Rise of the Raven exists as a historic epic in a post- Game of Thrones , post- Rome world, and it acts like it. For all its general historical accuracy, it’s equally oversexed and contrived. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. It enlivens (if not enriches) the cleaned-up, organized narrative of a real history that, frankly, isn’t that well known in North America. That is not to say all art is meant for the West to consume. It is only meant to point out audience skepticism about lesser-known history, regardless of whether that history contains all the makings of a great story — and, luckily, it does.

The actors that populate the ten-episode miniseries are either generally unknown to Western audiences or are on the cusp of breaking through. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of talent waiting to be discovered. The prime examples of that are the series stars: Gellért L. Kádár as main character (which is also the Hungarian title of this series), John Hunyadi, and Vivien Rujder as the wife, Elizabeth Szilágyi.

John Hunyadi is a man possessed by the twin spirits of revenge and power. As a boy, he witnessed his family and his people being slaughtered by invading Ottomans. This leads him to become a fierce and eventually famous military leader within the ranks of Hungary. He serves in the court of Serbian leader ĐuraÄ‘ Branković. It doesn’t take long before Hunyadi’s love of women, ever-increasing societal power, military power, and conflicting allegiances cause immense conflict for the warring Balkan countries.

Rise of the Raven does a stunning job with its visuals. Not only are the views (and the intro theme, reminiscent of Game of Thrones moving-building style, but distinctly its own) magnificent, the settings are instantly and memorably unique. This helps with the overall organization and enjoyability of the series for those with less than a stellar sense of geography.

There are times when series gamble and make themselves too short or too long. Some series should only be four episodes, others, perhaps fourteen. In this case, Rise of the Raven gets it exactly right with ten episodes. If that seems like a tall order, fear not, it leaves enough room to cover the broad strokes of the actual history, insert, and in some cases, reconstruct and elevate history into a titillating narrative, and give mental rest periods where the viewer only really has to follow montages of travel over great vistas.

Anyone who likes sword and sandals entertainment wrapped in the noble flag of historical semi-fiction will love Rise of the Raven . Like Hunaydi himself, it’s a must-see.

Rise of the Raven screened as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

Head here to get all our That Shelf TIFF coverage .