'Vikings: Valhalla': Things To Know About Netflix Sequel

History Channel's epic historical drama, "Vikings," is coming to an end with its sixth and final season releasing on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday. Fans must not be disappointed as it would be followed by a sequel titled "Vikings: Valhalla."

It is a spin-off of the original "Vikings" series created by Michael Hirst. While the show will be produced by MGM productions like its precursor, it will not be available on History Channel or Amazon Prime Video. Instead, it will stream on Netflix.

In an interview with Collider, executive producer Hirst revealed details about the spin-off series, created by Jeb Stuart. Hirst said the enormous popularity of "Vikings" is what inspired the team to create an all-new show.

"Apparently, they just said, 'Look, we're not even going to filter out content, we just looked at your audience figures, where you are across the world, and we'd be stupid not to do it.' So it is a tribute to what was achieved over the last seven years," he said.

The show is set a hundred years after the events of the current series that followed the adventures of the greatest Viking warrior Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. At this time, the end of the Viking age is inching closer as the Kingdom of England emerges stronger than ever, standing tall against the Norse people. While the show is set in an era that exists long after the death of heroes Ragnar, Bjorn Ironside, Lagertha and Ivar the Boneless, it will still have conversations and historical references about them.

"So whenever they meet in the great hall in Kattegat, and of course they talk about the great eras who used to sit in the same hall at the same table, and they were Ragnar Lothbrok, Lagertha, and Bjorn Ironside and Ivar the Boneless, who are now mythic characters even within the show, even within 'Vikings: Valhalla.' That's a really great connection and effect. It gives ready-made histories to the new show. So you don't need to know who Ragnar is to watch the new show. But it enriches the show and it hopefully will make people go back and find out, 'Well who are these people they keep talking about?" Hirst explained.

He said fans will find things connected in an "interesting and fascinating way," before revealing the names of some of the characters such as Harald Hardrada and Eric the Red. In addition, fans can expect to see some familiar Viking names.

The show is already in the making, but the filming schedule did suffer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first season of "Vikings: Valhalla" was shot in Ireland with stringent safety protocols in place.

Hirst reveals that the show will go back to Kattegat, the capital of Bjorn's Kingdom in "Vikings." However, in the sequel, fans will see an all-new Kattegat, which is now the biggest port of Europe that has "grown in size and significance."

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Frida Gustavsson and David Oakes are some of the cast members in the spin-off. Steve Saint Leger and Katheryn Winnick will return to direct the episodes of Season 1. BAFTA-winning Danish director Niels Arden Oplev will also be helming episodes for the new series.

"Vikings: Valhalla" is set to air in 2021 on Netflix.