''Roman Empire'' is a
television docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typi ...
based on historical events of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The show is in the
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
format with each season presenting an independent story. Season 1, "Reign of Blood", is a six-part story about Emperor
Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
. Jeremiah Murphy and Peter Sherman collaborated on writing the first season, with Richard Lopez directing. It premiered on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on November 11, 2016. Season 2, "Master of Rome", is a five-part story about the rise of Dictator
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
and the fall of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. Season 2 premiered on July 27, 2018. Season 3 "The Mad Emperor" premiered on Netflix on April 5, 2019, and is a four-part story about Emperor
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
.
The series was produced by
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
as a "Netflix Original" series, though it frequently reuses footage from other programs, including ''
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire'' (2006).
Episodes
As ''Roman Empire'' is an anthology series, each season tells its own story, and each season has its own title.
Season 1 (2016)
The first season is named ''Commodus: Reign of Blood'', and consists of six episodes. It became available for streaming on November 11, 2016.
Season 2 (2018)
The second season is named ''Julius Caesar: Master of Rome'', and consists of five episodes. It became available for streaming on July 27, 2018.
Season 3 (2019)
The third season is named ''Caligula: The Mad Emperor'', and consists of four episodes. It became available for streaming on April 5, 2019.
Historical people and events
''Commodus: Reign of Blood''
*
Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
was Roman Emperor from 180AD to 192AD. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180.
*
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with
Lucius Verus
Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...
as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the so-called
Five Good Emperors
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
. He was a practitioner of
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
, and his Greek-language writing, commonly known as the ''
Meditations
''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy.
Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koine ...
'', is the most significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy.
*
Faustina the Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor Antoninus Pius an ...
was a daughter of Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatoria ...
''.'' She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Marcus Aurelius. Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honors after her death.
*
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Verus ...
was the second daughter and third child of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and an elder sister to future Roman Emperor Commodus.
*
Avidius Cassius
Gaius Avidius Cassius ( 130 – July 175 AD) was a Syrian Roman general and usurper. He was born in Cyrrhus, and was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, who served as ''praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egypt, and Julia Cassia Alexandra, who w ...
was a Roman general and usurper who briefly ruled Egypt and Syria in 175.
''Julius Caesar: Master of Rome''
*
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
(12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), a politician, general, and later, dictator; the season's central argument is that Julius Caesar was assassinated because wealthy and conservative elites wanted to block Caesar's reforms.
*
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, politician and military leader who, while as ambitious as Caesar, and despite having been his son-in-law, chose to ally himself with the optimates in opposing Caesar and supporting the traditional Roman Republic.
*
Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
, the richest man in Rome, who rose to political prominence following his victory over the
slave revolt
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...
led by
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
, sharing the consulship with his rival Pompey
*
Servilia, the mother of Marcus Junius Brutus and former lover of Caesar
*
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
, a Roman politician whose relationship with Caesar is deeply complex
*
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
, an
hedonistic
Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...
Roman general and politician; while Caesar was away in Egypt, Antony remained in Rome to restore order but quickly caused Rome to fall into a state of anarchy.
*
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, the last ruler of Egypt
*
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...
, king of the Arverni tribe; he leads the Gauls in a revolt against Rome
''Caligula: The Mad Emperor''
*
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12AD – 24 January 41AD)
*
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
Cast
Season 1: ''Reign of Blood''
*
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...
as Narrator
*
Aaron Jakubenko
Aaron Jakubenko (born 8 December 1988) is an Australian actor. He is known for playing Yuri in ''Conspiracy 365'' and Augie McTeer in ''Tidelands''.Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
*
Lisa Chappell
Lisa Irene Chappell (born 18 October 1968) is a New Zealand actress and musician. She is known for her roles as Chelsea Redfern in '' Gloss'' (1987–90), her acting debut, and as Claire McLeod in ''McLeod's Daughters'' (2001–03), a performanc ...
as
Faustina the Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor Antoninus Pius an ...
*Ella Becroft as
Bruttia Crispina
Bruttia Crispina (164 – 191 AD) was Roman Empress from 178 to 191 as the consort of Roman Emperor Commodus. Her marriage to Commodus did not produce an heir, and her husband was instead succeeded by Pertinax.
Family
Crispina came from an illu ...
*Edwin Wright as
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
*Genevieve Aitken as
Marcia
*
Jared Turner
Jared Turner (born 12 April 1978) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor, best known for his roles as Ben Maddox in ''Go Girls'' and as Ty Johnson on the television series, '' The Almighty Johnsons''. He is also recognised on New Zealand TV scre ...
as
Cleander
*
John Bach
John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a British-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the United Kingdom, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Z ...
as
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
*Tai Berdinner-Blades as
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Verus ...
*Calum Gittins as
Saoterus
Saoterus ( gr, Σαώτερος ὁ Νικομηδεύς; died 182) was a Bithynian Greek freedman from Nicomedia who served as the Roman Emperor Commodus's palace chamberlain (''a cubiculo''). His career is sketched by Herodian, Dio Cassius and t ...
*Mike Edward as
Narcissus
Season 2: ''Master of Rome''
*Steve West as Narrator
*
Ditch Davey
Kristian "Ditch" Davey is an Australian actor known for his role as Evan Jones in the Seven Network's ''Blue Heelers'' from 2001 to 2006, and for playing the lead role of Julius Caesar in Netflix Season 2: Master of Rome ''Roman Empire'' in 201 ...
as
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
*Tim Carlsen as
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
*
Natalie Medlock
Natalie Medlock (born 15 October 1986) is a British-born New Zealand actress and writer best known for her role in '' Shortland Street'' as nurse Jill Kingsbury which she played from 3 February 2011 to 16 January 2012.
Biography
Medlock was ...
as
Servilia
*Ben Black as
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
*
Stephen Lovatt as
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
*Wesley Dowdell as
Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
*
Andrew Robertt
Andrew Robertt is a New Zealand born actor. His work covers a diverse range of characters across multiple genres. He studied arts and sciences at The University of Auckland, and horticulture and business management at trade school. In his earlie ...
as
Cato
*Taylor Hall as Young Caesar
*
Jessica Green as
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
*Errol Shand as
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...
*Phoenix Connolly as Julia
Season 3: ''The Mad Emperor''
*Steve West as Narrator
*
Ido Drent
Ido Drent (born 27 January 1987) is a South African-born actor working and living in Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known to television audiences as Daniel Potts in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street''.
Early life
Drent was born ...
as
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
* Craig Walsh-Wrightson as
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
* Kelson Henderson as
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
* Colin Moy as Cassius
*
Teressa Liane
Teressa Liane is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles as Rhiannon Bates in ''Neighbours'', as Mary Louise on ''The Vampire Diaries'', Angelica on '' Into the Badlands'' and as Agrippina in the Netflix documentary drama ''Roman Em ...
as
Agrippina
* Leon Wadham as
Tiberius Gemellus
Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, known as Tiberius Gemellus (Latin: ''Tiberius Caesar Drusi filius Tiberii Augusti nepos divi Augusti pronepos'', 10 October AD 19–37/38) was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of the Emperor ...
* Michael Morris as
Naevius Sutorius Macro
Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro (21 BC – AD 38) was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard, from 31 until 38, serving under the Roman Emperors Tiberius and Caligula. Upon falling out of favour, he killed himself.
Biography
Macro was born in ...
*
Molly Leishman
Molly Leishman is a New Zealand actress, known for her regular appearances from 2013–2014 as Isabella Kingston in New Zealand comedy-drama television series '' Agent Anna '', for her lead role in three seasons of TVNZ's ''The Cul De Sac'' and ...
as
Livilla
Claudia Livia (Classical Latin: CLAVDIA•LIVIA; c. 13 BC – AD 31) was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister to Roman Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus, and thus paternal aunt of emperor Caligula and ...
* Elizabeth Dowden as
Drusilla
Drusilla is a female given name deriving from the Roman cognomen Drusilla.
History
The name has its origin from the Latin cognomen (and later praenomen) ''Drusus'' which itself derived from the Greek ''drosos'' (dew). The diminutive "illa" t ...
*
Jay Simon
Jay Simon (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor best known for screen roles including: Doug in '' The Royal Treatment'', Alan Griever in '' Filthy Rich'',Senator Regulus in ''Roman Empire (TV Series) '' , Papa Monster and Edisson in '' The ...
as Senator Regulus
See also
*''
Gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
'', a 2000 fictionalized film telling of the life of Commodus.
*''
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,'' a fictional account of the fall of the Republic.
*''
The Fall of the Roman Empire'', another fictionalized telling of the life of Commodus.
References
External links
Empire: Reign of Blood''on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
* {{IMDb title, 6233538
2016 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
English-language Netflix original programming
Depictions of Julius Caesar on television
Depictions of Augustus on television
Depictions of Cleopatra on television
Depictions of Caligula on television
Cultural depictions of Claudius
Cultural depictions of Commodus
Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus
Cultural depictions of Vercingetorix
Cultural depictions of Mark Antony
Cultural depictions of Pompey
Cultural depictions of Marcus Licinius Crassus
Cultural depictions of Tiberius
Cultural depictions of Agrippina the Younger
Cultural depictions of Cornelia (wife of Caesar)
Cultural depictions of Servilia (mother of Brutus)
Cultural depictions of Lucilla
Netflix original documentary television series
Works set in the 2nd century
Television series by Banijay
Television shows filmed in New York (state)
Television shows filmed in New Zealand
Television series set in the Roman Empire