Ten more genre shows to binge over the weekend

5. The Last Kingdom

The Last Kingdom, which started life as a joint project between Netflix and the BBC, has a lot of similarities with Vikings. But instead of following that show’s namesake warriors, this one explores many of the same events more from the British point of view.

Based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Tales books, The Last Kingdom follows Uhtred son of Uhtred, a British noble who is captured as a child by the Vikings. Despite his heritage, the Vikings raise Uhtred as one of their own…but he never forgets his homeland of Bebbanburg, and hopes to one day reclaim it. This eventually leads him to fall back in with the forces of Britain and support Alfred the Great, the last British leader to resist the Viking invasion.

The fact that Uhtred was raised by the Vikings lends this show a lot of emotional depth. Unlike many of his countrymen, Uhtred can’t simply look at the Vikings as bloodthirsty monsters, but as people with their own integrity and failings. It’s just one of the many reasons that The Last Kingdom is excellent television.

The Last Kingdom currently has three seasons out on Netflix, with Season 4 landing on April 26th.