‘Spartacus’ Spin-Off Brings Glory to Rome With Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Score

Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) keeps winning — first, he’s dealt a different fate than what befell him on Mount Vesuvius, and his new story has the arena eating from the palm of his hand. Spartacus: House of Ashur premieres on Starz on Friday, December 5, and ahead of the premiere, critics were offered preview episodes for review. The verdict is unanimous: long live the House of Ashur! The alt-history offshoot of the hit 2010 series Spartacus has debuted with a perfect 100% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it the highest rated of all Spartacus installments, overtaking Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which is rated 74%. Its description reads:

“Spartacus: House of Ashur is a thrilling, erotic and history-bending, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything which made the original series a colossal hit. What if Ashur had lived, and the Romans rewarded his treachery with the gladiator school where he once bled? Welcome to the House of Ashur. No longer a slave, Ashur has clawed his way to power, owning the same ludus that once owned him. But ruling a band of merciless gladiators is child’s play compared to surviving the savage world of Roman politics — a cutthroat game in which betrayal isn’t a sin, it’s currency. He flips tradition on its head by unleashing Achillia (Tenika Davis), a fierce and powerful gladiatrix eager to prove herself worthy in a man’s world. Together, they ignite a new kind of spectacle that shocks, disrupts, and offends the elite with every drop of blood.”

Is ‘Spartacus: House of Ashur’ Worth Watching?

According to the five critics whose reviews were weighed for the debut score, the show is a good time. Collider’s Jeff Ewing praised it for capturing the Spartacus spirit with its perfect mix of violence and sex. He lauded the performances, action, story, and the show’s ability to maintain its predecessor’s legacy. Ewing wrote:

Spartacus: House of Ashur essentially pulls off the miraculous, leaning on the mythological extravagances of ancient Roman belief to rewrite history and give a character a new lease on life. It’s clever, and it works; outside of the event that enables its premise, the series otherwise retains the gritty realpolitik realism that the original show often revolved around. Spartacus: House of Ashur also largely retains the original series’ deep showcase of the ancient Roman Id, parading the empire’s honorific culture alongside an unflinching orgy of sex and violence (though not always simultaneously).

Tarabay is a strong lead, Davis grows into her role quite well, and [Graham] McTavish excels. While the show essentially follows Ashur’s attempts to rise in Roman society, there’s room for rebellion to brew, leading to hopes that this element of the original will come to the forefront in the future. In the meantime, Spartacus: House of Ashurrecaptures much of what made the original series great, and proves this franchise hasn’t lost a beat in its 12-year hiatus.

Spartacus: House of Ashur premieres on Friday, December 5, on Starz. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.