Barbarians () is a 2020 German historical war drama television series created by Andreas Heckmann, Arne Nolting, and Jan Martin Scharf. It stars Laurence Rupp, Jeanne Goursaud, and David Schütter. The series is a fictionalized account of events during the Roman Empire's occupation of Germania, and the resulting rebellion of the Germanic tribes led by Arminius. The series was renewed for season 2 on November 10, 2020. It was released on Netflix on October 21, 2022.
Plot
The story takes place during the Roman occupation of Germania Magna (an area between the Rhine river and the Elbe) in the latter part of 9 AD. The Romans had occupied the region for twenty years, and the Germanic tribes are oppressed by the empire's heavy taxes and demands for tribute. Attempts to form a unified Germanic resistance are hampered by petty in-fighting between the tribal chieftains, and the selfish aspirations of certain tribesmen desiring peace with Rome.
Arminius, an eques in the Roman Imperial army, is a member of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who was given away as a hostage to Rome when he was a child, along with his younger brother Flavus, by his father Segimer to ensure peace between his tribe and Rome. He returns to Germania to help Publius Quinctilius Varus (his foster father) maintain order in the region. Upon seeing the atrocities inflicted by Roman soldiers on his former people, he becomes the new chieftain of the Cherusci tribe, and ignites a rebellion by finally uniting the tribes with the help of Thusnelda (daughter of Segestes) and Folkwin Wolfspeer, his two best friends during childhood. These events eventually culminate on the date of September 11, 9 AD in a massive ambush of three Roman legions (some 15,000 men) at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where the Germanic people emerge victorious. Faced with humiliating defeat and shocked by the treason of his adopted son, Varus commits suicide.
Cast
as Arminius (seasons 1-2) as Young Arminius (season 1) Benedikt Kalcher as Young Arminius (season 2) Jeanne Goursaud as Thusnelda (seasons 1-2) as Young Thusnelda (season 1) David Schütter as Folkwin Wolfspeer (seasons 1-2) Dániel Kaszás as Young Folkwin Wolfspeer (season 1) as Segimer, Arminius's father and reik of the Cherusci (season 1) as Segestes, Thusnelda's father (seasons 1-2) as Irmina, Thusnelda's mother (seasons 1-2) as Ansgar, Thusnelda's younger brother (seasons 1-2) as Wiborg, Folkwin's father (season 1) as Ida, Folkwin's mother (season 1) Mark Meran as Vegis, Folkwin's younger brother (season 1) Gaetano Aronica as Varus, Roman general and Arminius' foster father (season 1) Nikolai Kinski as Pelagios, Varus' interpreter (season 1) Valerio Morigi as Metellus, Roman centurion (season 1) as Quintus, Roman tribune (season 1) as Talio, Cheruscan warrior and friend of Arminius (seasons 1-2) Ronald Zehrfeld as Berulf, Cheruscan/Bructeri warrior and friend of Folkwin (season 1) Mathis Landwehr as Eigil, Cheruscan warrior (season 1) Sebastian Griegel as Hanno, Cheruscan warrior (season 1) as Luc, Cheruscan warrior (season 1) Urs Rechn as Kunolf, reik of the Bructeri (season 1) as Gernot Redbeard, reik of the Bructeri before Kunolf (season 1) as Golmad, reik of Bructeri after Kunolf (season 1) as Hadgan, reik of the Chatti and Thusnelda's bethroted (season 1-2?) Arved Birnbaum as Aldarich, reik of the Marsi (season 1) Denis Schmidt as Rurik, reik of a Germanic tribe (seasons 1-2) as Raskild, Marcomann slave (season 1) Sophie Rois as Runa, Germanic seeress (season 1) as Runa (season 2) as Flavus, Arminius' younger brother (season 2) Samuel Girardi as Young Flavus (season 2) Gabriele Rizzoli as Gaius, Arminius' son (season 2) Giovanni Carta as Tiberius, Roman general and Emperor Augustus' stepson (season 2) Alessandro Fella as Germanicus, Roman general and Tiberius' adopted son (season 2) as Marbod, reik of the Marcomanni (season 2) as Young Marbod (season 2) as Odarike, Marbod's wife (season 2) as Dido, former Carthaginian slave (season 2) Sofia Koval as Young Dido (season 2) as Dido's father (season 2) as Odvulf, Cheruscan warrior (season 2)
Production and background
The shooting took place in Budapest from August 12 to November 30, 2019. The series was produced by the German Gaumont GmbH, a subsidiary of the French Gaumont (producers Sabine de Mardt, Andreas Bareiss, and Ranier Marquass.)
