Rome (Seasons 1–2)

Rome (2005) is an HBO and BBC co-production historical drama you can watch online on iFILM. The year is 52 BC, and Julius Caesar is marching his legions home after eight years of war in Gaul. Two soldiers — Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, played by Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson — end up at the centre of events that will crack the Republic open.

The series tells the fall of the Roman Republic through men who have no business being near history. Ciaran Hinds plays Caesar without grandeur — a calculating soldier who happens to be changing the world. James Purefoy as Mark Antony is pure swagger with a self-destructive edge. Polly Walker as Atia of the Julii manoeuvres through every scene like a general in silk. Two seasons, twenty-two episodes, and the timeline stretches from the crossing of the Rubicon to the Battle of Actium.

Each episode was shot on enormous standing sets built outside Rome — sets later borrowed by other productions — with a budget that matched theatrical films of the time. The show earned eight Emmy nominations. Stream all seasons of Rome online on iFILM.