Spartacus (2010)
Spartacus is a 2010 drama series created by Steven S. DeKnight. It stars Viva Bianca, Peter Mensah and Manu Bennett.
Rome, 73 BC. A Thracian fighter is torn from his wife and sold into the gladiator schools of Capua, where wealthy patrons bet on men killing each other for sport. Steven S. DeKnight's Starz series turns the historical slave uprising into stylized, blood-slick spectacle: slow-motion arena kills, palace scheming, and a lot of bare skin. Andy Whitfield originated the title role, with Liam McIntyre taking over later, while John Hannah and Lucy Lawless play the scheming house of Batiatus. The dialogue is heightened, the violence operatic, the politics genuinely nasty under the gloss.
Quick answers
What is Spartacus about?
Rome, 73 BC. A Thracian fighter is torn from his wife and sold into the gladiator schools of Capua, where wealthy patrons bet on men killing each other for sport. Steven S. DeKnight's Starz series turns the historical slave uprising into stylized, blood-slick spectacle: slow-motion arena kills, palace scheming, and a lot of bare skin. Andy Whitfield originated the title role, with Liam McIntyre taking over later, while John Hannah and Lucy Lawless play the scheming house of Batiatus. The dialogue is heightened, the violence operatic, the politics genuinely nasty under the gloss.
When was Spartacus released?
Spartacus was released on 22 January 2010.
How many episodes does Spartacus have?
Spartacus has 33 episodes across 3 seasons.
Who made Spartacus?
Spartacus was created by Steven S. DeKnight.
Where can I watch Spartacus?
Spartacus is available on DirecTV On Demand, Netflix, Philo, STARZ, STARZ (Via Amazon Prime) and STARZ (Via Hulu).
Where to watch Spartacus
Stream: DirecTV On Demand, Netflix, Philo, STARZ, STARZ (Via Amazon Prime), STARZ (Via Hulu), Spectrum On Demand, YouTube TV
Rent: Google Play
Buy: AppleTV, Fandango at Home, Google Play
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Explore Spartacus guides
Spartacus in our writing
- Companion guide: Ancient Greece
- Companion guide: Gladiators & Ancient Rome
- Companion guide: Rebellion & Revolution
- Companion guide: The Roman Empire
A few thoughts on Spartacus
Fans chasing the same sand and swordwork should watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator, the film that revived the arena epic. For an interactive turn in the same era, Ryse: Son of Rome puts you in a legionary's boots with similar brutal flourish. Howard Fast's novel Spartacus tells the uprising with more history and less spectacle.
Roman gladiators fighting for a crowd that owns them
Spartacus turns arena combat into political spectacle, and these picks share that same charge of men forced to perform violence for an empire's entertainment. Gladiator follows one general's fall into the sand, Ryse: Son of Rome lets you fight through Rome's legions firsthand, Rome dramatizes the Republic's own blood sport of politics, and Those About to Die stages the business behind the games themselves.
Palace scheming as ruthless as anything in the arena
Batiatus and Ilithyia plot as hard as any gladiator fights in Spartacus, and this angle follows that same appetite for power behind closed doors. I, Claudius turns imperial Rome into a family knife fight, Domina gives Livia her own game of survival, Empire stages Octavian's rise through betrayal, and The Godfather shows loyalty and blood used as currency in a different empire entirely.
Uprisings led by the people an empire tried to own
Spartacus's rebellion turns enslaved gladiators into an army the Republic can't ignore, and these picks share that same spark of the oppressed fighting back. Spartacus: House of Ashur and the earlier Spartacus revisit the same legend from new angles, Red Dead Redemption 2 rides with outlaws crushed by an encroaching system, and The Outsiders bands together kids the world already wrote off.
Survival inside a system built to break you
Before Spartacus fights back, he has to survive the gladiator school's cruelty day to day, and these picks share that grinding tension of captivity. The Shawshank Redemption endures decades behind bars without losing hope, Wentworth and Prisoner both chart women's prison hierarchies as brutal as any arena, and Into the Badlands turns indentured fighters into the only currency that matters.