Curator Watchlist
A lavish but uneven Roman spectacle with strong production value, a big cast, and plenty of arena-pageantry, but the writing often feels blunt and the drama can be overstuffed. It’s worth it if you want a glossy, adult historical series about power, corruption, and bloodsport; less so if you need sharp character… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Thu
Created by: Robert Rodat
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari
Within the spectacular, complex and corrupt world of gladiatorial sports in Ancient Rome, follow an ensemble of diverse characters across the many layers of Roman society where sports, politics and business intersect and collide.
Robert Rodat
Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari, Iwan Rheon, Gabriella Pession, Rupert Penry-Jones, Lara Wolf, Sara Martins
A lavish but uneven Roman spectacle with strong production value, a big cast, and plenty of arena-pageantry, but the writing often feels blunt and the drama can be overstuffed. It’s worth it if you want a glossy, adult historical series about power, corruption, and bloodsport; less so if you need sharp character work or the polish of top-tier prestige TV.
Those About to Die aims for the scale of a Roman epic and often delivers on the visual side: the sets, costumes, and crowd scenes give it real sweep, and the gladiatorial machinery is easy to get swept up in. The premise naturally supports a mix of class conflict, corruption, and spectacle, and the show leans hard into all of it.
The problem is that the series can feel overloaded, with many moving parts but not always enough depth behind them. Some storylines play like efficient genre beats rather than lived-in drama, and the tonal shifts between palace plotting and arena brutality can be uneven. It’s watchable, sometimes entertainingly so, but not consistently sharp.
As a one-season historical binge, it works best as a guilty-pleasure epic rather than a prestige benchmark. If you’re in the mood for Roman decadence, violence, and power games, there’s enough here to keep you going; if you want the genre at its best, there are stronger alternatives.
The gold standard for Roman television: politically sharp, richly textured, and far more character-driven while still delivering sex, violence, and imperial intrigue.
If you want arena combat, betrayal, and maximalist pulp energy, this is the closest high-intensity companion piece, with a more committed style and momentum.
For sprawling factional power struggles, shifting alliances, and a large ensemble driven by ambition and brutality.
A leaner, more militarized historical thriller with tribal conflict, conquest, and a strong sense of period tension.
Another Roman power drama, but more focused on court politics, female agency, and the machinery of empire.
A brisk, battle-heavy historical series with strong momentum, political maneuvering, and a binge-friendly structure.
For viewers who like historical violence, shifting loyalties, and a mix of family saga and empire-building.
A more stylized, offbeat take on ancient conquest with mysticism, brutality, and a knowingly pulpy tone.
Not historical adventure, but a prestige ensemble about institutional corruption, power, and the human cost of systems failing.
A glossy, sexually charged period drama about power, politics, and courtly manipulation with strong binge appeal.
For a more dialogue-driven, classic Roman court drama that prioritizes intrigue and character over spectacle.
A decadent power-play series with family ambition, corruption, and a similarly operatic sense of moral rot.
Ancient Rome, Gladiatorial combat, Political corruption, Class conflict, Power struggles, Spectacle and violence, Empire and decadence, Business of entertainment
historical drama, ancient rome, political intrigue, ensemble cast, sword and sandal, violent spectacle, corruption, prestige-adjacent, bingeable, period epic