‘Apocalypse’ History-Series Turns To AI For Season On Roman Empire
Hit history doc-series Apocalypse is heading to antiquity for its next installment with a focus on the Battle of Actium which laid the foundations for the birth of the Roman Empire.
Mediawan label Imagissime is currently producing the new season in partnership with Mediawan Kids and Family. Thomas Marlier, whose recent credits include Secret Sardinia Mysteries of the Nuraghi and Fontainebleau, la vraie demeure des Rois, directs.
Titled Apocalypse Civilizations: Rome, it is the first show in the franchise exploring historical events outside of the 20th century.
It will combine historical, archaeological, and documentary research and AI technology to recreate the look and feel of original archival footage, which characterised the previous seasons, while preserving the immersive quality that defines the collection.
“Through an unprecedented alliance between historical research and artificial intelligence, the film resurrects antiquity with an unparalleled level of realism. Every face, every ship and every landscape is grounded in ancient sources, the latest archaeological discoveries, and the work of leading international specialists,” read a release announcing the show.
The Apocalypse franchise was originally created by CC&C, the production company of historians and documentarians Daniel Costelle and Isabelle Clarke with producer Louis Vaudeville, which was acquired in 2017 by Mediawan.
They launched the Apocalypse franchise with the 2009 series Apocalypse: The Second World War which was regarded as revolutionary at the time for its use of restored and colorized archive footage and use of big name narrators including Mathieu Kassovitz for France, and Martin Sheen for a U.S. version broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.
The franchise went on to explore World War One, Hitler, Stalin and D-Day among other topics. Shown on France Télévisions at home, the franchise has broadcast in 165 countries and viewed by over 100 million viewers over the years
Apocalypse Civilizations: Rome will take viewers to the heart of the Battle of Actium, a decisive turning point that saw the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire.
The synopsis reads: “ 31 BC. Rome rules the known world yet is collapsing from within. In the waters off Actium, two heirs to Caesar clash for control of an empire they once shared: Mark Antony, allied with Cleopatra, and Octavian. Out of this fratricidal war emerges a new political order that will shape the Western world for centuries.”
Founded in 2016 by Elodie Polo Ackerman, Paris-based Imagissime has produced documentaries for a host of platforms and broadcasters including Netflix (Outreau: A French Nightmare, The Florence Cassez Case); France Télévisions (Insoupçonnable, Féroces, Life on Marseille), ARTE (Gaialand, Yakuza), TF1 (Order of the Solar Temple: The Impossible Investigation), and CANAL+ (X contre Z).
