HBO’s Epic ‘Gladiator’ Replacement Officially Finds New Life on Streaming

6 days ago 15

Russell Crowe as Maximus yelling in the arena

Published Oct 17, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

With HBO having firmly settled into its franchise era, the platform bears little resemblance to what it used to be two decades ago. That was the time of masterpieces such as The Sopranos and The Wire, along with the popular hits Sex and the City and Entourage. In recent years, HBO has doubled down on building long-term IP, with several Game of Thrones spin-offs, a Harry Potter reboot, and the recently released Lanterns. Now, one of HBO's most short-lived originals is having a resurgence, more than two decades after its original run. Heavily inspired by the blockbuster success of Ridley Scott's Gladiator, the series follows two soldiers whose lives intersect with legions of historical figures in Ancient Rome.

Co-created by the legendary New Hollywood figure John Milius — he wrote Apocalypse Now and Dirty Harry, and directed the original Conan the Barbarian — the series aired two seasons between 2005 and 2007. It starred Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd as the protagonists, with an eclectic ensemble that included Tobias Menzies, Kerry Condon, Indira Varma, and Ciarán Hinds. Filmed at the historic Cinecittà Studios in Italy, the series was produced on a reported budget of more than $100 million, making it one of the most expensive shows of all time. In many ways, it paved the way for HBO's most well-known title revolving around palace intrigue: Game of Thrones.

The Cult Classic HBO Series Had Ambitious Future Plans

We're talking, of course, about Rome, the series that also paved the way for the long-running Starz title Spartacus. The show now holds an 86% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus for the second season reads, "Pulp meets prestige in Rome's sensational second season — though its style sometimes outweighs its substance." According to FlixPatrol, Rome saw a spike in viewership on iTunes this past week, ranking second behind fellow HBO masterpiece The Sopranos. The show was canceled on budgetary grounds, but the creators already had three future seasons mapped out. The show's future narrative would have dramatized the rise of Augustus and the birth of Christ. You can watch the show at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.