Spike's 'Tut' Premieres Tonight Starring Ben Kingsley & Avan Jogia

Spike TV is releasing the first of its three-part series, Tut, tonight (July 19th) at 9PM starring Avan Jogia as Tutankamun (aka King Tut) and Sir Ben Kingsley as the king's closest adviser, Ay. The series will continue with its second and third parts tomorrow (July 20th and July 21st). It follows the short-term rule of famous pharaoh and how he strove to better Egypt, whilst some of his most trusted advisers plot against him for their selfish means. IMDB says that the series not only covers his quick rise to glory, but war that ensued along with the "enigma of his death."

Kingsley's character, Ay, according to IBTimes, is of particular interest because of what we know about the succession of the throne and the mystery behind Tut's death, "Ay was said to be the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign. In fact, it is largely speculated that Ay, who succeeded Tut as pharaoh, may have played a hand in the king's mysterious and untimely death." The series should go into that relationship closely and Kingsley, who has had a widely received and popular career, is just the actor to play that part. There is an obscurity in his previous character's intentions in films like Shutter Island (2010), Ender's Game (2013), Tuck Everlasting (2002) and House of Sand and Fog (2003) as well as playing characters in Ancient Egypt in Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and Night of the Museum: Secret Tomb (2014). Kingsley was surely the best pick for the role and it will be exciting to see him in the type of role that we can revel in seeing him in. Kingsley even had an interesting insight on TV versus film in the sense of historic epics. "I think TV is going to take over from cinema, in terms of great historic epics. Television offers an enormous exciting window for large sweeps of history, which you possibly can't capture in a 90-minute film," reported Variety.

The first episode premieres tonight! Don't miss it on Spike TV and check out the trailer here.