Domina (TV series)

Domina is a British-Italian historical drama television series created and principally written by Simon Burke for Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK). Starring Kasia Smutniak as Livia Drusilla, it examines the power struggles of Ancient Rome from a female perspective. The series premiered on 14 May 2021 in Italy and the UK. MGM+ renewed Domina for a second series, which premiered on 9 July 2023 in the United States. In April 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Premise
The series charts the life and rise of Livia Drusilla, the powerful wife of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar.

Guests

 * Alana Boden as Porcia

Production
Written by Simon Burke, the lead director is Australian filmmaker Claire McCarthy. Filming for Domina resumed at the Cinecittà studios in Rome in July 2020 following delays from the initial start in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show's title comes from the female version of 'Dominus', the Ancient Roman title for sovereignty, and from which the word 'dominate' originates. As pointed out by Nicola Maccanico (executive vice president of programming, Sky Italia), Domina is an international production with strong Italian roots. Ancient Rome is brought back to life, bringing together at Cinecittà the great international artistic values and the best Italian talents in the sector: the costumes were designed by Gabriella Pescucci, the production design is by Luca Tranchino.

In February 2022, Epix (later renamed MGM+) renewed the show for a second series.

In April 2024, it was reported that the series had been canceled after two series.

Broadcast
The series was released in its entirety on 14 May 2021 on Sky Box Sets and NOW in Italy and the UK. It premiered on television the same day on Sky Atlantic (Italy) and Sky Atlantic (UK).

In the United States, the series premiered on 6 June 2021 on Epix. In Australia, the series is streamed on the service Stan.

The second series premiered on 9 July 2023 on MGM+ in the US, on 10 July in Australia, and on 8 September in Italy and the UK.

Reception
The series has received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews, with an average score of 6.7/10. Suzi Feay in the Financial Times dubbed the series "Game of Romans". Historian Tom Holland in The Times agreed that "The echoes of Game of Thrones in the first two episodes are strong, and surely deliberate...the rest of the series approximates more closely to a political thriller". Holland praised the show "the meat of the show is so enjoyably done that the odd anachronism hardly matters. The 20s BC, sandwiched between the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra and the maturity of Augustus, have never before been the subject of popular drama, but Domina demonstrates to brilliant effect how unjustly neglected they have been... Part of the fun of the series is seeing characters who became significant players in the later decades of Augustus's life as teenagers".