Spartacus - Season 2 News
8 Jan 2011
Cancelled ShowsThanks to Balian for the heads up.
UPDATED: Those wondering about the future of Starz’ Spartacus can breathe a big sigh of relief: The network is set to confirm at TCA press tour that it will continue the breakout hit despite the loss of star Andy Whitfield.
Sources close to the production say season two will start shooting this spring, with an eye toward a 2012 premiere.
Which, of course, raises a big question: Who’s Spartacus?
Though Starz has not yet crowned a new rebellious slave-warrior to lead the series, producers are confident that the rapidly narrowing field of candidates will yield a new star.
Though there’s been plenty of suspense over the fate of the series since Whitfield left the show to resume treatment for cancer, moving forward makes plenty of sense. The first season of Spartacus gained viewers nearly every week last year to become Starz’ first hit title. Though Whitfield was terrific in the lead, he was backed by a strong supporting cast. Plus the show grabbed plenty of viewers by virtue of its unique visual style and aggressive R-rated content.
In other words: There was a lot going for Spartacus aside from just Spartacus.
Starz will get an idea of how the show fares without Whitfield when its prequel, Gods of the Arena, debuts Friday, Jan. 21.
UPDATE: Producer Rob Tapert on the decision to continue the series without Whitfield: “Nothing good came from losing Andy. We’ve had the luxury of building an infrastructure and having the prequel and sharpening the skills of the actors. If there’s any upside, we’re better prepared to support the new Spartacus when he comes into the role. The season two story no longer takes place in the ludus. It’s a different world and different set of shoes to fill. We feel confident, as does Starz, we will find the right person.”
UPDATE II: New trailer for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
UPDATE III: Starz CEO Chris Albrecht adds, “We really struggled with this. From a business point of view, the show is so successful. And the prequel, when we saw it, we saw that the show was continuing to be a creative success. Now we’re at a place where the show is more than the character. We know we can find someone who can step into Spartacus’ sandals.
As for whether the new Sparty will be a star or another relative unknown like Whitfield, Albrecht says, “It will be fair to say the person will not be a household name, but he will potentially have a pre-existing fanbase.”
Anybody else excited about Spartacus continuing?
Source: EW
"Though Whitfield was terrific in the lead, he was backed by a strong supporting cast. Plus the show grabbed plenty of viewers by virtue of its unique visual style and aggressive R-rated content."
ReplyDeleteCopied From: http://www.spoilertv.com/2011/01/spartacus-season-2-news.html#ixzz1AUpsjziS
LMAO! Andy Whitfield is why I watched Spartacus, his performance and character was mesmerizing, he is why the show was brilliant! Not to say the rest of the cast wasn't great, they were, but no one else will ever match up to Andy's Spartacus!
lol
The thing is that we won't just lose Andy Whitfield on season 2, we will also lose Lucy Lawless & Peter Hannah, obviously. 3 major actors whose characters made the 1st season the terrific entertainment that it was. I'l watch the 2nd season though, I'm eager to see what the writers will come up with outside the arena.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Starz executives won't let the show go on without CGI blood (that's not a problem on the prequel, the receipe is the same as in the 1st season). Because from where I stand, there's no reason why all the characters would have bloody fights in arenas in season 2, and that is something Starz executives won't probably like (because this receipe of bloody fights & guts spilled out gained huge ratings), it can and should be a totally different show in season 2.
I liked him in the lead too, in fact, the reason I originally QUIT watching the series was its "unique style and aggressive R rated content". I hate the 300-like special effects, I loathe the slow-mo fight scenes, I cannot stand the "amped up" fight scenes. A well made series with realistic gladiatorial fights would have been gruesome enough and kept my interest... and respect. I may give it a chance since I am an historical drama genre lover.... and the first season got better as it went along after I built up a tolerance of the ultra-cheesy fight scenes.
ReplyDeleteI was just writing about the ridiculous blood ands outright silly ultra-violence! I could not agree more about it being a different show in season 2 because of the cast changes. Losing your 3 lead actors can break even a good series.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a bold move to give up on all the cgi blood and all the arena fights. And it would make sense given how episode 1.13 ends. The show must be totally diffferent in season 2, they're free. But as I said, Starz executives cannot like that move because the show was so successful, they could think that changing the formula that quickly and that deeply might affect the success of it. But I personnally like that and I hope they won't make the writers prisonbreak the show (make the small group go back in the ludus of another big boss).
ReplyDeleteMY guess is they will not want to alienate the "300" fans and will ffind a way to not only keep the CGI blood and over-the-top, unrealistic violence, but in fact they will ADD to it.
ReplyDeleteWhere were you when it was unashamedly promoted as "the '300' TV series equivilent?" I absolutely love the effects, the blood, the slow-mo fight scenes. I can't say I'm disappointed in something I was told I was getting.
ReplyDeleteIt can also keep a show fresh and exciting. I have faith they'll deliver amazing new characters, just like they did with Season One.
ReplyDeleteI'll drink to that!
ReplyDeleteOh, Andy. I will miss you.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I didn't watch the show JUST for you.
There's lots of blood and naked people to see too.
They're telling a story based on Spartacus.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have much choice when it comes to him having to leave the Arena. It wouldn't be the story of Spartacus otherwise.
fights, blood and sex - that's all great, but it only applies to the script and acting
ReplyDeleteit won't be right without Andy, I don't mean it'll be bad - may be they'll find a real awesome guy for the role but anyway it won't feel right...
I agree that there is no place for ludus ) I guess there'll be Rome, it dark alleys and the Coliseum - OMG, I hope they'll show us the Coliseum ))
ReplyDeleteand as for the naked men, I think we've seen them enough ))))))))) I'd rather watch some pants on them ))) it's time for more naked women to come in game ))