Spartacus: Vengeance Creator Steven S. DeKnight Answers Questions Live Right Now

Thanks for having me. Sorry I'm a bit late! Had technical problems on my side of the world!

I always say we may bend history but try never to break it. We actually stay closer to the known facts of Spartacus than most people think, but at the end of the day our Job 1 is to entertain the audience.

I love all my bastard children equally. I do tend to relate more to the villains, so Ashur, Lucretia, Ilithyia and the like are near and dear to my dark little heart. The character that comes closest to my inner monologue is definitely Batiatus. Our expletive-filled rants are very similar, except his are a wee more elegant.

Batiatus had a Devil's Double! Pure genius! Sadly no, Batiatus' run on the show is definitely over. But on the bright side, we got to enjoy John Hannah's amazing performance for an unexpected six more episodes in Gods of the Arena. The gods truly bless us (admittedly after a painful ramming).

Well none of it is ever REAL blood. That would be kinda gross. And present some dubious health issues. Surprising 99% of our blood is real fake blood, just like everybody in the entertainment industry uses. It's just how we use it on Spartacus that's a bit different. What we often do is fill balloons with our fake blood then film them at high speeds against a green screen getting sliced, poked, and exploded. We then take these blood elements and composite them into shots. We also do it the old fashioned way with tubing and pumps for those ridiculously awesome throat slashings.

I'm not at all squeamish when it comes to the violence on the show. In my younger years I wanted to be a special effects makeup artist, so to me watching this stuff is more akin to a musician admiring a beautiful composition. Although being a manly man, I of course squirmed when Segovax was castrated. Regarding decapitation, we actively try to find other ways to kill a person now since we have lopped off so many heads. Not to say we don't do some more lopping, but we do try to figure out different ways to portray our wonderful murder and mayhem. You'll see some really cool deaths in Vengeance, let me tell you.

No, originally my plan was to kill Lucretia along with Batiatus. Towards the end of season 1 Starz approached us asking if we could bring Lucy back. They were rightfully concerned about killing off both her and the magnificent John Hannah. I said no, I love Lucy but Lucretia has to die. Much to their credit they said okay, you know what you're doing, carry on. Then that night I had an idea for a dark, twisted, insane Lucretia storyline that really excited me. So I called everyone and said hey, I was a bit hasty. Lucretia lives!

How did she survive, you ask? Keep watching the new season. All will be (slowly) revealed.

I plan things out pretty far in advance. Before we start writing a season, we always know generally what each episode is about and where we're heading. We also have a general idea of what we need to set up for the next season as well. Plus I have the advantage of knowing how the story ends since it's based on history!

Spear, or trident and net. I'd like to stay as far away from the pointy end of my opponent's sword as possible.

Liam does a great job assuming the mantle of Spartacus, but we all expect that viewers will need time to adjust. We all loved Andy and he is dearly missed, especially by those of us that knew him personally. But Andy, being the generous and supportive man that we should all aspire to be, wanted the show to go on without him. He give Liam his blessing, so I hope the viewers will him a chance. He's taking on an impossible job, and I think he does it with respect, compassion, and a hell of a lot of heart.

No big name cameos in this season. Or probably any other. That kind of stunt casting just doesn't feel like a part of our world.

Although that said, I know Sam Jackson is a fan of the show. I'd whip something up for him in a flat second.

Spartacus is the classic underdog story. A guy on the lowest rung of society that rose up to challenge the most powerful republic in the world. You see echoes of his struggle even today in the Arab Spring uprising and the Occupy Wall Street movement. It's such a classic, heroic piece of history that is truly inspiring and proves that one person can make a difference.

I openly confess my love for Downton Abbey! Dying to get my hands on that Christmas special!

Other shows I love are Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Louie, Boardwalk Empire, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Modern Family, Community (hey network jackasses, put that back on!), Walking Dead, Fringe, and many more.

I received my Masters' degree as a playwright, so it's no surprise I love language, especially the works of Shakespeare. He's a big influence on how I attacked the dialogue, along with David Mamet and Robert E. Howard. From there I just developed it as I went along.

All the basic expletives are historically accurate. I was surprised to discovered that in Latin they do indeed have words that mean the same thing as the ones we use today. Once I knew that, it was just a matter of experimentation. Pick the main god, throw in a curse, and there you go. Jupiter's cock is one that sounded like something Batiatus would say. I actually never thought it would blow up the way it did. For me, it was just one more phrase the characters used to express themselves.

Hahaha! No. She's quite lovely and one of the warmest, funniest people I've ever met. And she's the first to tell you she's thrilled not having to do any fighting in the show.

I have no horse in either of these races. All I want is a good game.

Although both of these match ups would be a hell of a lot more lively with a trident and a flaming net thrown in the mix.

My pleasure! Thanks to the greatest fans in the world for supporting our little show! The new season of Spartacus starts in just a few days. Gird your loins for one hell of a ride!