15 Shows Like Vikings That You Really Need To See

Before "Vikings" completed its run, Michael Hirst teamed up with Netflix for a spinoff series, "Vikings: Valhalla." The new series was set a century after "Vikings," telling the origin stories of legendary historical figures like Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydis Eriksdottor (Frida Gustavsson), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), and others. "I am beyond excited that we are announcing the continuation of our 'Vikings' saga," said Hirst in a statement, promising that showrunner Jeb Stuart "will bring new storylines and a powerful visceral vision to stories about some of the most famous Vikings known to history." 

At the very heart of the show is the relationship between Leif and Harald, who share a warriors' bond that Suter compared to that of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. "I think there's a yin and yang element to these two characters," he explained in an interview with The Wrap. "They complement each other quite well. They come from two different ends of the Viking world. And Leif brings like a stillness and a composure that complements Harald's brazen brashness." Meanwhile, it's no surprise that Suter's character has become a fan favorite, given Harald's "berserker" style of combat and the mark he left on history. "Someone described him ... as 'The Thunderbolt of the North' — a chronicler at the time," added Suter. "So yeah, he was a big deal."

Being a Viking was about more than berserker battles. The Norwegian series "Norsemen," for example, delves into comedic aspects left unexplored by "Vikings." Set in the eighth century, "Norseman" follows the lives of the residents of a Viking village as they grapple with highly relatable 21st-century issues like power struggles, sibling rivalries, and gender equality. Taking a page from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," both the show's characters and its humor boast a modern sensibility, while the historical setting is portrayed in all its gritty, grimy, ultra-realistic glory.

As series creator Iver Helgaker revealed during an interview with What's on Netflix, he got the idea for "Norsemen" after watching Taika Waititi's brilliant horror satire "What We Do in the Shadows." "And that made us think about the History Channel's 'Vikings' and 'Game of Thrones,' where everything is about the big historical and life-changing events. We thought it would be funny to focus on what happens in between all of that and just take on the everyday stuff," he explained.

While there are no Vikings in "Knightfall," the battles are no less bloody and barbaric than the ones in Michael Hirst's historical epic. Although it also hails from History, "Knightfall" is set in the early 1300s, and recounts the rise and fall of the Knights Templar. The series' protagonist is the fictional Templar leader Landry du Lauzon (Tom Cullen), who leads his knights on a quest to retrieve the legendary Holy Grail. The series received a big shot in the arm in its second season when "Star Wars" icon Mark Hamill joined the cast as Master Talus, a veteran Templar charged with training initiates. 

While the series only lasted two seasons, there's no denying that the show was developed with an eye towards capturing the same audience who grew to love "Vikings." In an interview with Fansided, Cullen shared his excitement about being part of such a vibrant historical drama. "The show, in terms of the epic scale, is something that really, really thrilled me," he said. "It's something that I've dreamt of being in since I was a kid. I used to run around Wales with a wooden sword and shield with my mates, and I've always been really influenced by films like 'Gladiator' — I think I saw 'Gladiator' seven times in the cinema — and 'Prince of Thieves' and 'Braveheart,' so that was a real dream, to be part of something as big as that."

Making its debut in 2005, HBO's "Rome" was as lush and lavish a historical drama as one would expect from a show that was, at the time, the most expensive in television history, with the first season budgeted at $100 million. As a review in the New York Times put it, "Rome" offered viewers "the television equivalent of Cecil B. DeMille extravagance" in telling the story of two humble Roman soldiers (Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd) whose lives intersect with iconic historical figures (including Julis Caesar, played by Ciarán Hinds) during the historical events that transformed Rome from republic to empire.

While the show became popular with fans and received rave reviews, the high costs of making "Rome" proved to be its undoing. HBO pulled the plug after season 2 when its accountants apparently figured out there was no possible way for such an expensive show to turn a profit. However, as series creator Bruno Heller told Den of Geek, no series in history, before or since, managed to recreate that historical era with the same degree of historical detail. "Walking out there at dawn into the Forum and seeing this world created, it was just magical," Heller said. "It gives me goosebumps now thinking about it, seeing a hundred [Gaul] tribesmen on horseback with great furry helmets charging down a hillside yelling, that sort of thing. No one makes things like that anymore."

A follow-up to the earlier Starz series "The White Queen" and "The White Princess," "The Spanish Princess" presents a dramatic recreation of the life of Catherine of Aragon (played by Charlotte Hope), first wife of King Henry VIII. While Britain's Tudor era took place hundreds of years after the events of "Vikings," the themes of conquest and power are timeless, as seen here.

In order to present a rousing and exciting series that would attract the type of viewer who enjoys "Vikings" and similar dramas, "The Spanish Princess" took plenty of dramatic license when it came to historical accuracy. "This show is ultimately a fiction," Hope told Town & Country. "Catherine didn't go to war in armor, but she did give a really rousing speech. And I think that it was really important in our story for us to have the visualization of that power on the battlefield."

"Marco Polo" arrived on Netflix in 2014, following the adventures of the titular Venetian explorer (Lorenzo Richelmy), who finds himself enmeshed in the court of legendary Mongol leader Kublai Khan (the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own Benedict Wong). Kahn is attempting to go head-to-head with the Chinese army, placing Marco smack-dab in the midst of the conflict. 

Ultimately, "Marco Polo" — which ran for just two seasons — had its pros and cons. On the positive side, notes The Review Geek's Greg Wheeler, are the show's "gorgeous cinematography and keen eye for visuals," which do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to transporting viewers to 13th-century Mongolia. On the flip side, a review in Vulture found "Marco Polo" to be "vacant and uninspiring," a sentiment echoed in Time's write-up, which described the show as a "gorgeous but ludicrous saga."

Given the series' massive budget (it reportedly cost about $90 million per season), no expense was spared in recreating those historic battles. "My best moment was when we were in the middle of this set with 300 extras fighting each other, and I was on my horse, riding as fast as I could down the valley, where I would shoot three arrows and enter into the war," Richelmy recalled in an interview with Collider.

Conceived as a companion series to "Vikings," "Real Vikings" takes fans of the flagship series on a journey into the actual history behind the show, providing a healthy dose of context for the show's characterization of Ragnar Lothbrok and his exploits. Featuring commentary from top Viking historians and archeologists, the series combines documentary filmmaking with footage from the show. In addition, actors from the series, like Clive Standen, Maude Hirst, Alyssa Sutherland, and Katheryn Winnick, appear to help guide viewers through the surprisingly complex history behind their characters' quasi-fictionalized stories. 

Given that the original "Vikings" has a tendency to play "fast and loose with recorded events," as The Guardian so succinctly put it, this informative and fascinating addendum offers fans the opportunity to become better versed in real Viking history and lore, which definitely results in a deeper appreciation of the main show.

Over the course of its run, "Vikings" was continually compared to "Game of Thrones" — an understandable connection, since they were both on the air at the same time. Obviously, there are some key differences between the two shows. The biggest and most obvious is that, while "Vikings" is a scripted drama, it's rooted in actual Nordic history. "Game of Thrones," meanwhile, is set in a make-believe world created by author George R.R. Martin that features fire-breathing dragons, ice zombies, and other fantasy elements.

While it was inevitable that the two shows would go head-to-heda in the media, "Vikings" star Clive Standen felt that it was "a bit unfair" to compare them. "['Game of Thrones'] all comes from the imagination of one man's mind. Whereas 'Vikings' is a historical drama," Standen told Fox News. "It's documented in history. It's a very, very broad spectrum of history. But ... these are all real characters that lived and breathed and walked the earth. They're all worthy of the history books."