Television series
Vikingane
A Norwegian sitcom that drops thoroughly modern office politics, relationship anxieties and workplace jealousy into a 790AD longhouse, played completely straight by everyone except the audience. It's deadpan, quietly savage, and finds huge laughs in the gap between Viking stoicism and petty human insecurity. Bite-sized episodes, gorgeous scenery, and a sneaky amount of heart underneath the axe murders.
If you liked this
What We Do in the Shadows2019
The same trick, different monsters: ancient beings with modern grievances, deadpan mockumentary delivery, and an ensemble that turns petty squabbling into an art form. If you loved the tone here, this is the closest cousin going.
But Vampires instead of Vikings, and the mockumentary talking-heads format is a different rhythm than Vikingane's straight sitcom style.
Our Flag Means Death2022
Historical setting, absurd premise, genuinely modern emotional wiring underneath the piracy and swordplay. It's got the same warmth-inside-violence trick and a similarly ridiculous, lovable crew of misfits.
But Leans more romantic and sincere than satirical — less biting workplace-comedy energy, more found-family drama with jokes.
The Great2020
Catherine the Great's court reimagined with pointed, savage anachronistic wit — palace intrigue played as backstabbing comedy of manners, much like the longhouse politics of Vikingane.
But Sharper-edged and more overtly cruel in its humour, with less of the gentle affection Vikingane has for its characters.
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The Northman2022
Same 8th-9th century Norse setting and honour-culture obsessions Vikingane satirises, played with total, blood-soaked sincerity — the tragedy underneath the joke.
A punishingly serious, mythic Viking revenge saga shot like a fever dream — feral, bloody, and utterly humourless. It's the exact same world Vikingane jokes about, shown as its makers actually believed it to be.
But Deliberately gruelling and slow, with none of the comfort or comedy — this is arthouse brutality, not entertainment in the usual sense.
More like this (7)
Blackadder1983
The grandfather of historical-sitcom-with-modern-sensibility. Rowan Atkinson's weary schemer navigating idiotic superiors across several eras is the template this whole genre borrows from.
But Studio-bound and theatrical rather than cinematic; the pacing and broad performances feel distinctly of their era.
Ghosts2019
A gentler cousin — centuries of dead Britons stuck bickering in one house, each a walking historical stereotype. Same pleasure of watching period personalities collide with modern problems.
But Cosier and lower-stakes throughout; nobody's getting an axe through the skull here, which is rather the point of Vikingane.
Plebs2013no page yet
Ancient Rome as seen through three broke, horny, hapless young men — laddish, low-status comedy that finds the same gap between epic setting and mundane human stupidity.
But Cruder and more juvenile in its humour, with less of the darker, drier edge that runs through Vikingane.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail1975
The medieval absurdist comedy that proved history could be pure sketch-comedy fuel. Anarchic, quotable, and still the gold standard for treating the past as a joke delivery system.
But A single feature-length film rather than a series, and its sketch-comedy looseness is baggier than Vikingane's tighter sitcom structure.
Horrible Histories2009
Fast, silly, genuinely well-researched sketches skewering every era including the Vikings themselves. A lighter, family-friendly palate cleanser with real historical bite underneath the songs and gags.
But Made for kids first, so the jokes are broader and the violence is cartoonish rather than the deadpan cruelty Vikingane trades in.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum1966no page yet
Proof this genre is old: modern wisecracking and workplace scheming dropped into antiquity, the exact engine Vikingane runs, done sixty years earlier.
A frantic Roman farce built on scheming slaves, vain masters and constant one-upmanship — vaudeville shtick dressed in togas, decades before anyone thought to do the same with Vikings.
But Broad, stagey, musical-theatre energy that's a world away from Vikingane's dry Scandinavian delivery — it earns laughs through chaos, not deadpan.
How to Train Your Dragon2010
Same Viking-village-as-microcosm-of-ordinary-life idea, same underdog-versus-tradition setup, just recast entirely straight for children instead of adults.
A Viking village full of stubborn chieftains, misfit teenagers and status anxiety, rendered warm and family-friendly rather than savage — the gentler, kid-safe sibling of Vikingane's community.
But Animated, sincere, and aimed squarely at families — no politics, no betrayal, none of the dry cruelty that makes Vikingane sing.
People
Cast
Writing
- Jon Iver HelgakerCreator
- Jonas TorgersenCreator