Rome

Coming this autumn to the BBC: Rome, a new mega-series co-produced with American cable channel HBO but written by a Brit, Bruno Heller.

Sally Kines in The Times looks behind the scenes.

It started in America last week - The Hollywood Reporter has a review by Barry Garron.

From a production standpoint, "Rome" is simply amazing. Producers strove for and achieved historical authenticity, from the construction of the buildings and streets down to the coins and costume fabric. Even the way in which people got stabbed, crucified and beaten is faithfully re-enacted, combined with a level of sex and nudity appropriate for and expected on pay cable.

The overall series is no less an accomplishment. Bruno Heller's scripts, while somber much of the time, nonetheless deliver compelling stories and memorable characters. A spectacular British cast, headed by Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson, transport you back two millennia to a time when Romans, all with consistent English accents, faced a leadership crisis that redefined its governance.