“Da Vinci’s Demons” 10 tonight, Starz

“Da Vinci’s Demons” is so overloaded with people yelling, noisily copulating and slicing each other’s heads off, and weird “Da Vinci Code”-like mysticism, that you may miss the fact that there’s really not much of a there in the premiere.

You may, however, notice that series creator David Goyer has taken so many liberties with the character of Leonardo da Vinci. Historical accuracy is only hit-and-miss in “Da Vinci’s Demons.” And that describes how entertaining it is too: More miss than hit, but it does grow on you.

The series focuses on Leonardo (Tom Riley) before he became a bearded old man in a frock coat. At 25, he’s crackling with ambition, ideas and foolhardiness as he tries to find his career path in 15th century Florence, ruled by Lorenzo Medici, as Starz calls him, rather than Lorenzo de Medici. The role is played by Elliot Cowan, who finally answers the nagging question of where John Travolta came up with that black-tar haircut he’s sported in recent years.

We see Leo trying out a flying machine with his young assistant, Nico Machiavelli (Eros Vlahos), attached to the mechanical wings and tethered to a wagon pulled by galloping horses — rather like a Renaissance version of hang-gliding. We also see Leo inventing multibarreled cannons for Lorenzo and buying cages filled with birds so he can watch them in flight when he releases them.

Meanwhile, Leonardo is smitten by Lorenzo’s mistress, Lucrezia (Laura Haddock), while Lorenzo is busy fending off the nefarious scheming of Pope Sixtus IV (James Faulkner) and his central-casting evil henchman, Count Girolamo Riario (Blake Ritson).

In addition to all the beheadings, eviscerations and Leo rounding up freshly buried corpses that don’t stay fresh for long after he stockpiles them in a back room for various experiments, there’s a whole mysticism thing going on. It has to do with some keys and the search for the magically empowering Book of Leaves.

Fifteenth century Italy is a hotbed of, well, hot beds, as clerics and even popes muss the sheets with young men and serving wenches alike, Lorenzo gets frisky with his mistress in a stable, and an evening’s entertainment at the Medici palace includes recreations of the Garden of Eden with fig leaves and lots of bared female breasts. Oh, and Leonardo gets into a Firenze frenzy with Lucrezia.

Once you get used to the noise, sex and violence, you may begin to realize that the plot trudges along at a snail’s pace. But I’m guessing many viewers will be more than content with the noise, sex and violence.