Season 1 • Episode 3
LatestAgainst the background of decline of the Roman Empire, "Peplum" takes us into the lives of Bravus, a former slave who became adviser to the tyrannical Emperor Maximus. Under pressure, stuck between a professional life stressful and chaotic family life, his days are not looking easy. Indeed, work side Bravus must wet the gown to slow a decline that has a tendency to accelerate under the leadership of the incompetent messy, cruel, capricious and narcissistic Maximus. Personal side, he must face every night his son Caius freshly converted to Christianity, his wife Octavia, foreign to the codes of good Roman society and daughter Lydia sassy which assimilates too well. "Peplum" or how to avoid the burn out in a declining society. The parallel with today can not be a coincidence.
Acting
Lambert's unhinged Maximus steals every chaotic scene.
Writing
Modern office speak in togas hits harder than it should.
Production
Glossy peplum aesthetics undercut by domestic farce.
Creators
Laurent Zeitoun, Thierry Ardisson, Alain Kappauf, Fabien Rault
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Thierry Ardisson, creator and legendary French TV host, rarely writes fiction — this was his peplum passion project.
The title winks at 'peplum,' the French term for sword-and-sandal epics — here, the genre collapses under middle-management stress.
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