Da Vinci faces his 'Demons' in Starz drama's final season

As the third and final season of Starz's “Da Vinci's Demons” gets underway Saturday, Oct. 24, the Kingdom of Naples is being invaded by the Ottoman Turks during the Battle of Otranto. As the city is pillaged and his Italian countrymen are slaughtered, Leonardo da Vinci realizes some of his inventions are being used against them and the designs for them were stolen by someone he trusted. And for the first time in two-plus seasons, the artist, genius and solver of the world's mysteries feels utterly defeated.

It's a storyline the actor who portrays the great master, Tom Riley, was itching to play.

“I kept pushing time and time again to see Leonardo fail,” the amiable 34-year-old Brit explains. “It's great to play the guy who's always the smartest man in the room and always knows the best way to squirrel out of any situation. But in this case, it was getting to the point where if the audience always knows he's going to win and he's going to beat whoever else is around him, then where's the drama? And our producer came around and said, ‘Well, how about if he actually has to face the smartest man in the room? He has to face himself and he has to take down himself and he's always one step ahead of himself. How can he possibly beat that guy?' And that's why I think (this is) our best season.”

The new season revolves around the battle that took place in 1480-81, which was the first step in the Turks' plan to invade and conquer Italy. History books tell us the initial siege was successful and the city fell to the Turks but the Italians took it back the following year. In the series, Leo must ally with old foes, mend friendships, discover hidden secrets and resume a dangerous quest to protect everything he loves, knowing that his most formidable foe is likely himself.

Returning stars include Laura Haddock as Lucrezia Donati, Blake Ritson as Count Girolamo Riario and Elliot Cowan as Lorenzo Medici.

Calling da Vinci the “role of a lifetime” for its many facets, Riley demurs on further details on the series' final season. But creator David S. Goyer has promised that there will be “symmetry to the entire series — between the first episode and the final one,” and Riley says there will be closure for the fans in more than 150 countries.

“That's been the most exciting thing, how impassioned the fans are,” he says. “The people who know the show love it so much, so it's been great. And I think people have been very disappointed to hear that it's over, but I think they'll be happy with how we've managed to end it on our own terms. You know, people aren't going to feel like they're being cut off in the middle, that all the characters will come to the end of their arcs and the story will come to a satisfying conclusion. So we're paying the fans back for their investment like that.”