The Last Kingdom (TV series)

The Last Kingdom is a British historical fiction television series based on Bernard Cornwell's "The Saxon Stories" series of novels. It premiered in 2015 on BBC America, BBC Two and later in 2018 on Netflix. 
Premise.
The year is 866, and the Great Heathen Army's arrival in Britain is about to redefine the relationship between Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. Following establishment of Danish rule in Jórvík and East Anglia, the show largely focuses on the resistance of the Kingdom of Wessex to ongoing Viking incursions to Southern England. The story covers about 40–45 years by the end of season 4. Season 1 covers the years 866–878, season 2 from 878 to 886, season 3 from 893 to 900, and season 4 takes place about 901 to 912.
The fictional protagonist is Uhtred of Bebbanburg. An earl of that name lived and ruled Bebbanburg (Bamburgh Castle) and Northumbria during the reign of Æthelred II, though about a century after the setting of "The Last Kingdom". When Æthelred had the ealdorman of Southern Northumbria, Ælfhelm of York, murdered in 1006, Uhtred the Bold was made earl of a united Northumbria (and likely ealdorman of York), his seat at Bebbanburg. He spent much of his time defending the northern border from the Scots. He fought loyally beside the Anglo-Saxons against the Danes and with Edmund Ironside. In 1016 after Cnut came to power, Cnut had Earl Uhtred killed, along with 40 other Saxon nobles, probably on Christmas Day. In Bernard Cornwell's series he adds a 'historical note' at the end, in which, especially in the first book, he mentions that Uhtred the Bold was his ancestor. He took the liberty of installing Uhtred earlier in history.
The protagonist (named Osbert in childhood) is re-baptised as Uhtred after his elder brother Uhtred is killed by the Danes; his father, along with other Saxon noblemen of Northumbria, are killed in battle against the Danes. Only his uncle and step-mother survive. Uhtred and a Saxon girl named Brida are taken as slaves by Earl Ragnar, now settled in Danish Northumbria, which becomes their adopted home. Time passes, and Ragnar's daughter Thyra is about to be married, but fellow Danes attack the night before the wedding and set fire to the hall in which the family is sleeping. Ragnar is burned alive, and Thyra taken as a slave. Only Uhtred and Brida escape, as they were away in the woods all night making charcoal. The attackers are led by Kjartan, a disgruntled Viking who had been banished by Ragnar from his lands years earlier for an offence committed by Kjartan's son Sven. Uhtred vows to avenge his adoptive father's death, while simultaneously hoping to reclaim Bebbanburg from his uncle—who seeks to kill Uhtred to keep Bebbanburg for himself. Uhtred is forced to choose between the kingdom of his ancestors and the people who have raised him, and his loyalties are constantly tested.
The first series roughly covers the events of Cornwell's novels "The Last Kingdom" and "The Pale Horseman", although they are condensed for the screen. The second series covers the happenings of Cornwell's novels "The Lords of the North" and "Sword Song". Series 3 is based on "The Burning Land" and "Death of Kings", but with considerable plot changes.
The third series' ten episodes were produced solely by Netflix. One reviewer indicated that this had a positive effect: "With it came a certain increase in production values, most notably during the epic end-of-episode clash in which the swing of every sword and thwock of every shield hit firmly home," but added that "the blood-and-gore budget has also undergone a significant increase, thanks in large part to the arrival of the beautiful but psychotic Skade (Thea Sofie Loch Næss)". Much of the series was written by Stephen Butchard, and filming was completed in Hungary. These episodes cover the decline in King Alfred's health, according to one report "while he tries to ensure that his fiercely-held vision of a Christian, Saxon Wessex as part of a stable English nation will survive him as his legacy ... the Uhtred-Alfred relationship is at the core of the story". All ten episodes of series 4 appeared on Netflix on 26 April 2020. As in series 3, there are significant plot differences to the books.
Production.
Development.
The series started shooting in November 2014. It is produced by Carnival Films for BBC Two and BBC America. Nick Murphy ("Prey, Occupation") is co-executive producing and directing multiple episodes. The series is filmed primarily in Hungary, with most scenes at the eight acres near Budapest owned by Korda Studios with its Medieval Village Set and surrounding mountains, forests, and lakes.
Filming for the second season began in Budapest in June 2016. Richard Rankin, Gerard Kearns, Thure Lindhardt, Millie Brady, Erik Madsen, and Peter McDonald joined the cast. In August 2016, "Aftonbladet" reported that Swedish actors Björn Bengtsson and Magnus Samuelsson would join the main cast. Also that month, it was reported that Stephen Butchard would return as the sole script writer and that Netflix had signed on as an international co-production partner for the second series.
In April 2018, Netflix confirmed that a third season was in production based on the books "The Lords of the North" and "Sword Song", which would air exclusively on the streaming service, and Bernard Cornwell indicated that he had been offered a cameo appearance. Swedish actor Ola Rapace joined the cast as Jarl Harald Bloodhair. Swedish director Erik Leijonborg was behind the camera for season three.
On 26 December 2018, the series was renewed for a fourth season by Netflix. On 7 July 2020, Netflix renewed it for a fifth season. On 30 April 2021, Netflix announced that the series would conclude with the fifth season.
Historical background.
The main events of the reign of Alfred the Great and his heirs are well recorded, and a number of men called Uhtred ruled from Bamburgh Castle, most notably Uhtred the Bold more than a century later. The people identified as "Danes" came from many places in and around Denmark, including Southern Sweden and Norway. Historians believe that the Danish invaders of Northumbria came from Jutland in Denmark, as mentioned in Cornwell's books, as well as some of the Danish islands and East Denmark (southern Sweden).
Release.
The first series of eight episodes premiered on 10 October 2015 in the United States on BBC America, and was broadcast shortly after in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 22 October 2015. It became available online in the United States via Netflix on 6 July 2016. It was added to Netflix on 28 December 2015 in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. The first series was broadcast in the Spanish region of Catalonia on TV3 on 24 July 2017.
The second and third series were released on Netflix in the US, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Japan, Australia, and Portugal.
Netflix was the sole distributor of the third series of ten episodes, produced by Carnival Films. On 26 December 2018, Netflix renewed the show for a fourth series, released on 26 April 2020 and once again produced by Carnival Films. It was renewed for a fifth and final series on 7 July 2020.
Reception.
The series has been met with a positive critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, series one has an 87% approval based on reviews from 31 critics, with an average of 7.61/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Last Kingdom" fuses beautiful cinematography and magnificent action sequences to create highly gratifying historical drama". On Metacritic, series 1 has a score of 78/100 based on 15 reviews. The second and the third series received 86% and 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
Sam Wollaston reviewed the first episode in "The Guardian" and warned, "It's wise not to get too attached to anyone in "The Last Kingdom"". Charlotte Runcie gave the opening episode four out of five in "The Daily Telegraph". Wollaston and Runcie both remarked on the similarities between "Last Kingdom" and "Game of Thrones".
Sean O'Grady in "The Independent" found that some of the language gave the series "a satisfyingly earthy quality", but he thought that the plot was "a little convoluted". The television reviewer for "Private Eye" was more critical, arguing that "The Last Kingdom" demonstrates how "Game of Thrones" "haunts the BBC", and that the series was directly derivative of both fantasy series and European dramas such as "The Killing" and "Wallander", yet lacking the features that have made such series successful.