Goodlife: Your weekend starts here
ASERIES telling the story of history’s greatest warriors – from Hannibal and Spartacus to Boadicea and Attila – is headed for DStv next month, and other news is that a second season of the Emmynominated The Story of God, hosted by Morgan Freeman, has been given the nod.
Barbarians Rising, an eight-part docu-drama, tells of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire from the perspective of the various barbarian rebel leaders.
It is scheduled to premiere on DStv’s History (channel 186) at 8.30pm on Tuesday, September 6.
In addition to being National Geographic Channel’s most-watched series of all time in the US, the first season of The Story of God emerged as the channel’s fourth-most-watched telecast of all time.
Little wonder, then, that a second series has been planned, and is due for screening early next year.
Barbarians Rising features the true stories of nine of history’s greatest warriors, and is further described as a visceral journey into the heart of a wave of rebellions against absolute power.
“The Roman Empire called them ‘barbarians’ – tribes the Romans viewed beyond the fringe of civilisation that lived a brutish and violent existence. However, these were also men and women who launched epic struggles that shaped the world to come,” says a DStv spokesman.
“It is a monumental series that tells the story of how one of the world’s greatest empires was undone by its aggressive quest for expansion.” The cast includes Nicholas Pinnock
(Captain America: The First Avenger) as Hannibal, who vowed a blood oath at the age of 9 to destroy Rome; and Ben Batt
(The Edge of Love) as Spartacus, the slaveturned-rebel who led a barbarian revolt.
Kirsty Mitchell (River City) appears as Boudica (Boadicea), the avenging Celtic warrior queen; Tom Hopper (Black
Sails) as Arminius, the son of Germany surrendered to Rome; Emil Hostina (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts I and II) as Attila, scourge of the east; and Gavin Drea (Love/Hate) as Alaric, the king of the Goths. Then we get Steven Waddington
(The Imitation Game) as Fritigern, the warrior who took down an emperor; Richard Brake (Game of Thrones) as Geiseric, the last barbarian standing; and Jefferson Hall (Vikings, Game of
Thrones) as Viriathus, the shepherdturned-rebel leader.
Getting back to The Story of God, the first season of the show was hailed as “fascinating” by the Wall Street Journal and “eye-opening” by MediaPost.
It earned a 2016 Emmy award nomination for Outstanding Informational Series or Special.
The new episodes of the series will again take viewers on a trip around the world in search of answers to some of the great questions of the universe, through the lens of the world’s major religions, science, anthropology and archaeology.
The second season of The Story of God, to be seen in 171 countries in 45 languages, will explore topics including “Is There a Chosen One?”, “Proof of God” and “Heaven and Hell”.
“I had quite a journey last season, but not just in miles covered,” said Freeman in a press statement. “I met incredible people who opened my eyes and my mind to new ideas and new ways of thinking about faith, the world and all of humanity.
“I barely scratched the surface of what we can learn, and I am looking forward to continuing this search for the meaning of life and religion and everything in-between.” On social platforms, the first series of
The Story of God was the most socially engaged show across the network ever, reaching more than 150 million impressions across all of National Geographic’s social accounts, reports DStv.