C McG

A show that is supposed to represent how things were in the first century BC portrays the greatest and most powerful Roman to ever live as subject to the whims and wishes of his wife. It’s ludicrous. This show is not historically accurate, from Agrippa’s age to when Rome’s first imperial couple first met. They could have told an interesting story of alivia without pretending Augustus did as she told him to. None of the characters come across as likeable. In fact during the first two episodes I actively despised everyone on screen. I couldn’t relate to any of them. Livia is a pampered, spoilt brat who disrespects her first husband without him doing anything to deserve it by our standards, let alone an ancient Roman’s standards. She has an affair with Pompey jnr in Sicily under Nero’s nose. Then she steals back Antigone from a brothel madam who did nothing morally or legally wrong for the time depicted. And she gives up her children to marry another man. And she is our protagonist?! Episode three was so boring. And I like discussions on politics and people planning their moves but the never ending scene with Agrippa, Augustus and Livia was coma-inducing. The change in actors gives a disconnect. The casting of all, both young and old, is all wrong. The writing is dull and lifeless. One star.

This movie was atrocious. There is a semblance of a good story in there, but the acting, the directing and worse, the writing is beyond awful. You would not believe 14 year old's could write dialogue as bad as this, never mind actual professionals.