Starz's return to the Spartacus universe with House of Ashur leaves us with the question: What if Ashur (Nick Tarabay) hadn't died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance and instead received the Ludus of Batiatus in exchange for his help in killing Spartacus and ending the slave rebellion?
The answer comes in the first episode via original character Queen Bee Lucretia, as Lucy Lawless (photo) makes her return in a guest role that 'elevates' everything around her. Her appearance will play an important role in setting up the 'what if' alternate timeline.
In addition to Tarabay, the series will star Graham McTavish, Tenika Davis, Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Jordi Webber, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith and Leigh Gill.
Spartacus creator, writer and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight returns to the franchise he helped create as showrunner and executive producer of Spartacus: House of Asher, a new original series Starz describes as a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit.”
Lawless made her debut as Lucretia, wife of Batiatus (John Hannah), in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. She reprized the role in the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. As beloved as she is for her performance in the Spartacus series, she is best known for her work in Xena: Warrior Princess, in which she played the title role.
She recently made her directorial debut with the documentary Never Look Away, which premiered at Sundance 2024 (an Official Selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition) and was an Official Selection for SXSW 2024.
Lawless can currently be seen as the lead actress in the Australian series My Life is Murder (available on Acorn TV), the fourth season of which will air this summer. She recently starred in the Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead, the Evil Dead spin-off. The series reunited Lawless with her Xena: Warrior Princess co-star Bruce Campbell and the series' producer Sam Raimi, with whom she also worked on Spartacus: Blood and Sand.