Troy: Fall of a City – Reviews, Cast, Accuracy & Worth Watching

When Netflix dropped an eight-episode retelling of the Trojan War in 2018, the ancient tale of gods, warriors, and a city doomed by love and pride found itself at the center of a modern culture war. Critics praised its mythic faithfulness even as audiences panned it to a 4.0/10 on IMDb, raising the question: what really happened inside the walls of this contentious production—and should you spend ten hours inside them yourself?

Streaming platform: Netflix ·
Original release year: 2018 ·
Number of episodes: 8 ·
Episode runtime: 50–60 minutes ·
IMDb rating: 4.0/10 (as of 2025)

Six key facts, one pattern: the series sits in an uncomfortable middle ground—too mythologically faithful for general audiences, not faithful enough for purists.

Is Troy: Fall of a City Good?

Audience vs. critic reception

• IMDb rating: 4.0/10 from over 14,000 votes (Wikipedia (series page))
• Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 68% approval from 25 reviews, average 6/10 (Rotten Tomatoes (aggregator))
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score is significantly lower, around 30% (Rotten Tomatoes (aggregator))

The gap between the critic consensus—which called it a drama that “doesn’t reinvent the genre but succeeds with royal and divine intrigue” (Rotten Tomatoes (critic consensus))—and the audience score is a 38-percentage-point canyon. That split tells a story of mismatched expectations, not objective quality.

Strengths of the series

• Several critics called it “the most faithful version of the Homeric saga” they had seen (Concerning History (review))
• Louis Hunter’s performance as Paris was singled out for praise (Wikipedia (series page))
• The series preserves many story elements from the Iliad and related myths, including the roles of the gods (Concerning History (review))

The implication: Troy: Fall of a City succeeds at being a faithful adaptation of Homer—and fails completely at being the 300-style action epic that Netflix’s marketing may have suggested.

Is Troy: Fall of a City a True Story?

Historical accuracy of the Trojan War

• The series draws heavily from Homer’s Iliad, not from verifiable history (Newsweek (analysis))
• Scholarly consensus supports the idea that Troy (at Hisarlik) was destroyed by war, but the extent to which Homer’s narrative reflects reality remains uncertain (Newsweek (analysis))
• Heinrich Schliemann’s 1870s excavations identified the archaeological site, but no evidence confirms a Trojan Horse or a ten-year siege (Wikipedia (series page))

Differences from Homer’s Iliad

• The series is described as “an original take on Greek myths” rather than a direct adaptation of Homer (Wikipedia (series overview))
• It omits certain material, such as the catalog of ships, but preserves many core Iliad story elements (Concerning History (review))
• The series adds mythological elements—gods appearing as characters, prophecies, divine intervention—that are drawn from Homer but presented as literal plot events (Newsweek (analysis))

Why this matters: the series’ faithfulness to myth over history created confusion. Many complaints about “historical inaccuracy” actually targeted the inclusion of mythological elements that were, in fact, true to the source material.

“The strongest public controversy centered on the casting of Black actors as Zeus, Achilles, Patroclus, and other figures in a story set in the Bronze Age Mediterranean.”

— Society for Classical Studies (academic body), blog post on the series

Why Is Achilles Black in Troy: Fall of a City?

Casting decision explanation

• British actor David Gyasi was cast as Achilles (Wikipedia (cast list))
• The series used “color-blind casting” for several roles, including Black actors for Zeus, Achilles, and Patroclus (Society for Classical Studies (blog))
• Showrunner David Farr explained the casting was intended to reflect diversity, not to make a historical claim about Bronze Age demographics (Newsweek (analysis))

Historical context of ancient Greece

• Ancient Greek ethnic diversity is debated among historians; there is evidence of contact with Africa and the Near East (Newsweek (analysis))
• The controversy became the most dominant public discussion about the series, far overshadowing reviews or plot analysis (Society for Classical Studies (blog))
• Some critics argued that the casting decision was defensible artistically, but that the show’s dialogue and pacing were the real weaknesses (Ancient World Magazine (review))

The pattern: a BBC News (cultural coverage) firestorm over race became the story, allowing deeper problems with pacing and dialogue to escape scrutiny. The casting controversy acted as a lightning rod—and a distraction.

Why Did Critics Hate Troy: Fall of a City?

Common criticisms in reviews

• Ancient World Magazine called it “dull” and “a complete disappointment” (Ancient World Magazine (review))
• The Sunday Times‘ Camilla Long compared it unfavorably to classical tragedy and mocked its modernized tone (Wikipedia (series page))
• Retrospect Journal noted objections to characterizations, plot inconsistencies, and the explicit relationship between Achilles and Patroclus (Retrospect Journal (review))

Positive critiques

• Metacritic score of approximately 60/100, indicating mixed to positive critical reception (Wikipedia (series page))
• The Guardian‘s Euan Ferguson praised its faithfulness to the original myths (Wikipedia (series page))
• The Independent‘s Jacob Stolworthy praised the alterations to the myths and Hunter’s performance as Paris (Wikipedia (series page))

“The series was disappointing despite making real effort to stay faithful to the original material.”

— An Historian Goes to the Movies (academic blog), review of the series

“One review described the show as the most faithful version of the Homeric saga the reviewer had ever watched.”

— Concerning History (historical analysis), review

The trade-off: a series can be the most faithful adaptation ever made and still fail as entertainment. Faithfulness is not quality—it’s a design choice that comes with consequences for pacing, tone, and audience expectation.

Is the Troy Series Worth Watching?

Who might enjoy the series

• Mythology enthusiasts who want to see the Iliad dramatized as written, including the involvement of the gods (Concerning History (review))
• Students of classical literature looking for a visual companion to Homer’s text (Newsweek (analysis))
• Viewers who appreciate slow-burn political drama over action sequences (Rotten Tomatoes (critic consensus))

Alternatives to consider

• The 2004 film Troy starring Brad Pitt offers a more accessible, action-driven take on the same story (Wikipedia (series page))
• For a purist’s approach: read the Iliad translation by Robert Fagles or Emily Wilson (Newsweek (analysis))

For the viewer trying to decide tonight: the series is worth watching only if your primary interest is seeing Homer’s mythological framework visualized. If you came for the Trojan Horse or Achilles’ rage as an action set piece, you’ll leave disappointed.

Timeline: Troy: Fall of a City in Context

• c. 750–700 BC: Homer composes the Iliad, the epic poem that inspired the series (Wikipedia (series page))
• 1870s: Heinrich Schliemann excavates Troy, identifying the archaeological site at Hisarlik (Newsweek (analysis))
• 2004: Release of the film Troy starring Brad Pitt, a loose adaptation of the Iliad (Wikipedia (series page))
• February 17, 2018: Premiere of Troy: Fall of a City on BBC One and later Netflix (Wikipedia (series page))
• 2018–2019: Series ends after one season; no second season commissioned (Wikipedia (series page))

The pattern: each iteration of the Trojan War story—Homer, Schliemann’s archaeology, the 2004 film, and this series—reflects the values and debates of its own era more than it reveals the Bronze Age. Troy: Fall of a City becomes a document of 2018’s own cultural tensions around race, gender, and authenticity.

The catch: the series satisfied neither the audience looking for spectacle nor the purists looking for a flawless adaptation, yet it remains the most text-faithful visual version of Homer’s tale ever produced.

Conclusion

Troy: Fall of a City is a fascinating failure—a series that achieved exactly what it set out to do (faithfully adapt Homeric myth) and was punished for it by an audience expecting something else. The casting controversy was a symptom, not the cause: the real disease was a mismatch between mythological faithfulness and mainstream entertainment expectations. For the viewer sitting at home in New Zealand or anywhere else, the series delivers exactly what it promises: a dramatized reading of the Iliad – and that is precisely why it disappointed so many.

For a comprehensive overview of the cast and production details, check out this guide to Troy: Fall of a City.

Frequently asked questions

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