Fans were happy when showrunner Frank Spotnitz announced in January 2019 that filming of season 3 of the historical drama series Medici was already complete.
Medici season 3 will continue the saga of the Florentine Medici family during the Italian Renaissance era, picking up where the eight-episode season 2 of the series, Medici: The Magnificent, left off.
Spotnitz confirmed that Medici season 3 had been filmed during the press launch for Medici: The Magnificent (season two) in January.
Medici: The Magnificent, which launched on Netflix on January 25, follows Lorenzo de Medici’s (1449-1492) struggle against his political rival, Jacopo de Pazzi, who was head of the wealthy and influential Pazzi banking family of medieval Florence.
Lorenzo de Medici (The Magnificent), played by actor Daniel Sharman, was the head of the Medici family and ruler of Republic of Florence during the Italian Renaissance.
Although Medici: The Magnificent (season 2) was released on Netflix only a few weeks ago, many fans have binge-watched all eight episodes of the new season, and are already wondering when Medici season 3 will be available to stream on Netflix.
Fans also want to know when the trailer for the new season will come out, and what to expect of the upcoming season.
To answer your questions, we bring you everything we know so far about Medici season 3, the upcoming sequel to Medici: The Magnificent (Medici season 2).
We will also be updating this page over time with the latest breaking news and information about Medici season 3.
Medici season 3 release date
Medici co-creator Frank Spotnitz confirmed at the January 2019 press launch of Medici: The Magnificent (Medici season 2) that Medici season 3 had already been filmed.
“This is a two-season journey,” Spotnitz said. “This season (The Magnificent, season 2) ends with the Pazzi Conspiracy, which is this massive, thrilling climax, and then the story continues for eight episodes in the next season (season 3), which we just completed filming last month in Italy.”
The first season of the series, Medici: Masters of Florence, premiered on the Italian TV channel Rai 1 on October 18, 2016. The second season of the series, Medici: The Magnificent, premiered on October 23, 2018.
If the producers follow the schedule for Medici seasons 1 and 2, then fans can expect Medici season 3 to launch on Rai 1 in October 2019, ahead of the launch on Netflix in early 2020.
Medici TV series production details
The Medici TV series, an Italian-British co-production, is a historical period drama that follows the Medici family dynasty that ruled Florence during the fifteenth century period of the Italian Renaissance.
The first season of the series, Medici: Masters of Florence, followed the political career of Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464) — played by Richard Madden — while season 2, titled Medici: The Magnificent, followed Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492), who also ruled Florence.
Medici is produced by Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction, Big Light Productions, and Altice Group (Netherlands). Beta Film (Germany) holds the international distribution rights.
Medici season 3 has already been sold to Sky (Germany), Telefonica Moviestar (Spain), SFR Play (France), and Netflix, which will stream the series in North America and other countries around the world, including the U.K., Ireland and India.
Medici is created by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer. The series is executive produced by Spotnitz (for Big Light Productions) and Lux Vide CEO Luca Bernabei.
Filming of Medici season 3 started in August of 2018.
Christian Duguay, the Canadian director best known for his work on Joan of Arc (TV Miniseries 1999), The Art of War (2000), Human Trafficking (2005), and Coco Chanel (2008), directed Medici season 3 after Jon Cassar and Jan Maria Michelini directed season 2.
The writing team includes James Dormer (ITV’s Beowulf), Francesco Arlanch, Guy Burt (Alex Rider), Charlotte Wolf (Inspector George Gently), Debbie Oates (Coronation Street), and Ian Kershaw (EastEnders), according to Variety.
Filming of the series has taken place in and around Florence, Italy. Due to the extensive modernization of Florence and the crowds of tourists, the production crew had to shoot most of the outdoor scenes in smaller Italian towns — such as Volterra, Lazio, Montepulciano and Pienza — that have retained much of their original medieval features.
Medici TV series: Overview
Medici season 3 is the sequel to Medici: The Magnificent (season 2). The Magnificent follows the political career of Lorenzo de Medici, the head of the Medici family in fifteenth-century Florence, during the Italian Renaissance.
It focuses on Lorenzo’s political power struggle against Jacopo de Pazzi (played by Game of Throne star Sean Bean), the head of the rival Pazzi family.
Medici: The Magnificent (season 2), which premiered on the Italian Rai 1 TV channel on October 23, 2018, was the sequel to Medici: Masters of Florence, the inaugural season of the series which premiered on Rai 1 TV on October 18, 2016.
The Magnificent, which stars Daniel Sharman as Lorenzo de Medici, is set twenty years after Masters of Florence and continues the story of the illustrious Medici family of Renaissance Italy. It follows the rise of the charismatic Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492) to power.
Masters of Florence (Medici season 1) charted the rise of Lorenzo’s grandfather, the banker and politician Cosimo de Medici (Richard Madden), after the murder of his father, Giovanni di Bicci de Medici (played by Dustin Hoffman).
Cosimo founded the Medici political dynasty in fifteenth-century Florence after overcoming challenges from rivals, such as the Albizzi and the Alberti families.
Medici season 3 cast
Medici season 3 is set more than a decade after the events of Medici: The Magnificent. The showrunners have confirmed that Daniel Sharman will return in Medici season 3 as an older version of season 2’s Lorenzo de Medici, aka The Magnificent.
Actors who will not return for Medici season 3 because their characters died in the previous season include Bradley James, who played Lorenzo’s brother Giuliano. Giuliano was killed during the Pazzi conspiracy, an attempt to violently overthrow the Medici dynasty in Florence.
Sean Bean will also not return for Medici season 3. His character Jacopo de Pazzi, who led the attempted coup against the Medicis, was hanged for his involvement in the conspiracy.
The showrunners have also confirmed that Francesco Montanari (The Last Fashion Show, Romanzo Criminale, Tell No One) will play the fanatical Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola, who came to prominence in Florence towards the end of Lorenzo’s life.
The radical priest stirred populist restiveness with his fiery prophetic messages denouncing secular Greco-Roman art and culture, and strident calls for renewal of the Christian faith.
He also preached against official corruption under Lorenzo’s rule and denounced the rulers and the elite for exploiting the poor.
History also records that Lorenzo formed an alliance with Ferdinand I (Don Ferrante) of Naples, after the failed Pazzi coup, so we could see a portrayal of the historical character in season 3.
Medici season 3 trailer
A trailer for Medici season 3 has not been released. We will update this page with the official trailer for the upcoming season when it drops.
Meanwhile, enjoy the trailer for season 2 (Medici: The Magnificent).
Medici season 3 plot
Medici season 3 follows Lorenzo’s late career as ruler of Florence. Medici: The Magnificent (season 2) covers the years when Lorenzo was between 19 and 26, but in Medici season 3, the ruler of Florence is in his 40s.
Thus, the events of Medici season 3 come about 15 years after the events covered in Medici: The Magnificent. There was also a 20-year time jump between Medici: Masters of Florence (season 1) and Medici: The Magnificent (season 2).
Medici: The Magnificent ended with the Pazzi conspiracy (April 1478), a plot by members of the Pazzi family, led by Jacopo Pazzi, to overthrow the de Medici family as rulers of Florence.
The plot involved an attempt to assassinate Lorenzo de Medici. Lorenzo survived the assassination attempt but his brother Giuliano (played by Bradley James) was killed.
The plot failed and the Pazzi family was banished from Florence, while the Medici family took advantage of the failed coup to strengthen grip on power.
Spotnitz revealed in an interview with Den of Geek that Medici season 3 will explore darker themes.
Season 3 is set at a time in which Lorenzo is older and his health failing. He struggles against his own inner demons and confronts threats from within and from outside Florence.
“[Medici season 3] stays dark for quite a while,” Spotnitz said. “He (Lorenzo) is a different man in the next season and he’s facing different kinds of problems as an older man.”
Toward the end of his rule in Florence, Lorenzo struggles to cope with a rising tide of populist discontent among the people.
“This season (The Magnificent, season 2) ends at a dark, dramatic, heartbreaking climax,” Spotnitz said in reference to the tragic conclusion of the Pazzi conspiracy in season 2.
“[In Medici season 3) it’s a whole other set of challenges because it’s a more adult Lorenzo,” he added.
Spotnitz also hinted at the political challenges that Lorenzo faced in the late years of his life as ruler of Florence.
“There’s also a backlash of populism and fundamentalism in the next season,” he said. “Again, it feels incredibly contemporary and relevant and very emotional.”
The “backlash of populism and fundamentalism” was stoked by the radical preacher Girolamo Savonarola (played by Francesco Montanari) who became the leader of Florence after the overthrow of the Medicis in 1494.
Daniel Sharman, who plays Lorenzo, also talked about the transition from the younger Lorenzo featured in season 2 to the older Lorenzo that fans will see in Medici season 3.
“The first part (season 2) is his journey from naivete into being a leader,” Sharman said. “The last part (season 3) is the last few years of his life.”
Comments by Sharman, who is 32 years old, portray the atmosphere of gloom that will characterize the ending of Medici season 3 when Lorenzo’s health is failing.
“There’s something quite harrowing about that, especially the later season towards the end of his life when he was really unwell,” Sharman said.
Sharman also revealed that Medici season 3 will explore the conflicting views about Lorenzo, particularly the conflict of opinions about whether he was a hero or a villain.
“It’s not that simple at all,” he said. “To this day there are people who think Lorenzo was a great hero and people who think he was a villain. I hope we do a good job of exploring the grey areas.”
Why was it cancelled. I have enjoyed this series?