Lucy Lawless Sets ‘Spartacus’ Return As Lucretia In Starz’s ‘House Of Ashur’

EXCLUSIVE: Starz‘s return to the Spartacus universe with House of Ashur poses the question: What if Ashur (Nick Tarabay) hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance and instead was gifted Batiatus’s Ludus in return for helping to kill Spartacus and end the slave rebellion?

The answer will arrive in the premiere episode via OG Queen Bee Lucretia, as Lucy Lawless sets her return in a guest-starring role “elevating” all that’s around her. Her appearance will be instrumental in setting up the “what if” alternate timeline.

In addition to Tarabay, the series will also star Graham McTavish, Tenika Davis, Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Jordi Webber, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith and Leigh Gill.

Spartacus creator, writer and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight returns to the franchise he helped create as showrunner and executive producer of Spartacus: House of Asher, a new original series Starz describes as a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit.”

Lawless debuted as Lucretia, wife of Batiatus (John Hannah) and overall badass in her own right, in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. She reprised the role in the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. As beloved as she is for her performance in the Spartacus franchise, she is best known for her work in Xena: Warrior Princess starring in the titular role.

She recently made her directorial debut with the documentary Never Look Away, which premiered at Sundance 2024 (an official selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition) and was a SXSW 2024 official selection.

Lawless can currently be seen as the lead of the Australian series My Life is Murder which is airing its fourth season this summer. Recently she starred in the Starz comedy horror Ash vs Evil Dead, the Evil Dead spinoff. The series reunited Lawless with her Xena: Warrior Princess co-star Bruce Campbell, and the show’s producer Sam Raimi, whom she also worked with on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. She also starred in the animated feature film Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Her other past TV work includes Flight of the Conchords, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Code, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The L Word, CSI: Miami and The X-Files.

She is repped by IAG.