Each episode is better than the next. As an Ancient Roman (amateur) historian, this uses actual events to create a gripping narrative of the lives of the characters surrounding Livia Drusilla of the Claudii. Thie writing is as phenomenal as the acting. This cast is AMAZING! Edge-of-your-seat, non-stop intensity. This is officially my favorite show right now. Because of the plethora of instrumental characters with similar sounding names and appearances, sometimes it's difficult to keep track of who's who. This is the only reason I'm not giving this 10 stars. But each character is so engaging, and historically accurate.