance will embrace the show?
Well, I’m very curious to see. I think the success of the show doesn’t depend on whether you know the Medici, or even care about them (he laughs), I think our intention from the beginning was just to make a really compelling, gripping show - regardless of who the Medici were. That was the first thing we said, we said, “we can’t assume anybody cares about the Medici.” So why would you watch? So that’s why we took the approach of, you know, the historical “what-if”, What if Giovanni de’ Medici was murdered? And that leaves his two sons in charge of the bank, which is the starting off point for the show. So, I think it’s one of those shows, that hopefully can just be enjoyed on its own terms, and the history behind it is just an added layer.
Obviously, there were some liberties that needed to be taken with the history for the show. Was there any pushback from the Italians with the twist of Giovanni’s murder as a driver for the series?
Well, we had historical advisors throughout the first season, and that was constantly a discussion - you know, when is it acceptable to compress time, to invent things, to invent characters, and when is it not? I think we just tried, obviously we tried, to stay as true to history as we could, but when we had to depart or invent things, because - actually, and this is a slight digression, but the thing that surprised me doing history, was that it’s pretty subjective. There’s an awful lot that’s not known, and even the things you think you know, there’s a lot that historians don’t agree about, so there is a degree of imagination required no matter what, but to the degree that we didn’t know things, we tried to just stay true to the spirit of the story.
How did you come to the decision to tackle this story? Was it a recent decision or something that had been brewing for a while?
I was approached by this lovely man, Luca Bernabei, from Lux Vide Productions in Rome, and he said he wanted to do this series. It was very important to him and to his father, Ettore Bernabei who is a giant of Italian post-war television, and that he wanted to do it at the highest possible standard. And that meant the best talent in Italy would work on the show, and that we’d shoot in the real locations, in Tuscany and Florence, and I was so inspired by his ambition that it made me want to learn about the Medici, to see whether there was a story there that I could be excited to tell and as it turns out, it’s an amazing story, and I think that it’s one that has a lot of resonance to our times, and I find it very moving, and I’m hoping other people do too.
What was it like shooting on location in Italy? Were there any challenges shooting in such historic sites?
Yes, but that’s the advantage to partnering with Italian production companies, they knew how to manage all of that, and what was incredible to me was, how many villages in Florence you go to and there are huge vistas that are actually still accurate to the 15th century, where you didn’t really have to change anything other than getting rid of the cars and taking down some signs. And we would walk through these villages, like Montepulciano, or Pienza, or Bracciano, and our production designer would say, “Okay,” and he’d take his arms out like in a V, and he’d say, “This entire vista you can shoot and you’re historically accurate.” That was incredible!
And how about benefits or surprises versus working on an American production?
No, I have to say - a film set is a film set, is a film set all over the world. The size of the crew is smaller, much smaller than in an American production, but they were excellent. There was a real camaraderie that developed, both with the crew and the cast. And we had an amazing troupe of British and Italian actors on this show, and they were together for three months in Tuscany and they became really close, I think some of them will be friends for the rest of their lives, and that was really nice. It was a really, really lovely experience.
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
The Medicis are often credited with helping to kickstart the renaissance and break down barriers between socio-economic classes. What do you think current-day audiences can glean from this story?
Yeah, I think that’s what really impressed me about them, is that they weren’t just capitalists, they had a vision, they had values that they were seeking to further, and the dreams that Giovanni de Medici had were so enormous that it required success in generations of his family to achieve them, and I think that idea of sacrifice, in order to serve a larger ideal is what moves me most about the show and what moves me most about the character of Cosimo, played by Richard Madden, is that you realize how much he had to give up - really for all of us - to build the civilization that we all enjoy and take for granted. I think we, as modern citizens of the Western world, we’ve become preoccupied, a lot of us, with making money, or being healthy, or living a long time, or being safe, and there’s nothing wrong with any of those things, of course, but those aren’t values. Those are selfish interests, and what I was reminded of in telling the story of the Medici was that there are great values that Western civilization was founded upon that required sacrifice, and I think that’s something we all would do well to consider today.
The women in the family play important roles as well. They aren’t just set pieces or damsels in distress. What can you tell us about Contessina and Lucrezia and the actresses who bring their stories to life?
Well - I gush! - the actresses - Annabel Scholey and Valentina Bellè, all the actors, it was an incredibly gifted troupe, and I think our director, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, is one of the finest directors of actors I’ve worked with, they loved him, it was a really amazing collaboration. But that was one of the things - I talked to you earlier about, how history requires interpretation - that was one of the things that was really shocking to me, was that Contessina de’ Bardi - played by Annabel Scholey, was Cosimo’s wife. She was a very powerful, very important woman, but very little is written about her, and so it was left to us to rescue her from history, because we have to connect the dots that we do know and then imagine who the woman was behind that, and I’m really proud of her characterization, she’s one of the best characters in the entire series.
The relatively unknown actors and actresses are amazing in their roles and it was refreshing to see new faces, but speaking of casting, you’ve got some pretty heavy hitters with Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden, who has a huge following from Game of Thrones. What was it like working with them and was it important to have some big names in the leading roles for season one?
Well, I don’t know how important it was, um, I think we wanted at least one big name, and hopefully, two, because I think for the Italians this was a big statement - this show - and they wanted to be noticed. And they wanted to show they could make English language productions that could compete with anybody in the world. So, they aimed really high, and Dustin Hoffman was our first choice, and honestly I was delighted and thrilled that he wanted to play the role (Giovanni de’ Medici), and the same goes for Richard Madden, who I think is fantastic in this part (Cosimo de’ Medici), he’s really great - he’s been great in many things, including Game of Thrones - but I think he’s as good in this as he’s ever been. And, then yeah, Brian Cox and Ken Bones and Stewart Martin, and Lex Shrapnel - some of these actors, believe it or not, I’ve been in Europe here for six and a half years and some of them I’ve worked with several times now, so I knew I was casting really good people, because I’ve been doing this long enough. It’s really a cast I’m very proud of.
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
Being that we are XFN, is there anything within Medici that you think X-Files fans, in particular, will find compelling. Obviously, this isn’t sci-fi but The X-Files often tackled questions of morality, religion, and such. Are there any similarities?
I think I bring a lot of my X-Files storytelling values to everything I do, and I think it’s very obvious in a project like Medici, because as you say, it’s about something, there’s a lot of meat in this show for a smart viewer - which X-Files viewers tend to be - and I think it’s deeply romantic, and so many of the people who’ve stayed with X-Files all these decades, that’s been one of the most important aspects of the series for them, it’s that relationship. So, I would hope there’s a lot here that X-Files fans will love.
We know that a second season has already been ordered. What can you tell us about the direction the show will be headed next year?
Next season, we’re going to skip ahead in time, twenty years, to the reign of Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo de Medici. He’s an incredible figure - a true Renaissance man - and it’s a hugely exciting and dramatic story.
Finally, in the U.S. and other markets, Medici will air on Netflix. For people who aren’t subscribers or who are fans of behind the scenes, bloopers, and other extras, what are the odds of the show coming to DVD/Blu-ray?
That is an excellent question, and I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out. I just haven’t researched what Netflix does regarding home video.
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
Our thanks go out to Mr. Spotnitz for the great answers. Watch the trailer and then head on over to Netflix. All episodes are now available for streaming.