Forgotten HBO Historical Drama Did Everything We Love Game of Thrones For 6 Years Earlier

If, even five years after the finale of Game of Thrones, you are still wondering what can replace the 21st century's biggest TV hit, that dilemma is about to be resolved.

A project that is almost 20 years old is not inferior to Game of Thrones in either scope or political intrigue, and its audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is even higher than that of the show based on the books by George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones has 85%, and this historical epic has a near-perfect 96%.

This series is often referred to as the main rehearsal for Game of Thrones. And rightly so, because Rome is one of the biggest and most ambitious television projects of the 2000s.

Rome Was an Unprecedented Show for Its Time

Today, Amazon is allocating a billion dollars for a show based on The Lord of the Rings, but at that time few could imagine that a historical epic with a budget of $100 million would ever appear on TV. Not surprisingly, HBO had to join forces with the BBC to bring such a global idea to life.

The result of their collaboration was worth every penny. Even today, Rome is impressive in its scope and attention to detail, but the meticulously detailed sets and costumes only enhance the brilliantly written story.

The series has two seasons, and there is not a single unnecessary episode. Passions are always high in Rome and beyond, and the fates of the great Caesar, his power-hungry entourage, and two simple warriors are sometimes intertwined in the most unexpected ways.

Rome Did First What Game of Thrones Would Do Years Later

Rome was the first to recognize the audience's demand for unglamorous realism, attention to detail, an impressive scale of history backed by unprecedented funding, and the ability to stop in time. In this sense, Rome should be considered a series that largely determined the development of modern shows.

Rome has it all – a complex plot with a large number of characters, explicit sex scenes, brutal realism and psychologism in the portrayal of characters. And, of course, political intrigue that Game of Thrones will take as its banner six years later.

Rome’s Plot is Based on Historical Documents, But It Is Not a Boring History Lesson

The plot is based on Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. The main characters representing the common people, the legionaries Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, were borrowed from there.

In addition to Caesar himself, many of his contemporaries live in the series – Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Brutus, Octavian Augustus and Cicero. They all come together and become entangled in the intricacies of the plot; some are pursuing short-term interests, while others are willing to risk everything to gain power over Rome and the entire Empire.

Although the screenwriters, led by Bruno Heller, did not set themselves the task of following historical documents verbatim, they managed to create an exciting story where the world is inhabited by characters with complex personalities. The entire cast, without exception, which brought the above-mentioned historical figures to life, deserves special attention.

Rome Features Some GoT Stars

An important fact for Game of Thrones fans: In Rome, the role of Caesar was played by Ciaran Hinds, who will play Mance Rayder in the future; Brutus was played by Tobias Menzies, who would star as Edmure Tully a few years later; and Indira Varma, who played Ellaria Sand in GoT, brought the character of Niobe to life in Rome.

Rome Became a True TV Classic

Rome not only received high ratings and spawned less successful imitations, it also became a kind of template for showrunners of the best modern projects. Rome is an undisputed classic and one of the best series in history. It's worth watching at least to understand how much it influenced television in general and Game of Thrones in particular.