Ancient Black Ops

From Ancient Greece to the frozen North, rulers have always needed their elite troops – men trained to perfection, skilled with a devastating array of weaponry – men who will track down their leader’s enemies and kill them. All assassination teams faced one big problem: getting close enough to kill. No one in the ancient world had sniper rifles. As a result even the most formidable Japanese Ninjas got captured and tortured. This series brings some of the most dramatic tales of antiquity to life with a mixture of dramatic reconstruction, documentary filming and expert testimony. Each episode details the intricate complexity of the elite troops who performed the assassination missions and how they worked. It shows what they had to do to achieve elite status, how they could dress, and the weapons they got to use when they completed their first mission.

Directed by —, Ancient Black Ops leans on a strong ensemble — Kumud Pant, Umit Ulgen, Murtaza Arif — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2014.