Uhtred of Babenberg finally got his birthright in the finale of The Last Kingdom’s fifth season and the ending was a happy one for most fans of the show. Many reviews argued that the show was like a sequel to Vikings but that wasn’t the case because The Last Kingdom was a historical drama based on Bernard Cornwall’s book by the same name while Vikings was based on Michael Hirst’s writings. You couldn’t help but love both shows though. The producers decided to sum up the show with the movie Seven Kings Must Die and while you wait for the movie, there are many shows similar to The Last Kingdom that you can binge on starting with these ten…
Britannia
Before the Vikings came to Britain, the Romans made their mark and they had a more difficult time that what the Vikings went through. The show follows the events in 43AD when the Romans led by General Aulus Plautius and Lucius invaded Britain trying to take over the isles after Julius Caesar failed 90 years before them. The group find a group of local with their own squabbles with many relying on the druids with mystic powers to keep the Romans at bay. In the end, the squabbling tribes find friendships with the Romans and two camps are formed just like in The Last Kingdom as Romans and Britons try to find a way of living together without bloodshed.
Vinland Saga
This is a Manga Series that may not sound like a Norsemen story at first but it is very much in line with the storyline and battles in The Last Kingdom. The saga follows the life of a young talented Viking warrior Thorfinn. Thorfinn is forced to fight for Askeladd who killed the former’s father because he only wants to get his revenge through combat and he has to complete missions to earn that. Askeladd on the other hand is the kingmaker that leads his band to kill king Sweyn Forkbeard and install king Canute the Great as the king of both Denmark and Wales.
The Spanish Princess
This is the story of Catherine of Aragon who came to England to meet her betrothed husband Prince Arthur of Wales. The princess and her court were expected to finally bring peace between England and Spain but the hostilities between the two countries meant that Catherine wasn’t the most welcome appearance in King Henry VII’s court. While struggling to adapt in a new country she had never been to and her feelings for his betrothed’s younger brother Henry Duke of York, her life takes a turn for the worst when the person she came to marry dies suddenly. It is one of the best British Royal dramas of the last few years.
Domina
What was the role of women in Roman politics? Well, there is very little portrayal of it in the media until this show came along. It follows the life of Livia Drusilla, the third wife of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar with whom they had the longest marriage. The show follows the shrewd characters led by Livia who helped Caesar navigate the dirty politics of the empire to keep both the senate and the army on his side.
Vikings Valhalla
If you love Vikings, then you obviously love The Last Kingdom and there is no way you wouldn’t love Valhalla after that. The era of the Vikings didn’t officially end with the death of Bjorn Ironside as many thought. The Vikings continued to reign in England until the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Vikings Valhalla starts 100 years after the death of Ivar the boneless following other major Viking characters like Leif Erikson, Freydis Eriksdottir and Harald Hardrada all of whom appear in the sequel series.
Norsemen
Norsemen is a Viking series like none other because it was shot in the heart of Norway and directed by Norwegian filmmakers for Netflix. Each scene was acted twice in both Norwegian and English to give it the originality that you wouldn’t get in The Last Kingdom. It is set in 790s Norway in a village called Norheim. The show covers the day to day lives of people in the Viking village including squabbles, attempted modernization led by a former Roman slave named Rufus and an escalating rivalry with the neighbouring village led by a cruel Jarl. It is a comedy that takes you away from the typical bloody Viking films to a more typical lifestyle.
Outlander
Claire Randal is a married woman and a World War II nurse who finds herself thrown into 1743 Scotland when she walks past a set of rocks known as Craigh na dun. She falls in love with a Jacobite soldier Jimmie Fraser and they get married, now she has two lives 200 years apart which she navigates by walking through the stones. Things get worse when finds herself in a war as the Jacobites fight the English. The series is continuing with more books being released and you can expect to get more Scottish and American history through the series.
The Wheel of Time
Now into a little bit of fantasy and The Wheel of Time was rumoured to be Amazon Prime’s GoT. The first season was great but not as highly rated as the hit show. The subsequent seasons will probably hit the rumoured heights. The show is about Moraine Damodred, a member of the powerful group of gifted women called the Aes Sedai. She is on the hunt for a person rumoured to be the Dragon who was prophesized to be reborn and she believes it is one of a group of five teenagers from a village. The Dragon allegedly has the power to stop a dark power called the Dark One and save the world or he/she might side with the Dark One and cause an apocalypse.
Barbarians
The Germanic tribes had infighting that allowed the Romans to conquer them and the legions to afflict atrocities on each tribe until Arminius became a chieftain of one of the tribes called Cherusci and united his tribes to defeat the Romans in 11AD. Arminius is just like Uhtred, a Germanin taken by the Romans and raised as one until he comes back to his roots and decides to fight against the oppression. His loyalty is torn between his foster father Quinctilius Varus and his birth family though just like Uhtred who isn’t sure whether he is a Dane or a Saxon.
Knightfall
The series was concluded back in 2019 after two seasons but it remains one of the best epic historical fiction dramas ever. It follows the life of a Knight Templar named Landry de Lauzon, a skilled warrior monk who is friends with King Philip of France and is having an affair with his wife Joan. The templar has broken his vows to the church but struggles to keep his faith while the walls close in on him. He has to choose between the church and his love for Joan and his unborn daughter while also hunting down the Holy grail which is the most revered relic of Catholicism of all time. The bloody battles are very similar to what you get in The Last Kingdom.
Have you watched any of these shows? Do you have a show you would recommend? Do let us know in the comments below.
