Television series

The Last Kingdom

Name: The Last Kingdom
Genre: Drama, Action, History
Released: 2015
Cast: Alexander Dreymon, Eliza Butterworth, Arnas Fedaravičius, Mark Rowley, Emily Cox

Bernard Cornwell's Saxon epic follows Uhtred, born Saxon and raised Dane, fighting for a country unsure it wants him. Ninth-century England splinters between petty kingdoms and Viking invaders while Alfred the Great tries to weld it into one nation. It's pulpy, muddy-boots history: shield walls, broken oaths, and a hero who never fully belongs anywhere. Great for anyone who likes their politics with an axe attached.

TVMaze rating

8.2

If you liked this

Vikings2013

The obvious cousin — same Dark Ages brutality, same clash of faiths and crowns, and a magnetic lead torn between two worlds. If you want more raiding, feasting and blood-soaked destiny, this is the deepest well.

But It sprawls across six seasons and drifts wilder and soapier as it goes; the tight focus Last Kingdom keeps gets loosened considerably.

Game of Thrones2011

Swap real history for fantasy and turn the scheming up several notches — same appetite for shifting alliances, brutal consequences, and characters you're not sure you should root for.

But Dragons and White Walkers push it further from grounded history than Uhtred's world ever goes, and the ending divides people badly.

Britannia2018

British history but hallucinogenic — Romans, druids and Celtic warlords colliding in a haze of visions and violence. Same muddy authenticity, crossed with genuine strangeness.

But The mysticism and trippy tone are a big swerve from Last Kingdom's realism; not everyone wants druids talking to gods.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Ivanhoe1952

This is where the whole 'Saxon torn between two peoples' engine comes from — Walter Scott's novel, adapted here, invented the template Cornwell reworked for Uhtred.

A dashing, old-fashioned swashbuckler about a Saxon knight caught between Norman rule and his own people's pride — the great-grandfather of Uhtred's whole predicament, done in gleaming studio Technicolor.

But It's stagey 1950s Hollywood — no mud, no grit, and the politics are simplified into clean heroes and villains.

Barbaren2020

Germanic tribes versus Rome, told from the tribal side for once — outsiders uniting against an empire that thinks it already owns them. Same underdog fury, tighter runtime.

But Only three short seasons and a smaller budget mean fewer battles and simpler politics than you might be hoping for.

The Pillars of the Earth2010no page yet

Medieval England centuries later, with cathedral-building standing in for nation-building — the same sense of ordinary people caught between warring lords and a fragile peace.

But It's a self-contained miniseries, so the sprawling multi-season world-building Last Kingdom fans love isn't really on offer here.

Outlaw King2018no page yet

Robert the Bruce fighting for Scotland's survival, all mud, steel and grim resolve — a two-hour hit of exactly the underdog nation-building Last Kingdom trades in.

But It's a single film, so none of the slow-burn character arcs across seasons that make Uhtred's story land so hard.

Marco Polo2014no page yet

A different empire, a different outsider — a young European navigating Kublai Khan's court with the same mix of intrigue, spectacle and culture clash.

But It leans harder into lavish court drama and less into shield-wall combat; the tone is more silk than steel.

Knightfall2017no page yet

Templar knights, secret conspiracies and battlefield brutality in medieval France — a solid fit if it's the swordplay and religious politics you're chasing next.

But Thinner characters and a shorter run mean it never earns the emotional weight Last Kingdom builds over years.

The White Queen2013

Same island, centuries later — the Wars of the Roses told through the women pulling strings behind the crowns. Trade axes for daggers in the dark.

But Almost no battlefield action here; this is court intrigue and marriage politics, a much quieter kind of warfare.

Vikingane2016

Same Norse world and the same raiding-and-feuding machinery Last Kingdom takes deadly seriously — this show runs it as farce, exposing how absurd the machismo and politics look from one inch to the left.

A Norwegian mockumentary sitcom set in a Viking village, playing shield walls and blood feuds entirely for laughs — hilarious, sharp, and a great palate cleanser after all that grim destiny.

But It's a full tonal 180 — if you want the drama and stakes, the constant jokes might feel like a betrayal of the mood.

The Green Knight2021

Same questions Last Kingdom keeps circling — what makes a man, what honour actually costs — but stripped of plot momentum and turned into something dreamlike and unresolved instead of action-driven.

A hallucinatory Arthurian fable about a young knight's quest for honour, gorgeously strange and unhurried — the same medieval preoccupation with courage and identity, filtered through arthouse cinema instead of a battle axe.

But It's slow, ambiguous and openly art-film in pace; anyone wanting swordfights and momentum will find it frustrating.