Support NeoGAF

[bitbydeath]

Best news of the year goes too!!!!

Starz has given a green light to “Spartacus: House of Ashur,” a new ten-episode drama series based in the world of the cult smash series that wrapped its run a decade ago.

Nick Tarabay will reprise his role of Ashur, the clever and scheming Syrian slave who is a collaborator with the Romans to put down the slave rebellion. The character was decapitated on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius at the end of “Spartacus: Vengeance”.

The new series posits what if he hadn’t died there and had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus [John Hannah] in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and ending the slave rebellion.

Showrunner and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight will return in the same capacity for the new series which begs the question – if it can retcon that death, what other original characters (dead or alive) could come back.

A New "Spartacus" Spin-Off In The Works - Dark Horizons

Starz has given a green light to “Spartacus: House of Ashur,” a new ten-episode drama series based in the world of the cult smash series that wrapped its run a decade ago. Starz calls the series a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience” which builds on the original even...

www.darkhorizons.com

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Well so long as the gratuitous violence, sex, and nudity is all on point...

 

[SirKicksalot]

 

[thegame983]

One of the best characters

 

[IFireflyl]

...if it can retcon that death, what other original characters (dead or alive) could come back.

 

[Meicyn]

A continuation of one of the most homoerotic shows ever created? Hell yes.

 

[jason10mm]

Jupiters Cock, this is the best news I've heard all year.

See you nay-sayers, we CAN be positive about shows on Gaf!

I just hope they can recapture that lightning.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Didn't like this guy, too slimy, but that just makes him a great actor though. All the three shows were spectacular and I don't think this will reach those highs.

 

[AJUMP23]

How many slaves will die because of this guy.

 

[Quartermuncher]

So i've recently started playing The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes which actually has Nick Tarabay as a protagonist in that. Here i thought this was some sort of crossover between them!

 

[bitbydeath]

Casting:

Nick Tarabay reprises the role of the titular Ashur in the series and will be joined by Graham McTavish (“The Witcher”), Tenika Davis (“Jupiter’s Legacy”), Jamaica Vaughan (“Home and Away”), Ivana Baquero (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), Jordi Webber (“Choose Love”), Claudia Black (“The Nevers”), India Shaw-Smith (“The Pines Still Whisper”) and Leigh Gill (“Joker”).

McTavish plays Korris who is Ashur’s gladiator trainer, Davis is a female gladiator driven to surpass her male counterparts, Vaughan is a young female house slave named Hilara and is deeply in love with Ashur, while Baquero is a fellow female house slave in love with Hilara.

Webber is a brash gladiator, Black is scheming politician, Shaw-Smith is the politico’s daughter, and Gill is the leader of gladiators from a rival house.

Creator, writer and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight returns as showrunner for the ten-episode series is currently in production in New Zealand.

Starz's New "Spartacus" Sets Main Cast - Dark Horizons

Starz has unveiled the main cast for “Spartacus: House of Ashur,” the new series set within the “Spartacus” franchise which helped establish the premium cabler’s forays into originals in the early 2010s. Nick Tarabay reprises the role of the titular Ashur in the series and will be joined by...

www.darkhorizons.com

 

[EviLore]

Female gladiator trying to become #1 eh. Oh boy. Willing to give it a shot though, because an Ashur what-if series is a fun idea.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Jupiters Cock, this is the best news I've heard all year.

See you nay-sayers, we CAN be positive about shows on Gaf!

I just hope they can recapture that lightning.

I am highly looking forward to it!!!

 

[bitbydeath]

Female gladiator trying to become #1 eh. Oh boy. Willing to give it a shot though, because an Ashur what-if series is a fun idea.

Always gotta shoehorn that trope in somewhere.

 

[jason10mm]

I'm nervous about the "Davis is a female gladiator driven to surpass her male counterparts" because I've seen 3-4 things that actress has been in and have NO MEMORY of her, so her physical presence needs to be amped to 11 if she is gonna carry a role like this. Hopefully she wants to surpass them in crowd popularity, not in direct combat, because while she is tall at 5'9", she is also very thin without much of an athletic base. Hopefully she has been pounding the protein shakes and hitting the squat rack to get this role over a dozen other actresses with a better physique. Wonder if she is gonna be related to Peter Mensah's Doctore character.

VERY hyped for Claudia Black, always loved her and hopefully she is as open in the role as Lucy Lawless was in hers, if you know what I mean.

Rest of the cast seems good, some real honeys so the "erotic" part of the show should be on point. Curious if they will keep that bad greenscreen feel or go for a more realistic look given the budget and tech these days.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

VERY hyped for Claudia Black, always loved her and hopefully she is as open in the role as Lucy Lawless was in hers, if you know what I mean.

Not sure how to feel about that.. Claudia Black back in the day? Sure.. but Claudia Black in 2024? I don't think I've seen her since SG-1. Just heard her in Uncharted I think and uhh she tries to sell me Real Money Cosmetics in Destiny 2.

 

[ahtlas7]

McTavish plays Korris who is Ashur’s gladiator trainer, Davis is a female gladiator driven to surpass her male counterparts, Vaughan is a young female house slave named Hilara and is deeply in love with Ashur, while Baquero is a fellow female house slave in love with Hilara.

this is how you market your show?

 

[ShadowNate]

Wow, it's been ten years since Spartacus ended? That's crazy talk.

I have some small interest in this, to see how I missed its world and with Gladiator 2 coming out maybe it's the right time to put this out and ride on whatever nostalgia the movie re-triggers.

I am not sure I like what if stories in general, and Ashur, albeit memorable was pretty much despicable and irredeemable through and through. I'm curious how they'll make this work.

As long as they're bring people back from the dead, can't they resurrect Sura too?

 

[jason10mm]

As long as they're bring people back from the dead, can't they resurrect Sura too?

I don't even remember if he lived, but they MUST get Manu Bennet as Crixus back! Pretty sure Gannicus died as well, hell, they all did IIRC, but if they can find room for Katrina Law as well, praise Zeus

 

[Futaleufu]

Female gladiators? It could work, as long as it is like that Pam Grier movie

NSFW

Spoiler

 

[bitbydeath]

New Zealand acting legend Lucy Lawless is set to return to the “Spartacus” universe with the new Starz spin-off series “Spartacus: House of Ashur”.

Despite her character dying at the end of ‘Vengeance’, Lawless will return as Lucretia from the original in a guest starring capacity. Her part is said to be instrumental in setting up this alternate timeline to the original series.

Lucy Lawless Returns For New "Spartacus" - Dark Horizons

New Zealand acting legend Lucy Lawless is set to return to the “Spartacus” universe with the new Starz spin-off series “Spartacus: House of Ashur”. The series posits the idea that Nick Tarabay’s Ashur didn’t die on Mount Vesuvius at the end of the second season (‘Vengeance’) and was instead...

www.darkhorizons.com