26 shows similar to Game of Thrones to watch next

16. Norsemen

But hey, maybe you’ve seen all of Vikings and all of The Last Kingdom and you just want to take a break from blood eagles and beheadings to have a laugh. If that’s the case, then you probably owe it to yourself to check out Norsemen. Produced by Norwegian studio Viafilm, this show is basically a spoof on those other very serious sorts of Vikings shows. On paper, that might sound a little ridiculous…but somehow, Norsemen manages to make it work really well.

The year is 790, and the village is a modest-sized Viking settlement called Norheim. Like Vikings, Norheim is populated by a large cast of colorful characters, all of whom get their moment in the spotlight. Arvid (Nils Jørgen Kaalstad) is the secsond-in-command to the chieftain, a powerful warrior who can also be quite dense. Orm (Kåre Conradi) is the chieftain’s brother, who has his own ambitions and several overly complicated plans on how to achieve them…when he’s not spying on people at the local latrine. Frøya (Silje Torp) is the most fearsome shieldmaiden in the village and loves nothing more than to fight and plunder alongside her pal Arvid, but is unfortunately married to the sniveling Orm. Rufus (Trond Fausa Aurvåg) is a Roman slave who wants to bring the enlightenment of theater and art to the Vikings. You get the picture.

Part of the fun of Norsemen is getting to know the concerns and day-to-day life of the people in Norheim. Imagine if a show like The Office was set in a Viking village, and you have an idea of what kind of humor to expect here.

Norsemen ran for three seasons, all of which are available on Netflix.