Lucy Lawless is making a long-awaited return to TV early next year with Starz’ “most ambitious project yet,” Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
The series stars Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) as Lucretia, John Hannah (The Mummy) as her husband, Batiatus, and Andy Whitfield as Spartacus.
Think 300 meets The Tudors, and you’ve got Spartacus. Sure enough, the promo clip features mass quantities of nudity, sex, blood, torture and violence, and you can feel the fanboys in the room perk up as this uncut version plays, and practically jump out of their chairs when they find out Lawless will have nude scenes in this series.
“We start the first season before Spartacus is sent into slavery, and we’ll end it when he breaks out,” says executive producer Rob Tapert. “There’s very little written about that period, so we have a lot of leeway. We took it a step further, and he actually becomes a gladiator. He gets sucked into the limelight, and its only later that he discovers it’s a lie.”
Sam Raimi, the mastermind behind Spider-man, is also on tap as an exec producer, although filming in “the web-slinger’s” most recent instalment will mean Raimi will be absent for most of the series’ schedule.
The series is based on the legendary Roman soldier who defied a Roman Legate and was sentenced to die in the gladiator, arena only to be commuted after continuously winning his battles, and sold as a slave.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is currently filming in New Zealand and will air on Starz early next year.
Amber is currently reporting live from the TV Critics Press Tour in L.A. Check out complete coverage here. amber@tvguide.ca
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