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NSFW Gladiator Series Slashes Its Way to a Perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

written by Leo Hartwell
NSFW Gladiator Series Slashes Its Way to a Perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
Image credit: Legion-Media

Blood, sand, and a flawless score: Spartacus: House of Ashur hits 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, eclipsing the original Spartacus as Steven S. DeKnight returns to the arena with a brutal sequel putting Nick E. Tarabay’s Ashur at center stage.

Well, this is unexpected: Starz just rolled out a Spartacus spin-off that not only rewrites the past, it walked in the door with a perfect score.

The setup

'Spartacus: House of Ashur' comes from Steven S. DeKnight, the creator behind the original 'Spartacus' series that ran on Starz from January 2010 to April 2013. Instead of picking up where we left off, this one plays in an alternate timeline. The twist: Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) didn't die at Naevia's hands during the events known from season 2. In this version of history, Ashur survives, helps the Romans bring down Spartacus and end the slave rebellion, and gets rewarded with ownership of the Batiatus ludus — the gladiator school that fueled so much of the original show's chaos.

So yes, it's a bold pivot. They kept the blood-and-sand arena energy and built a new political game around a character who was very, very dead before.

How critics are reacting

Debuting with some serious bragging rights, 'House of Ashur' currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes — higher than the original series, which holds at 64%. Over on Metacritic, it's clocking an 83 as of now, which lands it in the universally-acclaimed zone.

Kaiya Shunyata at RogerEbert.com watched the first five episodes and dropped this pull-quote that pretty much sums up the mood:

'Spartacus: House of Ashur offers us a rarity in a world where prequels and reboots threaten to stifle all originality: a spin-off series that not only honors the legacy of its predecessor, but one that, at times, rivals it.'

Variety calls it a thrilling, dynamic follow-up, praising DeKnight's return to that power-obsessed Roman world. The Wrap's review zeroes in on the performances: while Tarabay headlines, Tenika Davis (playing Achillia) and Claudia Black (as Cossutia) reportedly steal scenes. Achillia in particular is written as both physically and emotionally scarred — a choice that makes her stand out in a way that feels like more than just another sword-swinger.

When and where to watch

The first two episodes hit Starz on Friday, December 5, 2025. After that, new episodes roll out weekly on Fridays.

Cast you'll see in the arena

  • Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur
  • Tenika Davis as Achillia
  • Claudia Black as Cossutia
  • Graham McTavish
  • Jamaica Vaughan
  • Ivana Baquero
  • Jordi Webber
  • India Shaw-Smith
  • Leigh Gill

If you loved the original but wished the show leaned even harder into scheming, survival, and the ugly horse-trading of Roman power, this alt-timeline gambit is very much that. And given where the early scores landed, it's not just a stunt — it sounds like the execution is there too.