After 12 years, “Spartacus” returns with a surprising protagonist.

When does Spartacus: House of Ashur come out? All about the cast, trailer, and titular traitor’s resurrection

After 12 years, "Spartacus" returns with a surprising protagonist.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

EW's editorial guidelines

November 3, 2025 4:09 p.m. ET

Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur on 'Spartacus: House of Ashur'. Credit:

- *Spartacus: House of Ashur* is the latest chapter in Starz's ongoing *Spartacus* franchise.

- The 10-part series unfolds in an alternate history in which Nick E. Tarabay's Ashur survived and took over the gladiatorial school.

- The first two episodes premiere on December 5.

Are you not entertained? Try watching Starz's addictive *Spartacus* franchise, which is set to return after 12 years with a new sequel series, *Spartacus: House of Ashur*.

The series comes from Steven S. DeKnight, who introduced Spartacus to Starz back in 2010 with *Spartacus: Blood and Sand*. He chased the season with two more — *Spartacus: Vengeance* (2012) and Spartacus: *War of the Damned *(2013) —** **and a prequel, 2011's *Spartacus: Gods of the Arena*.

As the showrunner recently told **, a long break was necessary before he felt fit to return to the saga, which was shaken behind the scenes following the death of original Spartacus actor Andy Whitfield in 2011. "I think I needed a decade to recuperate from the original experience, which was wonderful, but just grueling and emotionally gut wrenching," DeKnight said.

Curious about Starz's return to the arena? Here's everything to know about *Spartacus: House of Ashur*, from its release date and trailer to the resurrection of a long-dead character.**

What is Spartacus: House of Ashur about?

Jamaica Vaughn as Hilaria, Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur, and Ivana Baquero as Messia on 'Spartacus: House of Ashur'.

*Spartacus* has always played fast and loose with its history, and *House of Ashur* is no exception. As its title implies, the sequel series resurrects Nick E. Tarabay's Ashur, the former slave who fans saw beheaded at the end of 2012's *Spartacus: Vengeance*.

In this alternate history, set around six months after the events of *War of the Damned*, Ashur is rewarded by the Republic for helping crush the slave rebellion and given control of the gladiator school previously owned by Batiatus. But his background as a slave means he'll have a hard time integrating himself into the upper crust.

"On the one hand, he's a hero of the Republic for helping quell the rebellion, but on the other hand, he's an ex-slave, which they don't care for," DeKnight explained to EW. "He's an ex-gladiator, which they care less for. *And* he turned on his brothers. Nobody trusts him because he, obviously, can't be trusted. So he's in this odd position where he has everything he ever dreamed of and is discovering it's really difficult to hang onto it."

'Spartacus: House of Ashur' trailer throws first female gladiator to the wolves

'Spartacus': Steven S. DeKnight breaks down the series finale

Starz describes the series as a "thrilling, erotic, history-bending, roller-coaster experience" that's heavy on palace intrigue. "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," reads a synopsis.

So, how does Ashur's resurrection impact everything that came before? Not much, said DeKnight. "The only difference is Ashur didn't die," he told us. "Everybody else who died, I hate to tell the fans, they're still dead... The war is over. The rebellion has been crushed."**

Is there a Spartacus: House of Ashur trailer?

There are two — one for the gore-lovers and one for, well, everybody else. The green-band trailer is below, and you can watch the gnarlier red-band trailer on YouTube.

The trailer highlights the series' signature bone-crunching, sword-swinging action alongside glimpses of Tarabay's rags-to-riches Ashur navigating the politics of the elite. His desire to be accepted into the halls of power leads him to introduce "a sight never before witnessed in the arena."

That sight? A gladiatrix named Achillia (Tenika Davis).**

"She's just as driven, just as dangerous as the men," DeKnight told EW. "One of the things we wanted to do on this show is, of course, have all those great staples of the original — the sex, the intrigue, the violence, the complicated twists and turns — but also offering something new. One of those main pillars were the gladiatrixes."**

Who’s in the cast of Spartacus: House of Ashur?

Tenika Davis as Achillia and Jordi Webber as Tarchon on 'Spartacus: House of Ashur'.

Tarabay leads the cast as the titular Ashur, now thriving after his treachery. Still, you can expect to see new shades of the character in the series.

"He's the same guy, but in this position he's in now, he has to maneuver in a different way," DeKnight told EW. "Is he a good guy now? No, he's Ashur. He's scheming, murderous Ashur, but the best way to get an audience behind a character like that is roll out the people who are worse. The Romans, the elites are much worse than he is... He's trying to be a better person, but the society around him just won't allow that. So he's got to maneuver in scheme and murder to try to keep climbing that social ladder."

Joining Tarabay is Davis, who plays the gladiatrix Achillia. Davis began her screen career in 2006 as a contestant on *Canada's Next Top Model. *Her previous credits include horror movies *Saw VI* (2009) and *Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings* (2011), as well as episodes of *Jupiter's Legacy* (2021) and *Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities* (2022).**

Graham McTavish as Korris on 'Spartacus: House of Ashur'.

Starz loyalists will recognize Graham McTavish from *Outlander* (2014–2016, 2024), but the Scottish actor is also a veteran of *The Witcher* (2021–2023) and *House of the Dragon *(2022). Here, he plays Korris, an ex-gladiator who, after winning his freedom, became the lead trainer of Ashur's school. "Graham just brings everything to the role," DeKnight told EW. "He brings strength; he brings, when it's necessary, an incredible amount of dry, rye humor and real, deep emotion."**

Julius Caesar, the future Roman dictator, returns after debuting in *War of the Damned*, where he was played by Todd Lasance. The actor's commitment to *NCIS: Sydney* stopped him from reprising the role, which will now be played by Jackson Gallagher (*Playing for Keeps*).

"What I didn't realize, and I think most common people who didn't study, deeply, ancient Rome, is that at this point in Caesar's life, he's not the Caesar that we come to know," DeKnight told EW. "He's not that all-powerful, the guy who became dictator of Rome."

What makes Caesar special on *House of Ashur*, DeKnight explained, is his wife, Cornelia Cinna, the daughter of a Republic bigwig. Cornelia is played by Jaime Slater (*Pacific Rim: Uprising*).

"They deeply, deeply love each other, but the cool thing about Cornelia is she's way richer than Caesar. In fact, she's basically funding Caesar in his life, and her name is much bigger than Julius Caesar," DeKnight said. "So everyone's all a flutter to meet Cornelia Cinna."**

He went on to say that "sex, drugs, and destruction are their calling card," adding that their "mutual thirst for power" leads them to "maneuver, manipulate, and murder anyone who gets in their way."

The supporting cast includes Jamaica Vaughan (*Home and Away*), Ivana Baquero (*Pan's Labyrinth*), Jordi Webber (*Power Rangers Ninja Steel*), Claudia Black (*Ahsoka*), and Leigh Gill (*Joker*).**

Is there a Spartacus: House of Ashur release date?

Dan Hamill, Evander Brown, Tenika Davis, Graham McTavish, and Jordi Webber on 'Spartacus: House of Ashur'.

The first two episodes of *Spartacus: House of Ashur* will unsheathe their swords on December 5.**

Where can I watch Spartacus: House of Ashur?

*Spartacus: House of Ashur* will be available to stream on Starz.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.*****

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW TV”