The Last Kingdom is one of the most successful historical fiction shows ever. The series is based on The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell and tells the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon raised by Danes who walks in both worlds during the ninth century. Alexander Dreymon stars as Uhtred and is fantastic throughout five seasons of the hit series, which began as a BBC series before it moved to Netflix.
The Last Kingdom ended in 2022 with the release of the fifth season. The cast and crew reunited for The Last Kingdom movie, Seven Kings Must Die, which premiered on Netflix in 2023. It’s a great sendoff to an incredible series.
We know many fans of The Last Kingdom are missing the series and need something new to watch. To help, here's a list of the best shows to watch if you loved The Last Kingdom, starting with another based on a books series by Bernard Cornwell:
The Winter King
- Seasons: 1
- Created by: Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore
- Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Stuart Campbell, Ellie James, Steven Elder, Valene Kane, Simon Merrells, Ken Nwosu, Olumide Olorunfemi, Billy Postlethwaite, Daniel Ings, Nathaniel Martello-White, Eddie Marsan, Tatjana Nardone, Andrew Gower, Matt Mella, Aneirin Hughes, Gabriel Tierney, Jordan Alexandra, Emily John, Craig Parkinson, and more
- Where to watch: MGM+
The Winter King is a must-try for fans of The Last Kingdom. The new series is based on Bernard Cornwell’s The Warlord Chronicles. Cornwell also wrote the book series that The Last Kingdom is based on, so it’s a natural fir for those who loved Uhtred and his adventures in the Netflix original series.
The Winter King premiered on MGM+ on Aug. 20, 2023, and ran for 10 episodes. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting to find out if The Winter King is coming back for season 2, but that shouldn’t deter fans from watching this show.
The series tells the story of Arthur Pendragon, played by Iain De Caestecker. It's set during Britain’s Dark Ages. If you like Arthurian Legend, you should watch this series.
Overall, The Winter King isn’t quite as good as The Last Kingdom, but it’s early in this run, hopefully. It lacks the charm and charisma ofThe Last Kingdom, and it tries to stretch its modest budget a little too thin. With time, I think the series has a lot of potential to be in the conversation with The Last Kingdom when it’s all over.
Let’s keep the list of shows to watch like The Last Kingdom going with our next pick, Vikings! Click the button below to continue: