Best tv shows like Spartacus
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Spartacus is an American television series inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BCE led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 253000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: epic, sexy, sexual, exciting, stylized, heroic, realistic, historical drama, mythical, erotic
Best tv shows and movies like Spartacus (2010):
Similar in 85%
Cleopatra (1999)
Plot Summary:
Cleopatra, the famed Egyptian Queen born in 69 B.C., is shown to have been brought by Roman ruler Julius Caesar at age 18. Caesar becomes sexually obsessed by the 18 year old queen, beds her, and eventually has a son by her. However, his Roman followers and his wife are not pleased by the union. In fact, as Caesar has only a daughter by his wife, he had picked Octavian as his successor. The out-of-wedlock son of Cleopatra is seen to be a threat to his future leadership. Thus Brutus and other Roman legislators plot the assassination of Caesar. Caesar's loyal general, Marc Antony, and Octavian then divide up the Roman empire. Antony takes Egypt and soon takes up the affair with Cleopatra. However, Octavian soon launches an attack on Antony and ultimately defeats and mortally wounds him. Rather than permitting herself to be humiliated by Octavian, Cleopatra sends her son away to India and she commits suicide by permitting the deadly asp to bite her.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 177 min
Plot tags: historical drama, fairy tale, costume drama, epic, serious, captivating, stylized, period drama
Similar in 82%
Ben Hur (2010)
Plot Summary:
About the struggle between the Roman Empire and its rebellious conquest Judaea, and two best friends caught in a terrible moment in history.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Country: UK, Germany, Spain, Canada, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, epic, captivating, historical drama, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Helen of Troy (2003)
Plot Summary:
When Paris of Troy abducts the beautiful Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, the trojan war begins.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: exciting, semi serious, captivating, tense, fairy tale, romantic, historical drama, surprise ending, epic, period drama
Similar in 89%
Romulus (2020)
Plot Summary:
The story of Romulus and his twin brother Remus, in eighth century B.C. as seen through the eyes of three people marked by death, loneliness and violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, History
Country: Italy, UK
Duration:
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, heroic, realistic
Similar in 78%
Joan of Arc (1999)
Plot Summary:
Ten years before her death, Joan hears voices. Six years later, from the village of Domremy, she begins her mission to unite France under King Charles. First she leads a defense of Vaucouleurs against the Burgundians, then obtains safe passage to Charles, the Dauphin. He uses her, as the embodiment of the mythical "Maid of Lorraine," to raise an army, and he sends her to the rescue of Orléans. After Charles is crowned, Joan leads a disastrous campaign in Paris, where her brother dies. Then she's the victim of Charles's manipulations: she's captured in Burgundy, sold to the English, examined by Bishop Cauchon, found a heretic by the Inquisition, and burned at the stake.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: epic, retro, costume drama, informative, bleak, serious, captivating, psychological, inspirational, biblical
Similar in 80%
The Arena (2001)
Plot Summary:
In an age of Gladiators, the power that was Rome held its empire together with the might of its armies, the sweat and tears of its conquests, and the cheers and bloodlust of its citizens - glorified in the deadly spectacle of The Arena. Stolen from their homelands, the fiery Druid maiden Bodicia, exotic slave girl Jessemina, and the powerful barbarian Flavius, are pitted against each other as gladiators by the sadistic Roman Governor Timarchus. Banished by Caesar, Timarchus unleashes his frustration on his gladiators, staging extravagant spectacles of combat, orgy and death. In a violent world where only the strong survive, love and hate, life and death, are separated by an instant.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 808
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Action
Country: Russia, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, exciting, suspense, rough, realistic, independent film, period piece, remake of cult film, cult film
Similar in 85%
Conquest 1453 (2012)
Plot Summary:
After the death of his father Murat II, Mehmet II ascends to the Ottoman throne. After braving internal and external enemies, he decides to complete what he was destined to do: Conquer Constantinople.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 59000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Turkey
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, realistic, serious, captivating, epic, islamic, stylized, computer animated, weird
Similar in 81%
The Odyssey (1997)
Plot Summary:
This lavish small-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic--replete with exotic Maltese and Turkish locations, state-of-the-art special effects, and many bronzed muscles gleaming with sweat--chronicles the voyage home of a Trojan hero, Odysseus, and includes many more scenes of his faithful, beautiful wife dodging leering suitors at home than Homer ever composed.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History
Country: UK, Italy, Germany, Turkey, USA
Duration: 176 min
Plot tags: epic, breathtaking, scenic, exciting, heroic, fairy tale, stylized, enigmatic, historical drama, dark fantasy
Similar in 75%
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2006)
Plot Summary:
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire is a 2006 BBC One docudrama series, with each episode looking at a different key turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Documentary, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 59 min
Plot tags: captivating, epic, realistic, serious, historical drama, educational, mythical, period drama
Similar in 81%
Vikings: Valhalla (2022)
Plot Summary:
Dramatizes the legendary adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived – Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, Harald Hardrada and the Norman King William the Conqueror. These men and women will blaze a path as they fight for survival in the ever changing and evolving world.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: tense, heroic, historical drama, sad, costume drama, exciting, breathtaking, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Marco Polo (2014)
Plot Summary:
An epic adventure that follows the early years of the famous explorer as he travels the exotic Silk Road to the great Kublai Khan’s court. But Marco soon finds that navigating the Khan’s world of greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry will be his greatest challenge yet, even as he becomes a trusted companion to the Khan in his violent quest to become the Emperor of the World.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, epic, atmospheric, serious, historical drama, costume drama, tense, erotic, sexy
Similar in 86%
300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
Plot Summary:
Based on Frank Miller's latest graphic novel Xerxes and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster "300," this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield--on the sea--as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. "300: Rise of an Empire" pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemesia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 313000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: epic, heroic, exciting, entertaining, stylized, bloody, rough, serious, visually appealing, visual
Similar in 78%
The Last Kingdom (2015)
Plot Summary:
A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 161000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, epic, stylized, realistic, costume drama, historical drama, tense, brutal
Similar in 79%
Da Vinci's Demons (2013)
Plot Summary:
The series follows the "untold" story of Leonardo Da Vinci: the genius during his early years in Renaissance Florence. As a 25-year old artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time as he begins to not only see the future, but invent it.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Fantasy, History, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, intellectual, captivating, witty, serious, erotic, sexy, costume drama, christian film, thought provoking
Similar in 87%
Attila (2001)
Plot Summary:
A romanced story of Attila the Hun, since his childhood, when he lost his parents until his death. Attila is disclosed as a great leader, strategist and lover and the movie shows his respect to the great Roman strategist Flavius Aetius, his loves and passions, the gossips, intrigues and betrayals in Rome, all of these feelings evolved by magic and mysticism.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA, Lithuania
Duration: 177 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, touching, epic, inspirational, historical drama, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Black Sails (2014)
Plot Summary:
The pirate adventures of Captain Flint and his men twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 111000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: South Africa, USA
Duration: 56 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, suspense, historical drama, costume drama, erotic, epic, realistic, serious, rough
Similar in 77%
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
Plot Summary:
Before Spartacus struck down his first opponent in the arena, there were many gladiators who passed through the gates onto the sand.'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' tells the story of the original Champion of the House of Batiatus: Gannicus in a more ruthless time before Spartacus' arrival where honor was just finding its way into the arena.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 144000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 331 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, serious, realistic, stylized, rough, suspense, factual, sexy, tense
Similar in 79%
Spartacus (2004)
Plot Summary:
Sentenced to spend out the rest of his adult life laboring in the harsh deserts of Egypt, the Thracian slave Spartacus gets a new lease on life when he is purchased by the obese owner of a Roman gladiator school. Moved by the defiance of an Ethiopian warrior, Draba, Spartacus leads a slave uprising which threatens Rome's status quo. As Spartacus gains sympathy within the Roman Senate, he also makes a powerful enemy in form of Marcus Lucinius Crassus, who makes it a matter of personal honor to crush the rebellion.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 174 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, atmospheric, tense, uplifting, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, emotional, rough
Similar in 87%
Alexander (2004)
Plot Summary:
Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 175000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: epic, breathtaking, period piece, serious, factual, informative, historical drama, suspense, harsh, inspirational
Similar in 85%
Barbarians (2020)
Plot Summary:
Three people's fates are interwoven in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., during which Germanic warriors halt the spread of the Roman Empire.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 280 min
Plot tags: heroic, exciting, atmospheric, rough, breathtaking, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
Similar in 83%
The Eagle (2011)
Plot Summary:
In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, absurd, intense, epic, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, period piece, suspense
Similar in 88%
Rome (2005)
Plot Summary:
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 182000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 1193 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, historical drama, period piece, stylized, captivating, sexual, costume drama, erotic, dramatic
Similar in 81%
Ironclad (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the year 1215, the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, a seminal document that upheld the rights of free men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebel's momentous struggle for justice and freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: UK, Switzerland, USA, Germany
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: captivating, exciting, realistic, serious, stylized, epic, grindhouse, costume drama, mythical, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Troy (2004)
Plot Summary:
In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 561000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Malta, UK
Duration: 163 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, heroic, realistic, period piece, rough, serious, stylized, factual, costume drama
Similar in 86%
The Borgias (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, Hungary, Ireland, Canada
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: serious, clever, captivating, epic, costume drama, historical drama, realistic, stylized, political, period piece
Similar in 75%
300 (2006)
Plot Summary:
Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, "300" is very loosely based the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians; the battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world's first democracy.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 852000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA, Canada, Bulgaria
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: epic, intense, exciting, scenic, visually stunning, visual, stylized, heroic, entertaining, bloody
Similar in 76%
Vikings (2013)
Plot Summary:
Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods. Legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 568000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Ireland, Canada
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, exciting, heroic, captivating, historical drama, breathtaking, epic, costume drama, mythical, period piece
Similar in 88%
Game of Thrones (2011)
Plot Summary:
Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.
IMDB Rating: 9.2
IMDB Votes: 22000000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 4189 min
Plot tags: epic, captivating, atmospheric, dramatic, stylized, breathtaking, serious, exciting, sexual, heroic
Similar in 75%
Braveheart (1995)
Plot Summary:
Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 11000000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 178 min
Plot tags: epic, emotional, factual, breathtaking, scenic, inspirational, exciting, rough, period piece, entertaining
Similar in 75%
Gladiator (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 16000000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, UK, Malta, Morocco
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: epic, captivating, breathtaking, suspense, emotional, exciting, rough, realistic, atmospheric, period piece