# Those About to Die

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, 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)".

## Plot

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.

## Cast
### Main

* Anthony Hopkins as Vespasian, Emperor of Rome at the end of his life.
* Iwan Rheon as Tenax, an underground crime boss and owner of Rome's largest betting tavern.
* Sara Martins as Cala, a black Numidian trader and Kwame, Aura, and Jula's mother.
* Tom Hughes as Titus Flavianus, a famous general and Vespasian's oldest son and designated successor.
* Jojo Macari as Domitianus Flavianus, Vespasian's youngest son, and Aedile Ludi, who organizes Rome's gladiatorial matches and chariot races.
* Moe Hashim as Kwame, a fighter turned gladiator and Cala's son.
* Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Viggo, a Norse warrior, and Kwame's fellow gladiator.
* Rupert Penry-Jones as Marcus Servillius, a Roman consul, Antonia's husband, and member of the blue faction.
* Gabriella Pession as Antonia Servillia, Marsus's wife and member of the blue faction.
* Dimitri Leonidas as Scorpus, a successful and beloved charioteer and Tenax's friend.
* Emilio Sakraya as Xenon, a charioteer and Scorpus' rival.
* David Wurawa as Gavros, an experienced horse trainer and expert in the gladiatorial games.
* Pepe Barroso as Fonsoa, Elia and Andria's brother.
* Gonçalo Almeida as Elia, Fonsoa and Andria's younger brother, who comes to Rome hoping to sell their stallions.
* Eneko Sagardoy as Andria, Elia and Fonsoa's older brother, who dreams of becoming a charioteer.
* Lara Wolf as Berenice, Titus' Judean mistress, recognized as the "Jewish Queen".
* Romana Maggiora Vergano is Salena, Rufus' wife, who has shares in the Blue faction.
* Angeliqa Devi as Caltonia, the head of the Blue faction.

### Supporting

* Kyshan Wilson as Aura, Cala's oldest daughter.
* Alicia Edogamhe, as Jula, Cala's youngest daughter, turned Antonia and Marsus' slave.
* Alessandro Bedetti as Hermes, Domitian's slave and lover.
* Martyn Ford as Flamma, a feared and monstrous gladiator.
* Jarreth J. Merz as Dacia, Tenax's henchman.
* Vincent Riotta as Leto, a Roman senator and head of the White faction.
* Michael Bundred as Torel, a Roman senator and head of the Red faction.
* Marco Gambino as Sepulcius, a Roman senator and head of the Green faction.
* Adrian Bouchet as Porto, the Praetorian Prefect under Titus.
* Clelia Zanini as Marcia, Titus' new Roman bride.
* Alice Lamanna as Cornelia, Antonia and Marsus' daughter and a Vestal Virgin of Rome.
* Victor von Schirach as Passus, Domitian's extravagant games master.
* Daniel Stisen as Ursus, a mysterious figure from Tenax's past.
* Christian Hillborg as Noro, Tenax's henchman.
* Davide Tucci as Manilius, a Praetorian Guard who makes deals with Tenax and Domitian.
* Michael Maggi as Rufus, Salena's husband and a gambling addict who gambles away his wife's shares in the Blue faction.
* Thomas Hunt as Lucius, head of a group of pickpockets who work for Domitian.
* Christopher Ward as Tiones, a slave dealer.
* Jonathan Harboe as Tuccian
* Hilal Beraki as Seeno
* Hossein Taheri as Abbas
* Mohammad Bakri as Farid
* Eleonora Gaggero as Iris

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Rise or Die" | Roland Emmerich | Robert Rodat | July 18, 2024 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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. 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 (2024-07-18) |
| The new emperor Titus has married his cousin Marcia. The episode concludes with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Blood Relation" | Marco Kreuzpaintner | Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt | July 18, 2024 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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 (2024-07-18) |
| 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. ||||||

## Production

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.
In January 2023, Anthony Hopkins was cast. Dimitri Leonidas, Gabriella Pession, Lorenzo Richelmy and Tom Hughes were cast in February, with Marco Kreuzpaintner joining Emmerich as a director. Production began at Cinecittà in Rome in March with additional casting announced including Iwan Rheon, who was cast to replace Richelmy.

## Reception

The series holds a 48% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 46 reviews with an average rating of 5.3 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Those About to Die doles out enough bread and circuses to state viewers' bloodlust, but its lack of compelling characters and narrative cohesion doesn't quite earn a salute." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.