Television has a weird obsession with Rome. We’ve seen the gladiator pits a thousand times and we’ve watched Caesar get stabbed in high definition more than anyone probably needs to. But Gaia, the sweeping new series co-produced by Cinecittà and international partners, is trying something actually different. It isn't just another sword-and-sandals romp with British actors in togas. It’s an origin story that leans into the gritty, mythological, and frankly bizarre roots of the Eternal City.
The show basically wants to be the definitive "Pre-Republic" drama. We're talking about the era of kings, the transition from mud huts on the Palatine Hill to a Mediterranean superpower, and the sheer brutality of survival in 8th-century BCE Italy. If you're looking for the clean white marble of the later Empire, you’re in the wrong place. This is leather, dirt, and iron.
What is Gaia Really About?
Most people think they know how Rome started. Romulus and Remus, a wolf, a wall, a murder. Simple, right? Gaia complicates that narrative. It focuses on the cultural melting pot of the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. The show creators—including some of the creative DNA behind heavy hitters like Romulus and Domina—are digging into the "Gaia" figure not just as a person, but as a representation of the land itself.
The series follows a group of outcasts. These aren't the high-born senators we usually see. They're shepherds and fugitives. They're people who have been pushed out of the established Etruscan city-states and find themselves huddled together by the Tiber. Honestly, it feels more like a Western than a traditional historical epic. There’s this constant sense of peril. One bad harvest or one raid from a neighboring tribe and the entire "dream" of Rome is snuffed out before it even starts.
You’ve got to appreciate the production design here. They aren't using CGI for everything. The crew built massive, historically accurate huts and temple structures that look more like something out of a tribal settlement in Northern Europe than the Rome we see in Gladiator. It’s a jarring aesthetic. It’s supposed to be.
The Problem With "Historical Accuracy" in Gaia
Let’s be real for a second. Writing a script for the 8th century BCE is a nightmare. Why? Because the Romans didn’t start writing their own history down until hundreds of years later. Most of what we "know" about the founding of Rome comes from Livy or Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who were basically writing propaganda for the emperors.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
The Gaia TV series navigates this by blending hard archaeology with the supernatural elements that the ancients actually believed in. To a person living in 750 BCE, a flight of birds wasn't just biology—it was a message from the gods. The show treats these omens as reality. It doesn't wink at the camera. If a character sees a sign in the entrails of a sacrificed goat, the show plays it straight because that’s how that world functioned.
The Cast and Creative Vision
The casting is an interesting mix. You won't find many A-list Hollywood faces here, which is actually a blessing. It makes the world feel more immersive. Instead, the production leaned heavily on Italian and European talent, ensuring the language and physicality feel "local."
- Director of Photography: There’s a heavy emphasis on natural light. Think The Revenant but in the Italian marshes.
- Language: While the primary release is in English or Italian (depending on your region), there’s a lot of "Archaic Latin" used in ceremonies. It sounds guttural. It sounds old.
- Costumes: Forget the purple robes. Think wool, linen, and bronze. Everything looks heavy and itchy.
Why Gaia Stands Out Among Other Roman Shows
We’ve had Rome on HBO. We’ve had Spartacus on Starz. Those were great, but they were very much products of their time—lots of political maneuvering in the Senate or stylized slow-motion blood. Gaia is much more interested in the spiritual and social construction of a society. How do you convince people from different tribes to stop killing each other and start building a city together?
It’s about the "Gaia" principle—the connection to the earth. In an era where we are obsessed with our own environmental impact, a show about the primal struggle to tame a landscape feels weirdly timely. The Tiber River isn't just a backdrop; it’s a character. It floods, it brings disease, it provides trade, and it demands sacrifice.
The pacing is also... different. It’s slow-burn. If you’re looking for a battle every ten minutes, you might get impatient. It spends a lot of time on the rituals. There’s a scene early on involving the boundary lines of the new settlement that takes its time to show the weight of what’s being done. They are drawing a line in the dirt that will eventually divide the world.
🔗 Read more: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
Historical Context: Fact vs. Fiction in the Series
Since the show is gaining traction, the "well, actually" crowd is out in full force. Here is the reality of what Gaia gets right and where it takes some creative liberties for the sake of drama:
- The Role of Women: In many Roman stories, women are relegated to the background or "scheming wives." Gaia places female agency at the center, particularly regarding the Vestal traditions and the influence of the Sabine women. It’s not "girl boss" revisionism; it’s an acknowledgement that early Roman society was built on the integration of families and religious lineages.
- The Etruscan Influence: People forget that the Etruscans were the "big dogs" of Italy at the time. They were sophisticated, wealthy, and probably looked at the early Romans like they were a bunch of dirt farmers. The show captures this power dynamic perfectly.
- The Violence: It’s not "movie violence." It’s messy. Bronze swords don't cut like steel. They’re heavy and they blunt easily. The combat reflects the exhaustion of primitive warfare.
The creators worked with historians who specialize in "Iron Age Italy." They looked at post-hole layouts from the Palatine Hill excavations. They looked at the dental records of skeletons from that era to see what people were actually eating (mostly grains and the occasional bit of pork). This level of detail is what makes Gaia feel like a time machine rather than a film set.
What You Should Watch Before Starting Gaia
If you want to fully appreciate the nuances of the Gaia TV series, you shouldn't just watch more TV. You should look at the sources. You don't need a PhD, but having a surface-level understanding of the "Ab Urbe Condita" (the founding of the city) helps.
Check out the early chapters of Livy’s History of Rome. It’s full of ghost stories, divine interventions, and weird portents. That is the "vibe" the show is chasing. If you prefer screens, the 2019 film The First King (Il Primo Re) is basically a spiritual predecessor to this show. It’s shot in natural light and uses a reconstructed version of Old Latin. It’s brutal and beautiful, and it clearly influenced the visual language of Gaia.
The Future of the Franchise
Is there room for a Season 2? Absolutely. The founding of Rome isn't a single event; it’s a decades-long process of consolidation. The first season barely scratches the surface of the first King's reign. There are six more kings to go before we even get to the Republic.
💡 You might also like: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
The producers have hinted that they want to expand the scope to show the rise of other Italian city-states like Alba Longa. The goal is to create a "Mediterranean Cinematic Universe" that isn't focused on superheroes, but on the actual, messy, bloody birth of Western civilization.
How to Get the Most Out of Gaia
To really "get" this show, you have to stop comparing it to Game of Thrones. It isn't trying to be a fantasy. It’s trying to be a myth. There’s a difference. Myth is what happens when history and memory get tangled up together over a thousand years.
When you watch Gaia, pay attention to the silence. The show uses the Italian landscape—the rolling hills of Lazio, the dense forests, the misty mornings—to tell the story. It’s a very "tactile" viewing experience. You can almost smell the woodsmoke.
Actionable Insights for the History Fan
- Visit the Source: If you’re ever in Rome, skip the Colosseum for a morning and go to the Palatine Hill. Look for the "Huts of Romulus" (Casa Romuli). Seeing the actual scale of where these people lived makes the TV show much more impressive.
- Broaden Your Reading: Pick up The Beginnings of Rome by T.J. Cornell. It’s the gold standard for understanding how Rome went from a village to a city. It will help you spot all the Easter eggs the writers dropped into the script.
- Watch in the Original Language: If your streaming service allows it, watch the version with the original Italian/Archaic Latin dialogue with subtitles. The cadence of the language fits the landscape better than standard English.
- Check the Credits: Look for the name of the archaeological consultants. Following their work on social media or through university journals often reveals the "behind the scenes" logic for why a certain temple looked a certain way or why a character wore a specific piece of jewelry.