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Domina is an historical drama television series created and principally written by Simon Burke for Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK). Starring Kasia Smutniak as Livia Dru…
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Investigate this subjectDomina is an historical drama television series created and principally written by Simon Burke for Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK). Starring Kasia Smutniak as Livia Drusilla, it examines the power struggles of Ancient Rome from a female perspective.
Domina is an historical drama television series created and principally written by Simon Burke for Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK). Starring Kasia Smutniak as Livia Drusilla, it examines the power struggles of Ancient Rome from a female perspective. The series premiered on 14 May 2021 in Italy and the UK. MGM+ renewed Domina for a second season, which premiered on 9 July 2023 in the United States. In April 2024, the series was cancelled after two seasons.
The series charts the life and rise of Livia Drusilla, the powerful wife of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar.
In series 1, the simultaneous divorces of Livia and Augustus from their respective spouses in order to marry each other causes a political sex scandal.
All the political power is kept within the family of Augustus, Livia (his third and final wife), Agrippa (whom Augustus regards as his brother), and the daughters of Mark Antony (his son Iullus Antonius is sidelined), and Octavia (sister of Augustus). All their marriages are strategically arranged—never to a plebeian.
In series 2, power goes to Tiberius (son of Livia and stepson of Augustus) who marries his stepsister Julia the Elder (daughter of Augustus) upon his ascent. Augustus himself mandates this marriage after Agrippa's death.
The series was written by Simon Burke, and the lead director was Australian filmmaker Claire McCarthy. Filming for Domina resumed at the Cinecittà studios in Rome in July 2020 following delays from the initial start in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show's title comes from the female version of 'Dominus', the Ancient Roman title for sovereignty, and from which the word 'dominate' originates.
As pointed out by Nicola Maccanico (executive vice president of programming, Sky Italia), Domina is an international production with strong Italian roots. The costumes were designed by Gabriella Pescucci, and the production design was by Luca Tranchino.
In February 2022, Epix (later renamed MGM+) renewed the show for a second series.
In April 2024, it was reported that the series had been canceled after two series.
The series was released in its entirety on 14 May 2021 on Sky Box Sets and NOW in Italy and the UK. It premiered on television the same day on Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK).
In the United States, the series premiered on 6 June 2021 on Epix. In Australia, the series is streamed on the service Stan.
The second series premiered on 9 July 2023 on MGM+ in the US, on 10 July in Australia, and on 8 September in Italy and the UK.
The series has received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews, with an average score of 6.7/10. Suzi Feay in the Financial Times dubbed the series "Game of Romans". Historian Tom Holland in The Times agreed that "The echoes of Game of Thrones in the first two episodes are strong, and surely deliberate...the rest of the series approximates more closely to a political thriller". Holland praised the series, saying, "the meat of the show is so enjoyably done that the odd anachronism hardly matters. The 20s BC, sandwiched between the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra and the maturity of Augustus, have never before been the subject of popular drama, but Domina demonstrates to brilliant effect how unjustly neglected they have been... Part of the fun of the series is seeing characters who became significant players in the later decades of Augustus's life as teenagers".
Both The Telegraph and The Standard gave the opening episode three stars out of five.
Source: Domina (TV series) (CC BY-SA)
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