Unsure how I feel about this show.

On one hand, it’s refreshing to get a political drama set with a historic backdrop that doesn’t lose my attention. The story was simultaneously complex enough to be interesting without being so complex that I felt lost. It was enjoyable enough and explores that gap in history which many people overlook (when it comes to the story of ‘Augustus’ you tend to get his life in two phases - young Octavian, the heir to Caesar who schemes his way from nothing to supremacy, as HBO’s Rome portrayed - and old Augustus, the man outwitted by his wife and struggling to find a successor in his final years, as I Claudius portrayed. This show is focused on the years between these two shows). The production values were high and I thoroughly enjoyed the sets and costumes which looked extremely similar to the great HBO’s Rome.

However, there are several problems I have with this show. First and foremost is the historical inaccuracies. There are some things that can be overlooked, for instance the fact that Augustus was described by Suetonius as being frail and pale with blonde hair and blue eyes (whilst in the show he is given brown hair and eyes and is particularly muscular in most of the episodes). But then there are the inaccuracies which cannot be overlooked. It seems that this show wants to, for whatever reason (it could be political or it could just be an attempt to tap into female markets) portray the early principate as being a world ran by women. Livia was a fascinating historical figure and there is certainly room for her story to be told, but it is just wildly inaccurate to suggest that she was the one wielding all of Augustus’ power. The show portrays young Augustus as a bit of a playboy who is more interested in sleeping with people’s wives than playing sensible politics. This is a terrible portrayal of Octavian who (unlike his adopted father Julius Caesar who kind of was like that) was an extremely shrewd and intellectual politician (a man that Cicero of all people praised as very promising). Then later Augustus they portray as merely a puppet, a man completely incapable of anything and entirely reliant on his wife for both power and decision making. In reality Augustus was among the most impressive political figures in all of human history. This would be like making a show about Josephine and attributing all of Napoleon’s battlefield successes to her. It’s simply bizarre.

And this comes to another point, as I’ve already hinted at: the time jump. After the first two episodes (which appear to be purely to provide a backstory to the main characters and to set the stage) there is suddenly a time jump of about 15 years and every single actor is changed. This is confusing enough for someone who is very familiar with this historical time period, I can only imagine how confusing it would be for a layman (especially after only two episodes). It almost feels like they filmed the first two episodes then a new team of producers came in and took over the show. In some circumstances this is understandable - in HBO’s Rome, for instance, they pull this move with Octavian (replacing him with an older actor to signify the passing of time). However, in the case of Rome this worked because it was only one character and it occurred mid-way through the second season, so the audience was a lot more familiar with the character names. It simply doesn’t work here. The main character, Livia, even changes her accent! I can’t understand it (especially when the first two episodes were not needed for the rest of the plot besides providing a backstory, which could have been handled in a better manner).

All in all, an enjoyable show but one with several flaws.

:asterisk_symbol:A side note, on other reviews sites some people were complaining that this show was not like the show Spartacus. I don’t understand this. This show is about the politics of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, not a fictional take on a gladiator. It never advertised itself as like Spartacus. It’s a historical political drama, it was never going to be blood and violence. It’s more akin to I Claudius or Wolf Hall (though not as good as either of those shows).