'Vikings: Valhalla' Is Just Like 'The Last Kingdom' — Are They Connected?
Updated Jan. 12 2023, 3:22 p.m. ET
Everyone loves a good period piece, and the Season 1 premiere of Vikings: Valhalla exceeded all of our expectations. Following the series finale of Vikings in 2020, the historical drama series was rebooted by Netflix and renewed for Season 2 — which premiered Thursday, Jan. 12. — shortly after its release.
Inspired by the true stories of the Scandinavian Vikings of Kattegat, the series has often been compared to The Last Kingdom, which debuted on BBC in 2015. Much like Vikings, The Last Kingdom eventually found a home on Netflix.
Both series center around the Danes’ voyages to England. But are they related? Here’s what we know!
Bradley Freegard as Canute, Leo Suter as Harald
Are ‘Vikings’ and ‘The Last Kingdom’ related? Not exactly!
Vikings and The Last Kingdom have some glaring similarities, but the shows aren’t actually connected. Although the shows aren’t related, The Last Kingdom and Vikings share many of the same characters — including Ragnar Lothbrook, Ivar the Boneless, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Lagertha, Queen Aslaug, and King Alfred.
Vikings, written by Michael Hirst, first premiered on the History channel in 2013. Over the next seven years, showrunners told the story of Ragnar, his descendants, and their conquests in England.
Peter Gantzler as Ragnar Lothbrook, Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrook
While the premiere season of Vikings kicked off in the late-700s, The Last Kingdom is set in 9th- and 10th-century England. Eventually, the timelines in The Last Kingdom and Vikings overlap, but the two series show two somewhat different depictions of the decades-long war between the English and the Danes.
The Last Kingdom is based on the 13-part historical novel series Saxon Stories, which was written by English-American author Bernard Cornwell. The storylines we see on Vikings, on the other hand, were adapted from Viking mythology and sagas written by Norse historians.
Leo Suter as Harald Sigurdsson
With this, it’s likely that viewers will never see a Vikings and The Last Kingdom crossover event. The newest installment of Vikings is set several years after The Last Kingdom takes place — not to mention the fact that The Last Kingdom was canceled after Season 5.
But, look on the bright side! Viewers can now tune into Season 2 of Vikings: Valhalla, which is available for streaming on Netflix!