'Spartacus' to exit arena after third season

Starz

Liam McIntyre in "Spartacus: Vengeance"

By Randee Dawn

The swords-and-sandals "Spartacus" epic will end its run on Starz after its third season, showrunner Steven S. DeKnight has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.?

"Spartacus" was the network's first original scripted drama developed in-house, and brought in big ratings -- THR notes that its most recent season averaged more than 6 million viewers each week, and the series airs in 150 countries around the world. "Spartacus" even did better in its second season, despite the loss of original lead actor Andy Whitfield to cancer. He was replaced by Liam McIntyre.?

"It's a bit unheard of to end a show when it's doing better than ever," DeKnight admitted. "How long do you run a show? Do you run it until you can squeeze every last bit of revenue out of it, or do you end it on a high note? That was part of the decision to wrap up the show."

The third and final season, "Spartacus: War of the Damned," will start airing the first of its final 10 episodes in January 2013.?

Are you sorry that "Spartacus" is heading into its last roundup? Let us know what you think on our Facebook page!

Also in The Clicker:

mark kirk drew peterson florida gop debate freddie mac kristin cavallari jay cutler oscar nominations