The best Viking drama on Netflix isn't Vikings — and George R.R. Martin agrees

For over two centuries, England was harried by attacks from Scandinavian warriors known as Vikings. This period has gone down in history as the Viking Age, and it’s been dramatized in multiple TV shows. Vikings ran for six seasons on History (you can currently watch all the episodes on Netflix) and told the story from the Viking point of view, if that wasn’t obvious from the title. Meanwhile, the Netflix original show The Last Kingdom ran for five seasons and told the story from the point of view of a character named Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon (Anglo-Saxons were the dominant population of England during this time) raised by Vikings, which the show generally calls Danes.

These two shows covered many of the same events, but The Last Kingdom ended up being the better series, and it has some very high-profile fans.

Vikings vs The Last Kingdom

History vs entertainment

There’s a lot of historical crossover between Vikings and The Last Kingdom. Both shows feature characters like King Alfred of England (played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo on Vikings and David Dawson on The Last Kingdom) and the Viking raider Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith on Vikings and Rune Temte on The Last Kingdom), who is portrayed as more of a savage raider on the Netflix show vs a thoughtful hero on Vikings. The first season of The Last Kingdom ends with the decisive Battle of Edington, where King Alfred defeated a Viking army on English soil, whereas that same battle happens in Season 6 on Vikings.

That said, neither show is aiming to be an ironclad historical retelling, and there are plenty of original characters and events thrown in for the sake of drama. And that’s where The Last Kingdom pulls ahead of Vikings. The Last Kingdom follows Uhtred from start to finish, which gives the show a very solid backbone. We want him to reclaim his ancestral home of Bebbanburg, we want to find a way to be happy with his family, and in general we want to see what he does next. Vikings has a similar anchor in Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), but something happens to Ragnar partway through the series, and the show never quite recovers. While The Last Kingdom keeps getting better until the very end, Vikings loses steam in the final couple of seasons.

And if that’s not enough to convince you, The Last Kingdom comes highly recommended from people who know what they’re talking about.

The best modern fantasy writer loves The Last Kingdom

If only he could watch TV and write books at the same time

George R.R. Martin, author of the Song of Ice and Fire series (famously adapted by HBO as Game of Thrones), has professed multiple times how much he enjoys The Last Kingdom. “I recommend THE LAST KINGDOM, based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon tales of Uhtred son of Uhtred,” Martin wrote on his blog in March 2022, right after the fifth and final season dropped. “No, it is not fantasy, there is a notable lack of dragons and magic…but there are lots of battles and betrayals and swordplay, all that stuff. And Uhtred is a warrior who could give the best of Westeros and Middle-earth a fight.”

Martin also called The Last Kingdom an “excellent series” in a November 2020 blog post. It’s easy to imagine him enjoying Vikings as well, but he’s never talked about it.

As Martin mentions, The Last Kingdom is based on a series of books by Bernard Cornwell, the fantastic historical fiction writer behind The Warlord Chronicles and the Sharpe series, both of which have also been adapted for TV. It makes sense that Martin, an author himself, would appreciate a sterling literary adaptation. Now if only he took a cue from Cornwell and actually wrote more books of his own, everyone would be happy. There are some new rumors flying around that Martin has finished writing the long-in-coming sixth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter, but after 15 long years of waiting, fans are understandably skeptical.

Vikings and The Last Kingdom, cont.

There’s more medieval mayhem to enjoy

Although The Last Kingdom ended as a TV show with its fifth season, Netflix produced a follow-up feature film called Seven Kings Must Die, released in 2023. Unfortunately, the title is the best thing about it. It’s worth a watch to see Uhtred’s final chapter, but you could also stop with season 5 and be happy.

Meanwhile, the Vikings franchise is still going strong. Netflix commissioned a three-season sequel series called Vikings: Valhalla, set more than 100 years after the end of the original show. That series wrapped up in 2024 to mostly solid reviews, although not as good as the ones for Vikings. And a brand new Vikings series, Bloodaxe, is due out on Prime Video later this year. It’s set between the original Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla and will chronicle the adventures of Viking warrior Erik Bloodaxe (Xavier Molyneux) as he ascends to the throne of Norway.

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More historical fiction

If you enjoy historical fiction but want something less medieval, you have plenty of options. Black Sails is a fantastic pirate drama that will only be Netflix for a short while longer, so it’s best to watch it while you can. For something a little less violent, you could always try North & South, a genteel English romance set during the country’s Regency Era.