Vikings (TV Series )

 

Michael Hirst is a Canadian television producer and author of the historical drama series Vikings for the History channel. It was filmed in Ireland and had its Canadian premiere on March 3, 2013. The final episode of the sixth season, which aired on History in Canada from January 1 to March 3, 2021, was posted in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video in Ireland on December 30, 2020, marking the end of the series. On February 25, 2022, a follow-up series called Vikings: Valhalla debuted on Netflix.

The television series Vikings was influenced by the sagas of Bjorn Lodbrok, a legendary Norse warrior who is best known for being the plague of British England and West Francia. In the show, Ragnar is portrayed as a farmer who gains notoriety by attacking England and who, with the help of his family and other warriors, goes on to become a Scandinavian king. The show later followed his sons' fortunes and exploits throughout England, Scandinavia, Kievan Rus, the Mediterranean, and North America.

Premise:

The stories of the early mediaeval Scandinavian Norsemen served as the series' inspiration. It essentially follows the deeds of the legendary Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok, his crew, family, and successors as described in works such as Saxo Grammaticus' 12th - Century Gesta Danorum as well as the 13th-century sagas Ragnars saga Lobrókar and Ragnarssona áttr. Approximately 200–400 years after the events they describe, 

the Norse legendary sagas, based on the Norse oral tradition, were written down. Additional inspiration for the story comes from historical documents from the time period, such as accounts of the Viking invasion on Lindisfarne that is featured in the second episode or Ahmad ibn Fadlan's description of the Varangians from the 10th century. The first episode of the series is when the Viking Age, which is by the raid on Lindisfarne in 793.

Production:

Season 1:

Vikings was created and produced as a co-production between Octagon Films and Take 5 Productions. Executive producers include Michael Hirst, Morgan O'Sullivan, John Weber, Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, James Flynn, and Sheila Hockin. The $40 million US budget for the first season.

At Ashford Studios in Ireland, which at the time was a newly constructed facility, the series started filming in July 2012.

We chose this spot because of the view and the favourable tax situation.

Longship shots were filmed on August 16, 2012, at Luggala and on the Poulaphouca Reservoir in the Wicklow Mountains.

The first season was filmed outdoors for 70% of the time.

In western Norway, some extra backdrop pictures were taken.

Three episodes were directed by Johan Renck, Ciarán Donnelly, and Ken Girotti respectively. On the production crew were

Irish choir Crux Vocal Ensemble, director Paul McGough, photographer John Bartley, casting director Joan Bergin, set designer Tom Conroy, and composer Trevor Morris

Season 2:

A second, ten-episode season of Vikings was ordered by History on April 5. [8] The second season's directors included Jeff Woolnough[9] and Kari Skogland in addition to Ken Girotti and Ciaran Donnelly. On June 11, 2013, two new series regulars were revealed: Linus Roache as King Ecbert of Wessex and Alexander Ludwig as the teenage Björn. The youthful Björn (Nathan O'Toole) is aged in the second season,

 becoming an older swordsman played by Ludwig. The older Björn says that it has been "a long time" since he last saw his father Ragnar. A strong jarl who serves as Björn's stepfather after Lagertha remarries and gives him strict instructions. Both Edvin Endre and Anna ström agreed to participate in the upcoming season. One of King Horik's sons, Erlendur, was portrayed by Endre.

Season 3:

Bill Goddard and Séamus McInerney served as co-producers with Steve Wakefield and Keith Thompson on this season's production. This season's production team also included stunt action designers Franklin Henson and Richard Ryan, visual effects supervisors Julian Parry and Dominic Remane, casting directors Frank and Nuala Moiselle, costume designer Joan Bergin, production designer Mark Geraghty, editors Aaron Marshall for the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth episodes and Tad Seaborn for the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth episodes, and cinematographer PJ Dill.

The series' background music was largely produced by the Norwegian band Wardruna. The third season of the programme included Einar Kvitrafn Selvik, the creator of Wardruna, as an actor playing a shaman.

Season 4:

Before the third season had even started broadcasting, Michael Hirst made plans for the fourth season public. In April 2015, the fourth season's filming began in Ireland's Dublin and Wicklow region. Canada was another site where Ludwig was photographed. The fourth season's cast also includes Canadian actress Dianne Doan and the Finnish actors Peter Franzén and Jasper Pääkkönen. Ragnar's possible opponent, 

the Norwegian King Harald Finehair, was portrayed by Franzén. As Halfdan the Black, Finehair's brother, Pääkkönen was cast. Yidu, a Chinese character with a significant part in the early half of the fourth season, is portrayed by Doan. Josh Donaldson, a former player for the Toronto Blue Jays, is a fan of the series, and it was reported in January 2016 that he will have a guest.

Season 5:

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, an Irish actor, joined the cast as Heahmund, a "warrior bishop," at the same time as the show's renewal for a fifth season. Creator of the Vikings, Michael Hirst, explained: "When I was reading history books, I came across these swashbuckling bishops. The forerunners of the Knights Templar were fervently pious individuals who yet donned armour and engaged in combat. Do not be deceived by their position as priests. They were insane. They were completely wild on the battlefield, but they completely believed in Christianity and the message."

For the fifth season, the vicious and audacious warrior Kjetill Flatnose, played by WWE wrestler Adam Copeland, will appear on a regular basis. He is selected by To establish a colony in Iceland, Floki will lead an expedition. Thelred of Wessex is portrayed by Irish actor Darren Cahill in the fifth season. 

The fifth season will have a brief role for Nigerian actor Stanley Aguzie, according to local media. Kieran O'Reilly, an Irish actor, singer, and actual police investigator who portrays "White Hair," is also a part of the fifth season. Erik Madsen, a Danish actor, was revealed to join the cast as King Hemmig for the fifth season in April 2017. He acted as a Viking for The Last Kingdom for a number of months in 2016. Iceland and Morocco were used as backdrops for Season 5's location shooting, with Morocco serving as a stand-in for Sicily and Egypt.

Season 6:

As Oleg of Novgorod, the east European Viking king of the Rus people in the 10th century, Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky joins the series for the sixth season. The season's first episode was directed by Lagertha in the show, Katheryn Winnick. Scandinavian musicians with significant Nordic folk influences, such as Wardruna and Danheim, contributed music to the series.

Editing:

For American viewers, the sex and nudity sequences are frequently cut. For instance, in the fourth season "The Outsider," Lagertha and Astrid's sexual encounter was limited to a kiss. The sequence was maintained for international airings and home media releases.

Reviews:

According to Metacritic, the first episode garnered positive reviews and an average score of 71%. HitFix's Alan Sepinwall commended the casting, especially Fimmel's portrayal of Ragnar, and noted that Vikings "is not difficult. It ... relies on the inherent appeal of the era and these characters to drive the story".

 The Wall Street Journal's Nancy DeWolf Smith praised the "natural and authentic" setting and costumes of Vikings, noting that it was (unlike, say, Spartacus) "a study of character, stamina, power and... of social, expressive and even intellectual awakening" rather than a celebration of sex and violence. The intriguing and dynamic new drama series, according to Hank Stuever's article in The Washington Post, "delivers all the usual gore and blood spatter," but it also successfully translated the talents.

Its careful acting, thoughtful writing, and sense of scale are evocative of Rome, Sons of Anarchy, and Game of Thrones in terms of cable television drama. The way the show stressed "a fundamental pride and dignity in these band of thugs" may have been "simply another iteration of Tony Soprano," he added. [55] In The New York Times, Neil Genzlinger commended the "arresting" cinematography and the actors' performances, especially Fimmel's, and compared Vikings favourably to Spartacus and Game of Thrones for the lack of unnecessary nudity.

When contrasted to the "tabloid history" of The Tudors and The Borgias, James Poniewozik wrote in TIME that the relatively straightforward generational conflict at the heart of Vikings "doesn't nearly have the narrative aspiration of a Game of Royals or the political subtleties of a Rome" nor these series' skill with dialogue. He came to the conclusion that the "greater plot arc of Vikings is really more about historical forces" 

than it is about its uncomplicated individuals. Although he enjoyed the performances, Entertainment Weekly's Clark Collis thought Vikings lacked the mystery of The Tudors and Game of Thrones and was "sort of a jumble."   In Variety, Brian Lowry called the show a "unrelenting cheese-fest" and a "more simplistic version of Game of Thrones," yet he also thought that

The atmosphere and momentum were "at a level that allows it function as a moderate distraction," David Wiegand, writing on the San Francisco Chronicle, praised the performances and characters but expressed disappointment with the series' "glacial pace" and lack of action, as well as its "flabby direction and a gassy narrative".

Based on twelve expert critic evaluations, the second season has a 77% Metacritic score and a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Historical inaccuracies:

Lars Walker criticised the publication The American Spectator for portraying Earl Haraldson's early Viking Age governance as primarily dictatorial rather than democratic. The portrayal of the Scandinavians as being ignorant of Britain and Ireland and as viewing the death penalty as more severe than outlawry (skoggangr) drew criticism from Joel Robert Thompson.

The portrayal of Viking garb was criticised by historian Monty Dobson of Central Michigan University, who continued by stating that fictional programmes like Vikings might still be an effective educational tool.

 The Uppsala Temple was historically located on flat land, and stave churches were more common in later periods, according to the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, which claimed that the series inaccurately depicted the temple as a stave church amid the highlands.

later Christian building style. There are parallels between the series' temple and Uppkra hof restorations. The events shown are largely taken from historical occurrences, and many of the characters are based on (or inspired by) genuine people from history or folklore. A century's worth of history has been compacted, and for dramatic effect, persons who would never have met are depicted as being around the same age.

 Before the invasion on Lindisfarne Abbey in 793, season one takes place (before the real Rollo was born). The same protagonists, who are around the same age in season three, take part in the Siege of Paris in 845. Ecbert had already passed away and King Thelwulf was in power at this point. In the video, Rollo is shown murdering his supporters and fighting his own Vikings, despite the fact that they were historically handed what became Norman and continued to work together.

Comic book:

A free Vikings comic based on the television series was produced by Zenescope in collaboration with the History Channel. It was initially distributed in 2013 at Comic-Con and in February 2014 through comiXology. The comic, which is predating the events of season one, was written by Michael Hirst and has interior art by Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir). The comic also shows Rollo and Ragnar fighting alongside their father and their first encounter with Lagertha.

Sequel series:

On January 4, 2019, it was revealed that Hirst and MGM Television were creating a spin-off series with writer Jeb Stuart, along with the news that the show would cease after its sixth season. On November 19, 2019, it was revealed that a new Netflix original series titled Vikings: Valhalla would be set 100 years after the conclusion of the first one. MGM Television produced the 24-episode series, which was mostly shot in Ireland at the same Ashford Studio in County Wicklow. Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Hardrada, and the Norman monarch William the Conqueror are the main characters in the show.

Author Name: Neeraj Mahal