This attempt to be Game of Thrones in togas is all about the cheap thrills. It’s packed with gore, gladiators and gratuitous brothel tours
Roman epics nudge two sliders up and down on their dramatic mixing desk: the one that controls political machinations, and the one that dispenses violence and debauchery. Go too far towards I, Claudius and the audience gets bored; veer the other way and a different demographic will flush crimson and cover their eyes with a Mary Beard hardback.
Those About to Die, a grand 10-part attempt to make ancient Rome as exciting as the fictional histories of Game of Thrones, hovers somewhere in the middle. It ends up as a fairly satisfying binge, not raucous enough to be a guilty pleasure but not in enough control of its characters to be seriously good.
