(Photo: still from YouTube 'TUT Official Trailer Featuring Sir Ben Kingsley')
Directed by David Von Ancken and shot in the Moroccan city of Ouarzazate, a miniseries called Tut aired for the first time on 19 July on US cable network Spike. It features Sir Ben Kingsley in the role of Ay, the Tut's vizier, alongside a cast of mainly young actors, including Avan Jogia (King Tut) and Sibylla Deen (Ankhe, Tut's half-sister).
Inspired by the story of the young Egyptian pharaoh, the three-part miniseries "explores the drama of power, political back-stabbing, war and murder and chronicles King Tut's rise to glory, his efforts to rule a chaotic empire and the enigma surrounding his death," reads the synopsis on IMDb.
The series recreates the Ancient Egypt imagery with a support of the computer enhanced technology while providing a story intertwined with thrill and melodrama.
The first episode brought a lot of positive feedback on social media, while Jogia engaged in a live Twitter conversation with his fans about the series, sharing with them his experiences from the shooting.
With viewers expressing their awe about the series, the Variety critic and TV columnist Brian Lowry wasn't equally enthusiastic. He called the series "pretty forgettable" and a story "filled with so much silliness that it’s difficult for the story to recover its bearings."
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