Nick Tarabay‘s treacherous Ashur returns from the dead in Spartacus: House of Ashur, and Lucy Lawless‘ Lucretia is the one who ushers in his return. Lawless’ cameo in the Spartacus: House of Ashur series premiere (airing on Friday, December 5) was revealed in advance to get fans excited. Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight and Tarabay tell TV Insider why it was “absolutely vital” to have Lawless set up the spinoff. DeKnight also reveals that Lawless’ cameo almost didn’t work out.
Set in Capua, this reimagined world thrusts viewers back into the brutality of Ancient Rome with the shocking resurrection of the once-defeated Ashur, who now returns as “Dominus,” the master of his own House. Fueled by vengeance and cunning ambition, Ashur rises from betrayal and bloodshed to seize power, gouging out a place for the House of Ashur in a new arena full of violence, desire, and twisted loyalty.
Ashur was decapitated by Naevia (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance. House of Ashur opens with the titular character in the afterlife, seemingly moments after his death, with a bloody Lucretia standing before him holding Ilithyia’s (Viva Bianca) baby. She gives Ashur the choice to live again in “a new reality, uncoupled from history, where you did not perish upon Vesuvius” and instead was the one to kill Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) and end his rebellion. Ashur accepts the offer without saying a word, and he’s hurled back to the land of the living.
“It was absolutely vital. Asher and Lucretia were so tied together in that season of Vengeance, and she’s the reason you got your head chopped off,” DeKnight tells TV Insider in his joint interview with Tarabay. “So to bring her back was so important to launch this new iteration.”
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DeKnight reveals that the cameo almost didn’t happen because of scheduling concerns.
“Like with everything, working with schedules, there was a stretch of about a month we weren’t sure she was available, which would’ve been very difficult to do it without her,” he says. “So it was a thrill to see Lucy back in that role. I loved working with her so much.”
“She’s just lovely. She’s just really lovely to be around, and obviously, Lucy is a well-recognizable name, and she did an amazing job on the show,” Tarabay adds. “So having her, just like Steven said, it was very important to launch us. So we’re very, very grateful to have Lucy with us.”
The Xena: Warrior Princess legend only appears in that one scene, but it’s the launchpad for the entire series that asks what Capua would’ve been like if Ashur was rewarded for thwarting Spartacus’ rebellion.
Spartacus: House of Ashur, Two-Part Series Premiere, Friday, December 5, 9/8c, Starz
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