Why is there such a buzz about..?

Medici (Netflix)

With its gorgeous cast, big-budget sets and fast-paced action, Medici offers an irresistible slice of escapism, which is no doubt why its popularity is soaring. The Netflix Italian-British production, set in 15th Century Florence, has gained a huge audience across 190 countries and sparked heated debate about its historical accuracy. It charts the mafia-like rise to power of the Medici banking family with the help of bribery, blackmail and even murder. The series is fast becoming Italy’s

answer to The Crown, albeit set almost 600 years ago, as it charts the power struggles of the family who became the de facto rulers of the city. In the first series, heartthrob Richard Madden (Bodyguard, Game of Thrones) is excellent as the dashing Cosimo de’ Medici, who works his charm on a string of beautiful women, from Donatello’s model to a stunning slave girl. In the second and third series, the latter of which arrived on Netflix earlier this month, the equally handsome Daniel Sharman (right) dominates as ‘Lorenzo the

Magnificent’ (Cosimo’s grandson). He’s also power-hungry and has a way with the ladies. He enjoys an affair with the married Lucrezia before his wife Clarice puts a stop to it. Meanwhile his brother Giuliano, played by the chiselled Bradley James (Merlin) falls for married beauty Simonetta and the pair model for Botticelli’s famous Venus and Mars painting. The allstar cast includes Sean Bean as Lorenzo’s enemy Jacopo Pazzi, in series two, and Sarah Parish, who is brilliant as Lorenzo’s mother.