ImageYou loved to hate her in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and then again in Gods of the Arena, and now Lucy Lawless is back, somewhat the worse for wear, as the scheming Lucretia in Spartacus: Vengeance – which premieres January 27th on Starz.

We here at IGN TV had a chance to speak with Lucy Lawless a week ago at the TCA Winter Press Tour and talk to her about all the new and returning characters in Vengeance, the fragile state of Lucretia's mind and how Spartacus is a lot more like Downton Abbey than one might expect.

Oh, and by the way, you can watch the unedited first episode of Vengeance, "Fugitivus," right here, before it airs on Starz.

Warning: Bloody, naked Spartacus spoilers await you…

IGN: I hear the Lucretia gets a new love interest this season. Would you care to comment?

Lucy Lawless: [laughs] I think that's all you want to hear.

IGN: Is it someone we know?

Lawless: It's someone who's been in her life that she never really paid any attention to before. That we've met before, yes.

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IGN: Does this season top the two previous ones? Is it a challenge to out-do yourselves?

Lawless: It's not as if they all sit around thinking of ways to top themselves, but the show itself evolves. So, Lucretia, after this terrible trauma she's suffered, goes off on a tangent. So it's not more of the same, but it is ramped up.

IGN: But I assume that those who might tune in to see bloodshed and nudity won't be disappointed either.

Lawless: Doesn't matter even if they are. The quality of what they're shooting - the stories we're telling – even the nudity and the sex or whatever is always about advancing the story. And it's undiminished. So I don't have any fear about that or about people who might only be tuning in just for that. And I don't think there are many people who tune in only for that. You'd have to be a complete simpleton. But the people who tune in for that won't be disappointed. And the rest of the people who want complex, rich and rewarding storylines and wicked drama will also be extremely pleased.

Click here for full interview