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Role: Suhad
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Canada
Language: English
Release Date: July 19, 2015 (USA)
Network: Spike
Running Time: 4h 30min
Number of Episodes: 3
Directed by: David Von Ancken
Written by: Bradley Bredeweg, Peter Paige, Michael Vickerman
Produced by: Guy Jon Louthan, Irene Litinski
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Avan Jogia, Sibylla Deen, Alexander Siddig, Kylie Bunbury, Peter Gadiot, Iddo Goldberg, Nonso Anozie, Alistair, Steve Toussaint, Kaizer Akhtar, ...
This is the story of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutanchamun, one of the most renowned leaders in human history. This ambitious special-event series tells the story of Tut's rise to power and his struggle to lead Egypt to glory, while his closest advisors, friends and lovers scheme for their own nefarious interests. "Tut" opens up a fascinating window into a world filled with heart-breaking romance, epic battles, political backstabbing, conspiracy, jealousy, and even murder - proving his world was not far removed from our own - and that his reign as the youngest Egyptian king played out as a real-life drama for the ages.

Character

Suhad, a beautiful and endearing girl of Mitanni descent, who unknowingly saves Tutankhamun's life and develops a strong bond with the Pharaoh.

Episode Guide

PART ONE: POWER
In 1332 B.C., Egypt is the most powerful nation in the world, but it is plagued by internal strife. In the city of Thebes, Pharaoh Akhenaten has been poisoned by his most trusted servant. His nine year old son, Tutankhamun has to take his place as pharaoh, and so, is thrust into power at an early age. However, after showing mercy on several occasions, and having the Vizier Ay making important decisions for him, the people deem him weak. He is forced to marry his sister Ankhesenamun to keep the bloodline pure as his closest friend Ka lusts for her. Ten years into his reign, teenage Tut finds the country in economic turmoil and crops ruined by drought. He is also determined to gain control of his kingdom after being conspired against by the power-hungry Ay and having been left for dead by General Horemheb during a battle with the Mitanni.

PART TWO: BETRAYAL
After finding Tutankhamun wounded on the battlefield, a beautiful half Mitanni half Egyptian girl, Suhad rescues him from his own people and nurses him back to health. Betrayed by his inner circle, Tut along with the loyal Lagos and Suhad return to Thebes at the moment Ankhesenamun tries to marry the traitorous Ka, but Tut stabs and kills his former friend just as he's about to be crowned the new pharaoh. It is announced by high priest Amun he has "risen from the dead", turning the boy-king into a powerful pharaoh. Tutankhamun must use his new power to deal with a deadly plague spreading through his kingdom all while his enemies continue their plot to conquer Egypt. Also, Tut's friendship with Suhad blossoms into an intimate relationship, which makes Ankhesenamun jealous, especially after both women wind up pregnant.

PART THREE: DESTINY
Tutankhamun invites Tushtratta to the palace for a peace offering, but after the Mitanni king declines it, Tut leads his plague-weakened army in a sneak attack through a secret entrance to the enemy's capitol. Meanwhile, as the young pharaoh is away, Amun leads a revolt against him and orders his priests to kill the king so he can save Egypt from the worship of Aten. After knowing about the assassination Suhad is put in danger and Ankhesenamun kills her. During the attack Prince Tis'ata (Tushratta's son) breaks Tut's leg and instead of tending to his injury, Tut returns to Thebes to destroy the last of his enemies. He conspires with General Horemheb, Ay and Nakht to kill Amun during the festival of Ra at the temple. With the love of his life dead by his own sister and infection setting in, Tut's homecoming is filled with sadness. On his deathbed, Tut makes amends with Ay and Ankhesenamun, who both reassure him he will be remembered for all eternity as a powerful ruler. However, Ay sees that Tut is buried in a lesser tomb meant for one who will never be known, thus remaining undiscovered for over 3,000 years.

Production & Reception

Tut was first announced by Spike in May 2014. The miniseries marks a return by the network towards scripted programming, and in particular, "event" series that cater to a "balanced" audience (in contrast to the remainder of Spike's programming at the time, which has typically skewed towards a male audience). Such event series have also been recently popular among other networks, such as History. Tut is produced by Muse Entertainment, best known for its other miniseries The Kennedys and The Pillars of the Earth.

FILMING
The mini series was filmed in Morocco in from September 2014 to December 2014.

CRITICAL RESPONSE
The series has garnered mixed reviews, with a 46% rating on review aggregator Metacritic and 37% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Brian Lowery of Variety writes, "King Tutankhamun left behind a treasure trove of trinkets, but his nickname is all that's really required to serve as the cornerstone for Tut, the miniseries that unearths the Boy King in order to turn his short life into historical melodrama. Featuring Ben Kingsley as Tut's scheming vizier, surrounded by young actors often photographed as if this were a shampoo commercial, there are modest pleasures relating to the various palace intrigues, but only marginal momentum to drag an audience across three nights, provided they know enough about history to realize the title character won't be available for a sequel."

Robert Bianco of USA Today exclaims, "Tut miniseries is overstuffed melodrama." While, Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter writes, "Spike network's three-night miniseries about the Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun inspires no devotion."

HOME MEDIA
Paramount Home Entertainment released TUT on DVD and Blu-ray on October 6, 2015. The following special features are included:

History Revealed
The Costumes of Tut
Unmasking The Legend: The Making of Tut

Promotion & Press

Spike released the first teaser on March 1, 2015. On June 3, 2015 the first trailer with scenes of the mini series was released. View both trailer below.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Kylie and the cast attended a special celebration for TUT, hosted by Vanity Fair and Spike, on July 8, 2015 at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, California.

LOOK
Kylie wore a HERVE LEGER baby pink turtleneck dress. She opted for holographic peep-toe heels . Her eye make-up was kept simple and her lips were painted in a beautiful berry shade.

Trivia

Kylie Bunbury and Avan Jogia starred together in TWISTED.