Miniseries · BBC Two
I, Claudius
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Derek Jacobi
Claudius
12 eps
Margaret Tyzack
Antonia
8 eps
Brian Blessed
Augustus
5 eps
James Faulkner
Herod Agrippa
6 eps
Fiona Walker
Agrippina
4 eps
Kevin McNally
Castor
4 eps
Bernard Hepton
Pallas
3 eps
Sheila White
Messalina
3 eps
Patrick Stewart
Sejanus
4 eps
John Cater
Narcissus
3 eps
Frances White
Julia
2 eps
David Robb
Germanicus
3 eps
Ian Ogilvy
Drusus
1 eps
John Hurt
Caligula
5 eps
George Baker
Tiberius
9 eps
Siân Phillips
Livia
7 eps
Patricia Quinn
Livilla
4 eps
Kevin Stoney
Thrasyllus
3 eps
Jo Rowbottom
Calpurnia
2 eps
Moira Redmond
Domitia
2 eps
Sam Dastor
Cassius Chaerea
2 eps
Norman Eshley
Marcus Vinicius
2 eps
John Rhys-Davies
Macro
2 eps
John Castle
Postumus
2 eps
Anne Dyson
Briseis
2 eps
Bernard Hill
Gratus
2 eps
Renu Setna
Musa
1 eps
Sheila Ruskin
Vipsania
1 eps
Lockwood West
Senator
2 eps
Michael Hawkins
Rufus
1 eps
Christopher Guard
Marcellus
1 eps
John Paul
Agrippa
1 eps
Angela Morant
Octavia
1 eps
Carleton Hobbs
Aristarchus
1 eps
Guy Siner
Pylades
1 eps
Earl Rhodes
Gaius
1 eps
Freda Dowie
The Sibyl
3 eps
Patrick Drury
Courier
1 eps
Simon MacCorkindale
Lucius
1 eps
Katharine Levy
Livilla
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How I, Claudius actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
I, Claudius reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Serialized.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Acclaimed blackly comic historical drama series. Set amidst a web of power, corruption and lies, it chronicles the reigns of the Roman emperors - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and finally Claudius.
The run
Seasons
1 season · 12 episodes.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E05 · Signature episode
Some Justice
As Augustus learned of Livia's plot against Postumus, she took action which resulted in Tiberius becoming emperor. The situation in the East now threatens Tiberius's position.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E04 · Signature episode
Poison is Queen
The Imperial Army on the Rhine has been wiped out and Tiberius sent to avenge the defeat, followed later by Germanicus. Livia has discredited Postumus, who has been banished. Augustus has been feeling unwell, but is avoiding suspicions of poisoning by eating figs from his own garden.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E01 · Signature episode
A Touch of Murder
Livia, the scheming wife of Augustus, seeks to disinherit her husband's grand-children in favour of her own son Tiberius.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E12 · Signature episode
Old King Log
Almost at the end of his family history, Claudius' thoughts turn to the future of Rome.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E02 · Signature episode
Waiting in the Wings
Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus plots against his daughter Julia and manages to convince him to bring her son Tiberius back from exile.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E08
Zeus, By Jove!
Claudius has high hopes of a return to a Republic when Caligula insanely proclaims himself a god and his sister a goddess... but Rome officially accepts his divinity.
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S00E05
Sir Derek Jacobi Remembers... I, Claudius
S00E01
I, Claudius – a Television Epic
S00E02
The Epic That Never Was
- Directed by Bill Duncalf
- Written by Bill Duncalf, Robert Graves
S01E12 · Signature episode
Old King Log
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
S01E11
A God in Colchester
- Directed by Herbert Wise
- Written by Jack Pulman
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Martin LisemoreProducer
Writing
- Jack PulmanWriter
Direction
- Herbert WiseDirector
Music
- Wilfred JosephsOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- Spectrum On DemandStreaming
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