''Roman Empire'' is a television docudrama 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 Medit ...

. 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 cate ...

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 ...

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, an ...

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 K ...

. 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 Germanic ...

. The series was produced by

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''

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 wi ...

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 BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that ...

, 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 a ...

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 senatori ...

''.'' 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 Ver ...

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, w ...

was a Roman general and usurper who briefly ruled Egypt and Syria in 175.

''Julius Caesar: Master of Rome''

(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 freedo ...

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 uprisi ...

, 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 au ...

, 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 ...

, 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 ...

, king of the Arverni tribe; he leads the Gauls in a revolt against Rome

''Caligula: The Mad Emperor''

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 Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

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 a ...

as Narrator * Aaron Jakubenko as

* Lisa Chappell as

*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 il ...

*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 as Cleander * John Bach as

*Tai Berdinner-Blades as

*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 ...

*Mike Edward as Narcissus

Season 2: ''Master of Rome''

*Steve West as Narrator * Ditch Davey as

*Tim Carlsen as

* Natalie Medlock as Servilia *Ben Black as

* Stephen Lovatt as

*Wesley Dowdell as

* Andrew Robertt as Cato *Taylor Hall as Young Caesar * Jessica Green as

*Errol Shand as

*Phoenix Connolly as Julia

Season 3: ''The Mad Emperor''

*Steve West as Narrator * Ido Drent as

* 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

* Colin Moy as Cassius * Teressa Liane 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 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 * Jay Simon as Senator Regulus

References

External links

Empire: Reign of Blood''
on