"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" - different gladiator, same sex and violence. Starz' deliciously decadent"”salacious, violent, often flat-out brutal"”"Spartacus: Blood and Sand" recently went on extended hiatus, leaving its legions of loyal fans "jonesing" for their weekly doses of decapitation and bare breasts. The Spartacus team satisfied fans' craving with "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," a six-episode prequel to the continuing saga of Batiatus and Associates. Starting with a flashback montage of "Blood and Sand's" greatest hits, more precisely Batiatus's life flashing before his eyes in the moment before his death, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" shows Batiatus's rise to prominence and power with the assistance and support of his all-pro gladiator Gannicus. Because these stories represent "a more ruthless time"¦where honor was just finding its way into the arena," the writers and producers feel free to elaborate and experiment with their already-established characters, and they feel similar artistic license with super-slow-motion gore and fun-fantasy sex. They clearly are perfecting their craft. One particularly insightful viewer concluded his review of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" with a sage observation: "I think that's one of the smart decisions putting it on a Friday night since it's an ideal end of the work week thing to watch."

An American crime drama, The Killing is based on a Danish television program titled Forbrydelsen which means The Crime. American writers say they used the original as a "blue print" but gave it a distinctly Americanized flair with characters that will be more appealing to the viewing audience. The setting for The Killing is Seattle, Washington and the show revolves around police investigators and their daily work load. Each episode will center on one day of an investigation into the homicide of a small girl and follows along with the investigating officers as they track down clues and work to solve the case before the trail runs cold. A dark show, The Killing is brutally honest in many respects regarding the why's and how's of a murder. The police deal with brutality and mayhem but never get used to it entirely. Cast members include Mireille Enos as detective Sarah Linden, Billy Campbell as politician running for Mayor of Seattle Darren Richmond, Michelle Forbes portrays Mitch Larsen (mother of the murdered girl Rosie), Brent Sexton as Stan Larsen (father of Rosie), and Joel Kinnaman who plays the part of Stephen Holder, Sarah Linden's partner and fellow detective

Take a set of twin sisters who've been at odds for many years. Add in the fact that one of them suddenly disappears. And then show that one of them is full of mystery and intrigue, and on the run from some mysterious mob. Here we have Siobhan and Bridget. Two sisters who have been living apart and out of touch for the past eight years, with one taking a road that winds up leading her onto a path that is unsafe and definitely different from the norm that her twin has followed. When the two sisters take a boat trip Siobhan suddenly disappears overboard. Now Siobhan discovers her twin Bridgit has been leading a double life and hers will never again be the same. Siobhan is attacked by some evil men who evidently are part of the mob when she stays in her sister, Bridgit's house. So did one of the twins really die or simply disappear to avoid the mob? Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scooby-Doo) stars as both twins and she has her hands full when she discovers her twin was leading a life full of mystery and fear. Nestor Carbonell (Smokin' Aces, The Dark Knight) is FBI agent Victor Machado who finds his job of keeping Bridget safe a dangerous one. Action packed with top quality writing and actors.

Succession is a television show that premiered in 2018 on HBO. It follows the fictional Roy family, a wealthy and powerful media conglomerate family, as they navigate the complexities of family dynamics and corporate power struggles. The patriarch of the family, Logan Roy, is the CEO of the company and is faced with the decision of who will succeed him as leader.

Arguably the best medical drama in television history, House thrives on genius writing and equally brilliant acting. Set in a teaching hospital at Princeton University, the show builds its plots around complicated, complex, elusive, credulity-straining diseases and a team of diagnosticians willing to move heaven and earth to find their causes and treatments. Long-time House fans eventually demystify the show’s dramatic formula, which devotes the first third to diagnosis and discovery, the middle third to trial and which seem to lead to a cure, and then the climactic ending which undoes all the drama of the first two thirds, curing the disease by revealing The Truth. Hugh Laurie plays Dr. Gregory House to perfection, sustaining the tension and contradiction between House’s arrogance and his irresistible compulsion to save people from their illnesses and often from themselves. One Los Angeles television writer sums-up, “A vicodin-popping, wise-cracking, gimp-guy who walks with his cane on the wrong side while he demystifies illnesses so bizarre they almost defy imagining—what’s not to like?”

"The Newsroom" is an American television series created by Aaron Sorkin. It aired on HBO from 2012 to 2014 and follows the behind-the-scenes workings of a fictional cable news network, ACN.