Entertainment
The Bloodiest And Sexiest Historical Epic Series Is Now On Netflix
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
If your Roman Empire is the Roman Empire, you’ve already seen Spartacus. Not the 1960 film with Kirk Douglas. The bloody, violent, sex-filled Starz series that took the world by storm in 2010 and proved the overlooked cable network was capable of hanging with Showtime and HBO.
Now that it’s on Netflix, the award-winning, over-the-top pulp hit is going to be your next binge. That is, if you can get past the first three episodes. Even in 2010, they weren’t great, but after that, the series kicks into high gear, and for three seasons, multiple spin-offs, betrayals, murders, and lots of sex, it never lets up.
The Roman Empire Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
Spartacus, like most gladiator stories, starts off with the Romans betraying a man, kidnapping his wife, and forcing him to fight in the Colosseum as a gladiator. The unnamed Thracen (Andy Whitfield) is dubbed Spartacus by his owner Batiatus (The Mummy’s John Hannah), after the legendary Thracen king. With the promise he’ll be reunited with his wife, Spartacus fights in the gladiator pits for Batiatus, entertaining the Roman elite, including Batiatus’ wife, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless). It’s all going great for the Romans until Spartacus’ wife turns up dead, Batiatus is found responsible, and with nothing left to lose, Spartacus decides to “kill them all.”
It’s a simple story, but it’s effective. The gladiator rebellion leads to some of the most satisfying deaths you’ll ever see on screen, and since it was on Starz, there’s no sugarcoating the bloody violence that hits the streets of ancient Rome. Spartacus: Blood and Sand is only the beginning, but it’s not the beginning, as Starz turned the series into a franchise with a prequel (Spartacus: Gods of the Arena) and more recently, a sequel series exploring an alternate timeline (Spartacus: House of Ashur).
Behind The Scenes Tragedy Changed Everything
When the star of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Andy Whitfield, revealed he had lymphoma following the filming of the first season, Starz did what no other studio would do and decided to rework all of their plans to support him. Pivoting to the prequel, Gods of the Arena, featuring Batiatus, Lucretia, and Crixius (Arrow’s Manu Bennett), they wanted to give Whitfield time to beat cancer and come back. Sadly, he passed away 18 months after his diagnosis, leading to Spartacus being recast with Liam McIntyre.
The show went on for two more seasons, dubbed Vengeance and War of the Damned, both of which include more of what made the first season so great: blood, sex, pulpy action, and ridiculous campy dialogue. This is not a high-brow Shakespearean take on the Roman Empire, which means you’re either going to love it, or hate it. There is no middle ground when it comes to Spartacus.
There’s Nothing Like Spartacus
Spartacus takes a little bit to get going, and in those initial three episodes, you’ll see some of the worst greenscreen effects imaginable. The initial battle between the Thracians and the Getae looks like it takes place on the set of a community theater. But stick with it; the reward is a series that ends up finding its way, and Rome has never looked better than in War of the Damned.
The entire series is currently streaming on Netflix, and yes, it is uncensored, which means all the nudity (both male and female) is uncut. If you binge Spartacus and still need more, House of Ashur recently wrapped up its first season, and there’s more on the way.