Spartacus: House of Ashur premieres Dec. 5

Starz is reviving the Spartacus franchise with Spartacus: House of Ashur, which premieres on Dec. 5 with two episodes and will air new episodes each Friday. The series posits an alternate timeline in which Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) survives and rises to power as the owner of his former ludus, driven by vengeance, ambition and betrayal. Franchise creator Steven S. DeKnight returns as showrunner and executive producer alongside Rick Jacobson and Aaron Helbing. Trailers—both a green-band and an uncensored red-band (the latter restricted to YouTube)—lean into the franchise’s trademark sex, gore and gladiatorial spectacle, and the red-band clip briefly depicts Ashur impaling Spartacus (Liam McIntyre). The cast also includes Graham McTavish as Korris, Tenika Davis as Achillia, Jordi Webber as Tarchon, Jackson Gallagher as Julius Caesar, Jaime Slater as Cornelia, and supporting players Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith and Leigh Gill.