The brutal and extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of the Norse warriors are coming to life in History Channel’s first scripted series, ‘Vickings.’ The cable network’s new nine-part drama, which portrays the world of the Dark Age raiders, traders and explorers, premieres Sunday, March 3 at 10pm ET.
While ‘Vikings’ is filled with conflict, warfare and bloodshed, it’s also a family saga at heart. It follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, played by Travis Fimmel, a curios man who’s always looking to break through barriers and discover new worlds to conquer. Ragnar is deeply frustrated by the unadventurous policies of his local chieftain, Earl Haraldson, portrayed by Gabriel Byrne. Earl continues to send his vikings raiders east every summer,t o the Baltic states and Russia, whose populations are as materially poor as themselves.
‘Vikings,’ which was created and written by Michael Hirst, will show Ragna’s ambitions to discover civilizations across the great ocean to the west, as well as his conflicts along the way. With the help of his friend Floki, played by Gustaf Skarsgard, the two build a new generation of boats, which are faster, sleeker and more beautifully crafted than anything else on the sea.
The drama will also follow how the Vikings, the last pagans, worshiped ancient gods like Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki. Ragnar claims to be a direct descendant of Ondin, who, besides being the god of warriors slain in battle, is also the god of curiosity.
Also starring in ‘Vikings’ are Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, a fierce shield maiden and Ragnar’s wife; Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, Earl Haraldson’s beautiful wife; George Blagden as Athelstan, a young, innocent Christian monk captured by Ragnar on his first raid on England and Clive Standen as Rollo, Ragnar’s impulsive, wild, care-free brother. The series is an international Irish-Canadian co-production that’s being co-produced by World 2000 and Take 5 Productions. MGM Television will serve as the series’ international distributor.
Watch the promo video for ‘Vikings’ below.
Written by: Karen Benardello
