Spartacus Saga: Uncut Coming to Starz October 26th

This past January, Spartacus ended its run with an emotional finale that tied together the legend of the Thracian gladiator following three seasons and a prequel. It was a fitting end to the saga of the slave uprising and the savage battles with Rome, but just because the series is over doesn’t mean that it’s the end of Spartacus. Starz has announced that every episode of the series will be repeating on the network beginning Saturday, October 26th, only this time, the episodes will be extended and uncut – more footage, more sex, and more blood. However, there’s no word about the airing schedule – how many episodes will air per day/week, how long the reairs will go on, etc.

It makes sense for Starz to bring back the series in some capacity, considering it’s far and away the most successful scripted series in network history. What’s curious about the announcement, though, is that aside from the fact this reair comes less than two months following the final season DVD release, the show isn’t being used to help launch a scripted original. Currently, Spartacus will be airing on the same night as international acquisition Dancing on the Edge, a miniseries taking place in the 1930s and following a jazz band. Considering that the network has had trouble in launching shows in the last couple of years, with the likes of Boss and Magic City garnering small ratings and little critical attention, it might have been wiser to use Spartacus to help Black Sails get off the ground or prevent the second season of early renewal Da Vinci’s Demons from collapsing in the ratings.

All four parts of the Spartacus saga are currently available on DVD.

Will you be watching the extended uncut Spartacus repeats? Should more networks be doing this with their acclaimed series? Do you think that Spartacus should have gotten another season or were you happy with how War of the Damned turned out?