A sequel to hit historical drama series ‘Spartacus’ is in development, with Steven S. DeKnight, who created the original series, serving as showrunner and executive producer. ‘Spartacus’ was inspired by the story of the gladiator of the same name who incited a massive slave rebellion against Rome in the year 73 BC. Per the logline, the sequel series will be set after the defeat of Spartacus and his revolution, depicting “a new tale of treachery, deceit and blood unfolding beneath the foreboding shadow of Rome.”

The original show debuted in 2010, with Season 1 carrying the title ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’. Starz then debuted a prequel limited series, ‘Spartacus: Gods of the Arena’ in 2011, before producing two more seasons of the flagship titled ‘Vengeance’ (2012) and ‘War of the Damned’ (2013).

The sequel series will be produced by Lionsgate Television.

A live-action adaptation of PlayStation’s hit video game franchise ‘God of War’ has been ordered to series at Amazon’s Prime Video, with ‘Wheel of Time’ boss Rafe Judkins set as showrunner. Based on the massively popular 2018 video game, the show follows Kratos, the God of War, who, after exiling himself from his blood-soaked past in ancient Greece, hangs up his weapons forever in the Norse realm of Midgard, per Amazon’s description. When his beloved wife dies, Kratos sets off on a dangerous journey with his estranged son Atreus to spread her ashes from the highest peak — his wife’s final wish. Kratos soon realizes the journey is an epic quest in disguise, one which will test the bonds between father and son, and force Kratos to battle new gods and monsters for the fate of the world.

“‘God of War’ is a compelling, character-driven franchise that we believe will captivate our global customers as much with its expansive and immersive worlds as its rich storytelling,” Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, said. “We are honored to share in the adventure of exploring the God of War mythology in such a momentous way with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Santa Monica Studio.”

The ‘God of War’ TV series marks the latest show based on a video game that is either in the works or in production, including Amazon’s ‘Fallout’ adaptation from ‘Westworld’ creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ (based on another PlayStation property), Paramount+’s ‘Halo’, the Anthony Mackie-led ‘Twisted Metal’ at Peacock, among others.

“We are so proud and excited to be working with our friends at Amazon Studios and our partners at PlayStation Productions to adapt this beautiful and heart-breaking game into a premium live-action series,” Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, said.”

A sequel to the 2018 ‘God of War’ game, titled ‘God of War: Ragnarok’, was just released last month. At last week’s Game Awards, it won for best narrative, action/adventure game, score/music, audio design, performance for Kratos actor Christopher Judge and innovation in accessibility.

It has been confirmed that Netflix hit show ‘The Crown’ suspended production on Friday in honour of the Queen’s death. It is currently in the middle of shooting its sixth and reportedly final season. “As a mark of respect, filming on ‘The Crown’ was suspended today,” a Netflix source confirmed. “Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral.”

‘The Crown’ is about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the events that shaped it. The monarch, who ascended the throne in 1952, was the world’s oldest reigning monarch at age 96. She died surrounded by her family at Balmoral, her palace in the Scottish Highlands, the family announced on Thursday. Her eldest son, King Charles III, succeeds her.

Peter Morgan, writer of the Emmy-winning drama, said that the series is “a love letter to her.”

Her death comes ahead of Season 5 of the Netflix show, which is set to premiere in November and feature a new cast. Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip, Dominic West will star as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki stars at Princess Diana. Olivia Williams has been cast as Camilla Parker Bowles and Jonny Lee Miller will appear as Prime Minister John Major.

Although the details have been kept quiet, the season will seemingly focus on the 1990s, leading up to Diana’s death in 1997. Season 6 recently cast 16-year-old Rufus Kampa as Prince Harry and 21-year-old Ed McVey as Prince William, hinting that the season will explore the aftermath of Diana’s death and the boys’ lives in the early 2000s.

Although Queen Elizabeth II never spoke publicly about ‘The Crown’, Claire Foy, who played her in 2016’s first season of the show, stated one year later that she “would hate the idea of her watching it.”

“When you’re playing a real person, you never want to be ghoulish,” she told Town & Country at the time. “I don’t want to pick apart a person. I want to invent someone. So, I would hate for her to watch it and think I overdramatized anything.”

Following the death, Peter Morgan, writer of the Emmy-winning drama, said that the series is “a love letter to her.” He wrote that “[The Crown] is a love letter to her and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.”

Netflix have long had plans in place should Queen Elizabeth die during its run.

‘The Crown’ has had three actresses who have portrayed the Queen: Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton, whose reign is due to start on Netflix in November.