Rome

Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during the transition from the Roman Republic to the Empire. Its protagonists are Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two soldiers whose lives become entangled with some of the key historical events of the era. Vorenus is a strict, traditionalist officer who tries to balance his beliefs, his duty to his superiors and the needs of his family and friends. Pullo is a easygoing, carefree soldier with an appetite for pleasure and little sense of personal responsibility. The series, created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller, mixes the lives of the powerful with those of ordinary people. It airs on HBO and stars Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson. At its core is the civil war between the populares and optimates, which shakes the institutions and tests men and women with great ambition.