Rome (2005-2007)

damithudaya (79)modAtlas Ambassador - LKin Steem Sri Lanka • last year

Are you someone interested in ancient empires and historical events? If so, you must have heard of the glory of the Roman and Egyptian Empires, and iconic figures like Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and Mark Antony. The TV series Rome is based on the rise of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC, mixing real history and fictional scenarios.

Rome is a masterpiece in many aspects, and it has become a global success. Even though with high popularity and positive reviews, the series was concluded by season 02, due to high production costs.

It's a historical drama, created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald, and Bruno Hellerand, and telecasted from 2005 - 2007.

General Details

Genre - Historical drama
Created by - John Milius, William J. MacDonald, Bruno Heller
Composer - Jeff Beal
Executive producers - Bruno Heller, John Melfi, Anne Thomopoulos, William J. MacDonald, John Milius
Country of origin - United States, United Kingdom, Italy
Release - 28 August 2005 - 25 March 2007
No. of Seasons - 2 (22 Episodes)
The Main Cast - Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus, Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo, Ciarán Hinds as Julius Caesar, James Purefoy as Mark Antony, Polly Walker as Atia of the Julii, Tobias Menzies as Marcus Brutus, Lindsay Duncan as Servilia, Simon Woods & Max Pirkis as Gaius Octavian (later Augustus), Lyndsey Marshal as Cleopatra.
Wikipedia

The show has received 8.7/10 from 196K ratings on IMDB. As you can see in the image below, each episode has a good rating, and it's in 310th position in the popularity list. So, overall, due to amazing performances from the cast, good story, historical accuracy and attraction to this genre by people, the show stil rests in the top.

IMDB

We can see many historical events in the show from the rise of Julius Caesar, his death, civil wars, and the expansion of Rome as an Empire by Augustus. There are power struggles, betrayals, the lifestyle of the rich people, slaves, common people, and political dramas.

Anyway, there is a high importance given to two common soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. Despite all, they are two key characters playing a significant role in every event. As I said earlier, there are some actual events, as well as fictions.

Season 01

Well, at the start, we see the Gallic War by Julius Caesar against the senate and Pompey the Great, a statesman and a consul of Rome. He became the dictator of Rome from 49 BC. Under his reign, he took the necessary steps to take control and have trustworthy people around him.

Mark Antony was a general of the Ceasor's army and played a significant role alongside with Ceasor. They were simply expanding their empire to Greece, Spain, and we see Ceasor's romantic relationship with Cleopatra, and his control over Egypt using her.

And we see how Vorenus and Pullo get involved with these, and their lifestyle as well. Especially Vorenus, as an honourable man, got to be a senator as well, step by step. On the other hand, we see cold wars between two powerful family mistresses, Atia of the Julii and Servilia.

Octavian was Atia's son and Caesar’s great-nephew. He was not good with battles, but he was smart, cunning, and groomed to be the heir of Ceasor. Anyway, unexpectedly, Ceaser was betrayed by the senate, and he was assassinated brutally by them in 44 BCE at the end of the season.

Season 02

After Caesar’s Death, the region became chaotic, and with the popularity of Mark Antony, he took control without transferring the inheritance to Octavian. Anyway, he fled Rome, and with time, he gathered an army and came back to take power.

There were three groups under Octavian, Marc Antony and Brutus, and Cassius (Caesar’s killers) to seek power. Anyway, Octaviana and Antony defeated the senate members together at the Battle of Philippi.

Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus worked together and separately controlled three parts. It was going well for sometimes.

Anyway, Antony fell in love with Cleopatra in Egypt, and once again, tension rose. Octavian was a smart, cunning, and ambitious ruler. He plotted well, and at the battle of Actium, he defeated these two and took the whole control. He became the first Roman Emperor and ruled a peaceful and prosperous reign from 27 BC until he died in AD 14.

So, after all, it's a must-watch series. It has won several notable awards, including four Emmy Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, etc.

I invite you to give this a try. You will love it.