Dustin Hoffman, Richard Madden set to star in drama about Italy's Medici family

Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden are teaming up for a new eight-part drama series titled Medici: Masters of Florence about Italy’s House of Medici, a family that rose from merchants to power brokers in the 14th century.

Madden will play Cosimo de’ Medici and Hoffman will play Giovanni de’ Medici in the show, which was created by Nicholas Meyer and Frank Spotnitz.

“[The Medici family] were great disrupters. Their banking practices led to the creation of a middle class, making them unimaginably wealthy,” Spotnitz said in a statement. “The Medici in turn used their vast power and resources to challenge traditional thinking, ushering in a new era of revolutionary art and science such as the world had never seen. It’s a powerful story that resonates even now.”

Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, whose past credits include Battlestar Galactica and Falling Skies, will direct the series, which will first premiere on Italy’s RAI.