The Sequel to Bloodiest & Raunchiest TV Show Faces 'Woke' Criticism in Divisive Rotten Tomatoes Score
Twelve years after Spartacus' finale, the franchise continued. Starz just debuted Spartacus: House of Ashur, which brings back the titular character, popular from the franchise. The sword-and-sandal epic has already enchanted the critics, as it debuted with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Created by Steven S. Knight, the show brings Nick E. Tarabay back from the dead. However, even with a popular character, Spartacus: House of Ashur has proven to be extremely divisive as the audience fully disagreed with critics and called out the show for being too "woke." The series features a 100% approval score from the critics out of 10 reviews. The Hollywood Reporter's Angie Han wrote, "It’s promising that House of Ashur seems to understand that if it’s the NSFW pleasures that draw us in first, it’s the growing attachment to these characters and their lives that will keep us on the hook." Collider's Jeff Ewing argues, "Spartacus: House of Ashur essentially pulls off the miraculous, leaning on the mythological extravagances of ancient Roman belief to rewrite history and give a character a new lease on life." CBR's own Martin Carr praised the sequel series as a worthy entry in the franchise, writing, "There is such a solid fanbase for Spartacus that this sequel has little to worry about. Tarabay has barely aged a day in the 12 years since the original's finale, and any evidence of it only works to his advantage."
The cast of Spartacus: House of AshurStarz
The original series, which consisted of three seasons, all featured scores over 80% from the audience. Season 1, Blood and Sand, had an exciting 88%, Season 2, Spartacus: Vengeance, featured an 86% approval, while Season 3, Spartacus: War of the Damned, also had an 86% approval. The limited series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena featured a 93% approval score. However, the new entry has a disappointing 45% following the debut. One review writes, "Show is a bore. I gave it a chance cuz of the original Spartacus show was amazing and dare I say way better than [Game of Thrones]. So this show was what I feared and its just woke mess." A different person complained about how the review-aggregator website deals with reviews, claiming that bad reviews are "removed as review-bombing," claiming if reviewers who obviously have no agenda beyond pushing Woke politics give a bad show a good review, that's absolutely fine with RT. And make no mistake, House of Ashur is bad." A different person wrote, "Rotten [Tomatoes] critics don't care about good [storytelling]. They just like anything that checks a woke box." A different review shared a similar sentiment, claiming House of Ashur is "Horrible woke garbage. Another series that abandons good acting and [storytelling] in the chase to be the most woke and [feminist] series out." Spartacus: House of Ashur debuted with a two-episode premiere. New episodes air every Friday until its finale on Jan. 30, 2026.
Release Date
December 5, 2025
Directors
Rick Jacobson
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