Those About to Die | |
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Based on | Those About to Die by Daniel P. Mannix |
Written by | Robert Rodat |
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Starring |
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Theme music composer | Andrea Farri |
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No. of episodes | 10 |
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Executive producers |
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Budget | $140 million |
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Release | July 18, 2024 |
Those About to Die is an epic historical drama television series developed by Robert Rodat and directed by Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The Daniel P. Mannix book-adapted-into-TV series premiered on July 18, 2024, on Peacock with all 10 episodes, [1] and internationally on Amazon Prime Video on July 19, 2024. The series title references the Latin gladiatorial greeting made to the Emperor at the games " Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant (Hail Caesar, those about to die salute you)". [2]
In 79 AD, Rome is under the leadership of the elderly Emperor Vespasian, along with his sons, Titus and Domitianus. They are working on building the Colosseum to give to the people of Rome. Elsewhere in the city, the criminal Tenax seeks to raise himself to higher status by building a team for the races at the Circus Maximus, aided by the famed racer Scorpus. A woman, Cala, goes to Rome to free her daughters, Aura and Jula, from slavery and her son, Kwame, from certain death as a gladiator. After Vespasian dies and Titus is appointed his successor, Domitianus recruits Tenax to help scheme his way to power.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [3] | Written by [4] | Original release date | |
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1 | 1 | "Rise or Die" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 | |
In 79 AD, Emperor Vespasian constructs the Coloseum, and leads Rome along with his two sons, Titus, a military leader, and Domitian. A crime lord, Tenax, runs a gambling business, and fixes races to win shares of one of the racing factions in the Circus Maximus. Roman soldiers break into the home of Carla and kidnap her daughters, Aura and Jula, and take them to Rome to be sold as slaves. Carla's son, Kwame, is on a hunt, but tries to rescue them, only to be captured himself and sold as a gladiator. Three brothers, Gavros, Fonsola, and Elia, arrive in Rome from Hispania with the hope of selling and training horses used in the Circus Maximus. Scorpus wins his race, but discovers that the chariot he was originally supposed to use had been sabotaged and would have crashed. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Trust None" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 | |
Tenax determines that Scorpus's chariot was sabotaged by Domitian to enable Domitian to pay off his gambling debts. Scorpus rides the Hispanic horses brought by Gavros, Fonsola, and Elia and is impressed by their speed. Tenax sells the faction shares he gained while betting and gets enough money to create his own faction, along with a deal with Domitian to give him half of the team's ownership. Vespassian announces that Titus will be his successor, which angers Domitian. The Hispanic horses are poisoned, and Tenax searches for the perpetrator. | ||||||
3 | 3 | "Death's Door" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 | |
Domitian is unhappy with his appointment as the aedile of public games ( ludi ) because he aspires to be the Roman emperor. Titus is angry because his brother Domitian has taken gold bars from the Imperial Treasury. Flamma is a formidable gladiator. Scorpus is stabbed to death in the streets; so, Xenon is chosen as his replacement in the Blue faction. However, it turns out that Scorpus has survived the stabbing. Vespasian dies in 79. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Fool's Bet" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Charles Holland | July 18, 2024 | |
Titus urges the Roman Senate to deify his father Vespasian like Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Claudius. This will turn his father into a revered Roman god. The Gold Faction is disbanded. Domitian has a male lover. [a] Berenice cautioned the divorced Titus against marrying her on account of xenophobia in Roman society. | ||||||
5 | 5 | "Betrayal" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Alex Carmedelle | July 18, 2024 | |
The new emperor Titus has married his cousin Marcia. [b] The episode concludes with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. | ||||||
6 | 6 | "Blood Relation" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt | July 18, 2024 | |
After arresting some Senators and the Consul plotting against him, Titus orders the Inaugural games of the Colosseum in 80. | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Death's Bed" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Jill Robi | July 18, 2024 | |
Tenax is rescued from the fire and laid up in bed with a broken leg. Servilia disowns Marsus to preserve her status. She plants a scorpion in Scorpus's bed, causing him to miss a race. Cala puts Andria in and the Golds still win, annoying Scorpus. Dacia discovers that Ursus has stolen Tenax's profits, to the fury of Domitian. While Tenax is inacapacitated, Cala continues to run the gambling business at a profit. With Aura's help, Dacia tracks down Ursus but is killed. Cala poisons Flamma before his bout with Kwame, allowing Kwame to kill him. Ursus assaults Cala but is killed by Tenax. | ||||||
8 | 8 | "All or Nothing" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Marissa Lestrade | July 18, 2024 | |
During a race, Scorpus forces Andria to crash, killing him. He later kills Xenon to cover up the cause of the crash. Elia blames Scorpus, leaves the Gold faction, and joins the Blues as a new driver. Kwame refuses to eat or participate in the opening games of the new amphitheatre, but reluctantly cooperates when Domitian threatens Viggo. Leto tells Titus that he has evidence Domitian ordered the delay to the grain ships and has a witness coming to Rome. Titus informs Domitian but is unconvinced of his guilt. Domitian believes it will be impossible to silence the witness and approaches Tenax with a plan to kill Titus instead, to save themselves. Domitian discovers Hermes with another man and has Hermes arrested and his lover killed. Tenax meets with Manilius of the Praetorians, who agrees to support Domitian and Tenax in exchange for 10 million sestercii to be delivered within two days. | ||||||
9 | 9 | "The Die Is Cast" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 | |
To raise the money to pay Manilius, Tenax attempts to fix a race so that Scorpus wins. Elia forces Scorpus into a crash, killing him, but, to Elia's horror, Fonsoa is also killed in the resulting pileup. The bet is lost, but Tenax manages to find the lost Gold winnings, enough to pay off Manilius. He has Cala write twin confessions for him and Manilius to give each of them leverage over the other and Domitian. Rufus overhears the plot and tips off Berenice, who goes to Antonia. Together they use Julla to blackmail Cala into giving up Tenax's copy of the confession. Hermes attempts to warn Titus, but Domitian has the Praetorians cut off his tongue. Kwame participates in the opening ceremony of the Colosseum but is horrified to see that Aura has now joined the ranks of the gladiators. As part of the ceremony, Hermes, Marsus, and the other imprisoned senators are fed to crocodiles. Antonia arrives in time to see Marsus killed. A favourable wind brings the witness against Domitian to Ostia early. Tenax and Domitian intend to move up the plan to kill Titus, but Porto places a heavier guard around the emperor in preparation for an immediate departure to Ostia. Berenice attempts to deliver the confession to Titus in the Colosseum, but is ambushed and killed by Jewish fanatics in the galleries. | ||||||
10 | 10 | "Let the Games Begin" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 | |
Kwame and Viggo are pitted against each other in the Colosseum. After the games, Domitian's plot to assassinate his brother Titus is achieved with Tenax's aid. The Senators begrudgingly acknowledge the 30-year-old Domitian as the new emperor. At the end, Tenax sets out for Syracuse, Sicily. [5] |
It was announced in July 2022 that Peacock had issued a series order for the project, written by Robert Rodat and directed by Roland Emmerich. The series has a budget of $140 million. [6]
In January 2023, Anthony Hopkins was cast. [7] Dimitri Leonidas, Gabriella Pession, Lorenzo Richelmy and Tom Hughes were cast in February, with Marco Kreuzpaintner joining Emmerich as a director. [8] Production began at Cinecittà in Rome in March with additional casting announced including Iwan Rheon, who was cast to replace Richelmy. [9]
The series has a 49% approval rating from 41 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 5.3 out of 10. [10]
Domitian was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed.
Vespasian was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire brought political stability and a vast building program.
The 70s was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 70, to December 31, AD 79.
The 90s was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 90, to December 31, AD 99.
AD 70 (LXX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus. The denomination AD 70 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The Colosseum is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began under the Emperor Vespasian in 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir, Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian. The three emperors who were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named the Flavian Amphitheatre by later classicists and archaeologists for its association with their family name (Flavius).
Titus Caesar Vespasianus was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed his biological father.
Domitia Longina was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus in order to marry Domitian in AD 71. The marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of a temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became the empress upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96. She is believed to have died sometime between AD 126 and 130.
Domitian II was a Roman soldier of the mid 3rd century who was acclaimed emperor, probably in northern Gaul in late 270 or early 271, and struck coins to advertise his elevation. It is now generally assumed that this man is to be equated with the Domitianus who is twice mentioned in the literary sources as a significant figure in the politics of the age, but on neither occasion as an outright contender for the Imperial throne.
The Flavian dynasty, lasting from AD 69 to 96, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of AD 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors; after Galba and Otho died in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in mid 69. His claim to the throne was quickly challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who declared their commander Vespasian emperor in his place. The Second Battle of Bedriacum tilted the balance decisively in favor of the Flavian forces, who entered Rome on 20 December, and the following day, the Roman Senate officially declared Vespasian emperor, thus commencing the Flavian dynasty. Although the dynasty proved to be short-lived, several significant historic, economic and military events took place during their reign.
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul. Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the Legio X Fretensis, in 72 AD that laid siege to the near-impregnable mountain fortress of Masada, occupied by a group of Jewish rebels dubbed the Sicarii by Flavius himself. The siege ended in 73 AD with Silva's forces breaching the defenses of the Masada plateau and the mass suicide of the Sicarii, who preferred death to defeat or capture. Silva's actions are documented by 1st-century Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, the remains of a 1st-century Roman victory arch identified in Jerusalem in 2005, and the extensive earthworks at the Masada site, a monument to the high-water mark of Roman siege warfare.
De vita Caesarum, commonly known as The Twelve Caesars or The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The subjects consist of: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian.
Flavia Domitilla was a Roman noblewoman of the 1st century AD. She was a granddaughter of Emperor Vespasian and a niece of Emperors Titus and Domitian. She married her second cousin, the consul Titus Flavius Clemens, a grand-nephew of Vespasian through his father Titus Flavius Sabinus.
The inaugural games were held, on the orders of the Roman Emperor Titus, to celebrate the completion in AD 80 of the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.
Cornelius Fuscus was a Roman general who fought campaigns under the Emperors of the Flavian dynasty. He first distinguished himself as one of Vespasian's most ardent supporters during the civil war of 69 AD, known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vespasian's son Domitian employed Fuscus as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, a post he held from 81 until his death.
The Stadium of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis, was located to the north of the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Stadium was commissioned around AD 80 by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus as a gift to the people of Rome and was used almost entirely for athletic contests. In Christian tradition, Agnes of Rome was martyred there.
Titus was Roman emperor from 79 to 81.
Nerva was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian, respectively. On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedmen. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the autocratic government of Domitian.
Domitian was Roman emperor from 81 to 96 AD.