WARLORD CHRONICLES TV series to air in August

The Winter King, the TV adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's acclaimed Warlord Chronicles trilogy, will start airing on August 20th this year.

The show was only commissioned last September and was put into rapid turn-around, with Bad Wolf Productions (A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials, Doctor Who) prioritising the project which they'd been developing since 2015.

The novels take the form of a historically-inspired take on the legend of Arthur, with armour, weapons and military tactics based on real 5th/6th century sources. The books are narrated by Derfel Cadarn, a relatively junior member of the Knights of the Round Table. In the novels, Arthur is not a king but a warlord, a mercenary commander who is chosen to act as regent for the true heir to the throne, Prince Mordred. Britain at this time is a seething morass of competing religious, political and cultural influences, divided between the Roman occupiers whose time is fading, the native Britons and the invading Saxons. Arthur has the unenviable task of forging these forces into a coalition to ensure peace in the islands, aided by Merlin, in this version of the story a lecherous high priest.

The series stars Eddie Marsan (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) as King Uther, Iain de Caestecker (Agents of SHIELD) as Arthur, Ellie James (I May Destroy You) as Nimue, Nathaniel Martello-White (I Hate Suzie) as Merlin, Stuart Campbell (Rogue Heroes) as Derfel, Daniel Ings (The Crown) as Owain, Valene Kane (Gangs of London) as Morgan, Jordan Alexandra (Mammals) as Guinevere and Simon Merrells (Knightfall) as Gundleus.

The series is produced by Bad Wolf and parent company Sony Television, and will air on MGM+ in the United States and ITVX in the United Kingdom.

WARLORD CHRONICLES TV series greenlit by Bad Wolf and ITVX

Bad Wolf Productions have finally pulled the trigger on their long, long-gestating Warlord Chronicles TV series.

Based on the historical-with-a-hint-of-fantasy trilogy by Bernard Cornwell, the series is a "realistic" take on the legend of Arthur, recasting Arthur as a post-Roman mercenary commander or warlord who has to rule as regent of the kingdom of Dumnonia for the young Prince Mordred, and how he deals in a politically complex world divided between the remnants of the Romans (particularly the cult of Mithras), the native Britons and the invading Saxons. The series is notable for its attempts to be historically accurate to 5th and 6th Century Britain, particular when it comes to military, religious and political concerns.

The trilogy consists of the novels The Winter King (1995), Enemy of God (1996) and Excalibur (1997), and is consistently Cornwell's most acclaimed series, helped by its conciseness (his Sharpe and Last Kingdom series, both previously adapted to television, are better-known but considerably longer) and its revisionist take on familiar characters, with Guinevere as a fierce warrior-queen of another tribe and Merlin as a priest whose magical powers are more claimed than demonstrable.

The 10-part first season, which will adapt The Winter King, will debut on the streaming platform ITVX in the UK. Bad Wolf Productions are currently looking for an international streaming/distribution partner. They have good relations with HBO and the BBC, with whom they produced His Dark Materials (which returns for a third and final season this year). Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore are writing, whilst Otto Bathurst will direct.

Bad Wolf originally optioned the series in 2015, at the same time as His Dark Materials, but wanted to complete work on that show before moving to a new project.

Bad Wolf are also producing Doctor Who for the BBC, with Russell T. Davies in charge. Production appears to be complete or almost so on a series of three specials due to air in 2023 for the show's 60th anniversary, which will see David Tennant reprise his role as the Doctor, and they are about to start production on the fourteenth series, which will see Ncuti Gatwa take on the role.

The Last Kingdom: Season 5

AD 917. Many years of peace have endured between the Saxons and Danes. However, the return of the vengeful Danish leader Brida, former lover and now sworn enemy of Uhtred, upsets the peace, as does the ambitions of King Edward of Wessex to finally unite all of England under his rule. Uhtred has to carefully manage politics and war as he seeks to restore the peace and find a safe haven for his family.

Over the course of five seasons, The Last Kingdom has secured its position as one of the most watchable, entertaining swords 'n' beards series on television. Adapting Bernard Cornwell's novel series of the same name, the show has used brisk pacing, an excellent cast and some epic battles (on a not-so-epic budget) to tell a story of stirring politics and war in 9th and 10th Century Britain.

The fifth season of The Last Kingdom is the last, adapting the ninth and tenth books in the series: Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer. The final three books in the series have instead been replaced in the adaptation by a single TV movie, Seven Kings Must Die, to follow later this year or early next. The decision to end the series in a different way to the books makes a fair bit of sense. In the books, Uhtred is around 60 years old during the events of this season (the actor playing him is only 39) and in his seventies at the end of the series, so ending at this point is a reasonable decision, especially as the ending of the story here brings the entire series around in a satisfying full circle.

The season also integrates the plots of the two books together, so rather than a fairly obvious mid-season shift in gears, the story organically moves from one storyline to the other. In the first, various factions trigger an end to the Danish-Saxon peace, resulting in a renewed conflict which the major leaders don't really want. Uhtred is invaluable here as he free-wheels between the two camps, trying to maintain peace whilst finding those really responsible for the chaos. This evolves into a larger-scale story as King Edward takes advantage of an opportunity to take more power in England, giving Uhtred a window of opportunity to realise a lifelong dream.

The 10-episode season unfolds at a brisk pace, the cast is as strong as ever, and there's a melancholic air to proceedings as Uhtred tries to keep his family - now grown up, married or with commitments of their own - together in the face of their own wishes and the whims of history. The nicely nuanced characterisation of the previous season, which saw Aelswith move from an antagonist of Uhtred's to reluctant ally, continues and is improved upon here. The battles are also stronger than Season 4's, which were underwhelming.

There are weaknesses. Uhtred suffering a setback, getting annoyed and then winning an unlikely victory is a trope we've seen before. Adrian Schiller is a fine actor but making his Aethelhelm (the most obvious "enemy within" ever) the main antagonist of the second half of the series feels a bit drawn out. A forbidden romance between Edward and a noblewoman named Eadgifu (a fine Sonya Cassidy) starts strongly and then kind of stalls. Wihtgar (Ossian Perret) is an underwhelming secondary villain. The lack of ageing makeup for any of the actors in the series is also increasingly bizarre, reaching comical heights in scenes where Aelswith (28-year-old Elisa Butterworth) is in deep conversation with her daughter Aethelflaed (28-year-old Millie Brady) and granddaughter Aelfwynn (22-year-old Phia Saban). But from a production standpoint, I get why they wanted to minimise such things.

The fifth and final season of The Last Kingdom (****) is not perfect, but it delivers a rousing finale to an enjoyable run. The show is available to watch on Netflix now.

Netflix releases trailer and airdate for the final season of THE LAST KINGDOM

Netflix has released the trailer for the fifth and final season of The Last Kingdom. They also confirmed that the series will air on 9 March.

The Last Kingdom's fifth season will adapt the ninth and tenth books in the series, Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer. The thrust of the season will be on the final showdown between Uhtred and his former lover, Brida, a key ally turned into a longstanding enemy. Their enmity also takes place as Uhtred finally assembles the forces needed to retake his ancestral homeland of Bebbanburg, as once again Uhtred finds himself potentially at odds with his liege, King Edward.

There are three more books in the series, but Netflix has decided to not adapt them traditionally. Instead, their events will form the basis for a sequel movie, Seven Kings Must Die, which will act as the grand coda for the entire series. Production on the movie is expected to begin shortly for release in 2023.

Netflix commissions LAST KINGDOM movie

Netflix have commissioned a two-hour Last Kingdom film to follow the fifth and final season of the TV series next year.

Seven Kings Must Die will act as a follow-up to the series, with Alexander Dreymon (Uhtred) and most of the cast expected to reprise their roles.

Netflix revealed last May that the show would end with the fifth season. The news caused consternation among fans, because under the show's scheme of adapting two novels of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Saga per season that would mean the show would only reach the tenth of thirteen books in the series. However, there was also speculation that Netflix were reluctant to commit to the massive time-skips that occur in the latter part of the series and leave Uhtred in his seventies by the time of the final novel (it should be noted that the series has already had thirty-something Dreymon playing Uhtred as a teenager in the first season and an early fifty-something in the fourth).

However the title Seven Kings Must Die may hint that the movie will indeed jump forwards to the closing storylines from the novels, which see the Seven Kingdoms of Britain (the Heptarchy) finally uniting under one single King of England, fulfilling the dream laid out by Alfred the Great in the opening episodes of the series.

Seven Kings Must Die starts shooting in early 2022 in Budapest, presumably for a 2023 release. Season 5 of The Last Kingdom is expected to drop on the streamer in the spring.

THE LAST KINGDOM to end with fifth season

The saga of Uhtred of Bebbanburg is coming to an end on television. Netflix have announced that the fifth season of The Last Kingdom, currently shooting in Hungary, will be the last.

The Last Kingdom adapts the Saxon Saga series by Bernard Cornwell and tells the story of the unification of England out of seven founding kingdoms in the 9th and 10th centuries, a mixture of Saxon nations and lands seized by the invading Danes. Early books focus on King Alfred the Great as he tries to protect Wessex from the invaders with the help of Uhtred, a Saxon raised by Danes who becomes an expert on their way of battle; later books see Uhtred torn between his Saxon and Danish loyalties, but ultimately helping Alfred's successors complete the unification of England. There are thirteen books in the series, with the last, War Lord being published last year.

Each season of the TV show has adapted two novels, leading to the conclusion that the show would last six or seven seasons. However, each season has moved further and further away from the source material and the TV show has had issues in depicting the realistic aging of the characters over many decades. Concluding the TV show with the events of The Flame Bearer, in which a middle-aged Uhtred finally sets out to reclaim his childhood home of Bebbanburg from his duplicitous cousin, is a reasonable dramatic compromise (the books end with a seventy-something Uhtred taking part at the Battle of Brunanburh).

Cornwell fans hopefully won't have to wait too long for another adaptation, though. Cornwell's even more acclaimed Warlord Chronicles trilogy, a "realistic" depiction of the Arthurian legend, is currently in development at Epix.

THE LAST KINGDOM renewed for a fifth season

The Last Kingdom has been renewed by Netflix for a fifth season.

It’s so good to know we’re good to go. All aboard the party bus! #Season5 #TheLastKingdom pic.twitter.com/OLzOH5Fckx

— The Last Kingdom (@TheLastKingdom) July 7, 2020

Lead actor Alexander Dreymon broke the news to his fellow castmembers via several video chats. Understandably, they were very excited by the news. It's also a great sign from Netflix in the success of the series; Netflix has a habit of cancelling shows after two seasons, so for Netflix to pick up the series for a third season with them (they took over production from the BBC in Season 3) is a confidence booster that the show - expected to last for six or seven seasons in total - will go all the way.

The fifth season is expected to adapt the ninth and tenth books in Bernard Cornwell's novel series, Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer, although the TV series has become an increasingly loose adaptation of the books as it has continued.

The thirteenth and final novel in the series, War Lord, will also be published on 15 October this year.

The Last Kingdom: Season 4

AD 910. The Kingdom of Mercia has launched an ambitious invasion of East Anglia, to the disquiet of their ally, King Edward of Wessex, who was not consulted about the plan in advance. However, the Danes have outflanked the Mercian advance and attacked Mercia's capital instead. As Wessex and Mercia try to regroup, the services of Uhtred are called upon, but he has gone north on a daring mission to reclaim his ancestral seat at Bebbanburg.

The Last Kingdom has become one of the most reliably entertaining ongoing series on television. A historical epic, it adapts Bernard Cornwell's novel series about the unification of England across several generations and three kings, starting with Alfred the Great, all seen through the eyes of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon of Northumbria raised by the Danes as one of their own.

The fourth season adapts the novels The Pagan Lord and The Empty Throne, although it continues to take significant liberties with the source material. This season, in particular, has barely any similarities with the novels in question.

The first half of the season sees the Danes on the rampage yet again, this time under the warlord Cnut (protip: always check the spelling) who sneakily exchanges the Danelaw in East Anglia in return for the prize of Mercia itself. Uhtred is distracted by an opportunity to take Bebbanburg, which predictably goes badly wrong. After four seasons viewers may find it wearying that, once again, Uhtred is presented with an opportunity to fulfil his destiny and once again loses it, but it remains a powerful motivational force for Uhtred's actions. The second half of the season switches to politics, as the throne of one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms becomes vacant and King Edward tries to manoeuvre an ally into place without it being too obvious that is what he is trying to do, whilst a new and canny Danish warlord arises.

The theme of the season is family: Uhtred's son Young Uhtred and daughter Stiorra are now teenagers, the former a Christian priest and the latter a half-wild Dane. Uhtred is also in an ill-advised relationship with Aethelflaed which he hopes may bring him peace and happiness, which feels a bit naive of him at this stage in his life. In what is probably the season's strongest and best-acted arc, we also get a great bit of storytelling for Aelswith, King Alfred's widow, who feels left out of the political counsels and no longer needed. Eliza Butterworth has always been excellent in making what has been a traditionally antagonistic character consistently understandable and occasionally sympathetic, but this season she is on another level as she brings her character's steel and dignity into debates actually on Uhtred's side (a sequence where she actually congratulates him on a well-judged political decision leads to a look of surprise on Uhtred's face that is quite comical). Her attempts to maintain the familial relationships between her son, the king, and her daughter, the Lady of Mercia, area also well-handled.

Elsewhere, the cast are reliably strong as ever and numerous new castmembers make good first impressions. In Season 3 the show suffered from the loss of David Dawson (King Alfred) and some ill-judged casting decisions (particularly Thea Naess as Skade, who was not suitable for the role), but Season 4 sees the casting team get their mojo back and the new characters all get their moments in the sun.

The scope of the series expands, with the action now incorporating events in Wales, Northumbria and Ireland, and there's also a feeling of political and military progress in the over-arcing struggle. Whilst in Season 1 Wessex was the "Last Kingdom" of the title, the only Saxon kingdom left free, by the end of Season 4 all of the kingdoms have now been reclaimed, with one last hold-out which King Edward has turned his sights towards. In fact, I'm starting to wonder if Netflix are hedging their bets that they could end the series with a fifth season, with the narrative foundations in place for them be more bold in deviating from the books and wrapping things up sooner than in the books. It'll be interesting to see what decision they make there.

The season has a few weaknesses. The battle sequences are a bit of a let-down, with only one shield wall assembled in the entire season and a decidedly ahistorical focus on cavalry engagements (which were not hugely common at this period in history, when horses were expensive and mass cavalry formations not particularly common in England) and ranged missile weapons. After Season 3's strong battle scenes, Season 4's feel underwhelming. The political scheming in the second half of the season is also a bit overwrought. The Last Kingdom is not early Game of Thrones in that respect and the politicking is a bit obvious. It's good when the last two episodes move beyond that to a more exciting "city under siege" story, although the mechanics of the siege are a bit disappointing (the way the city initially falls to the enemy is fairly nonsensical).

For its mix of strong characters, solid action beats and engaging storytelling, the fourth season of The Last Kingdom (****½) continues this show's run of being one of the most consistently entertaining shows on air. It is available to watch now on Netflix worldwide.

A rough-and-ready LAST KINGDOM chronology

With the fourth season of The Last Kingdom recently released on Netflix, I thought it might be interesting to create a chronology of events in both the TV series and the books the series is based on.

Both the Last Kingom novels (by Bernard Cornwell) and the TV series are set in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, when the island of Britain is contested between seven feuding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Essex, East Anglia, Kent and Sussex) and the invading Danes. The Danes had originally come as raiders from across the North Sea, but by the time of the series they have established colonies throughout eastern Britain, using them as springboards to further invasions. The British kingdoms are fighting back piecemeal, but are vulnerable to being attacked and destroyed in isolation.

The one man who may be able to stem the tide is the newly-crowned King of Wessex, Alfred. Alfred has a vision of the seven kingdoms united as one, under one ruler and the One True God. He has a name for this vision, "England," but needs warriors to bring it to fruition. It seems that God is smiling on Alfred when he delivers to him a ferocious soldier and canny warleader named Uhtred, a Saxon child raised by the Danes and familiar with both cultures and their ways of war. But, whilst Uhtred fights for Alfred in return for a home and silver, he does not share his vision or his God, and the tensions between them unfold even as the wars to determine the fate of England rage.

Chronology

• 858 AD: Uhtred is born in Bebbanburg, Northumbria.
• 867: Battle of Eoferwic. Defeat of the Northumbrians. Uhtred is captured by Ragnar of the Danes. Uhtred is 9.
• 871: Alfred becomes King of Wessex after the death of his brother. Uhtred is 13.
• 874-876: Death of Ragnar. Uhtred and his adopted sister Brida escape to Wessex. Book 1 and the first half of Season 1 take place. Uhtred is 16-18.
• 878: The Battle of Ethandun. Book 2 and the second half of Season 1 take place. Uhtred is 20.
• 881: Book 3 and the first half of Season 2 take place. Uhtred is 23.
• 886: Lundune is recaptured. Book 4 and the second half of Season 2 take place. Uhtred is 28.
• 892-893: Book 5 and the first half of Season 3 take place. Uhtred is 34-35.
• 899: Alfred dies. Aethelwold's bid for power begins. Book 6 and the second half of Season 3 begin. Uhtred is 41.
• 902: Aethelwold is defeated. Edward crowned. Book 6 and the second half of Season 3 conclude. Uhtred is 44.
• 910: The Battle of Tettenhall. Book 7 and the first half of Season 4 take place. Uhtred is 52.
• 911: Aethelred dies, succession crisis in Mercia. Book 8 and the second half of Season 4 take place. Uhtred is 53.
• 917: Book 9 takes place. Uhtred is 59
• 918: Book 10 takes place. Uhtred is 60.
• 923-924: Book 11 takes place. Uhtred is 65-66.
• 924: Book 12 takes place. Uhtred is 66.
• 937: Battle of Brunanburh. It is assumed that Book 13 (the final book) takes place at this time. Uhtred is 79.

If you're thinking that Uhtred is looking good for a 53-year-old in the latest season of The Last Kingdom, you're not wrong! It'll be interesting to see if future seasons age him up more noticeably.

The Saxon Stories (aka The Last Kingdom)

1. The Last Kingdom (2004)
2. The Pale Horsemen (2005)
3. The Lords of the North (2006)
4. Sword Song (2007)
5. The Burning Land (2009)
6. Death of Kings (2011)
7. The Pagan Lord (2013)
8. The Empty Throne (2014)
9. Warriors of the Storm (2015)
10. The Flame Bearer (2016)
11. War of the Wolf (2018)
12. Sword of Kings (2019)
13. War Lord (2020)

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Final LAST KINGDOM novel to be released this October

HarperCollins have confirmed that the thirteenth and final Last Kingdom (aka The Saxon Stories) novel by Bernard Cornwell will be released this October.

The book will be entitled War Lord and will, assuming Cornwell's previous statements about how the series ends hold true, depict the Battle of Brunanburh, effectively the last major conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes on the island of Britain for a century. Uhtred will be an old man by this time (in his seventies at least), so the series will presumably deal with Uhtred's ultimate fate and those of his friends and family.

Season 4 of The Last Kingdom, the Netflix series adapting the books, will arrive in the late spring or summer of this year. It will adapt the seventh and eighth books in the series, The Pagan Lord and The Empty Throne.

WARLORD CHRONICLES TV series goes into active development at Epix

American cable network Epix has teamed with Bad Wolf Productions, the company behind His Dark Materials, to develop The Warlord Chronicles novel series by Last Kingdom creator Bernard Cornwell for television.

The Warlord Chronicles consists of three novels: The Winter King (1995), Enemy of God (1996) and Excalibur (1997). The Warlord Chronicles are a "realistic" take on the legend of King Arthur, set during the 5th and 6th Centuries in a Britain riven by religious and political turmoil. The Roman Empire has collapsed, but some of the Roman settlers and armies remain. The native Britons are trying to re-establish themselves, but the first waves of Saxons are starting to invade from the east. Roman religious cults and the newly-arrived religion of Christianity are struggling against the native pagan druids and other old faiths. It's a time of great danger, enhanced when King Uther Pendragon of Dumnonia dies and the protection of his infant son and heir Mordred falls to Uther's bastard child Arthur. Unable to ever become king, Arthur instead takes on the mantle of Warlord. Arthur's stewardship sees Dumnonia - rendered "Camelot" by later chroniclers - become a great power but it is sore-pressed by both internal and external pressures. The story is also notable for being told from the point of view of Derfel Cadarn, a very junior member of Arthur's circle, rather than from one of the better-known characters of the legend. The whole story is being related in exacting detail by Cadarn to some monks. To his horror, they start "sexing up" the stories with magic swords and ladies in lakes, forming the legend as we currently know it.

The Warlord Chronicles is often cited as Bernard Cornwell's strongest work, and the most successful version of the Arthurian legend of recent decades.

Epix is a relatively obscure American cable network, although it his scored some hits with the likes of Godfather of Harlem, Perpetual Grace LTD and Pennyworth. Their plan is to adapt the series under the title The Winter King. So far the project is only in development and has not yet been given a pilot order.

Bad Wolf optioned The Warlord Chronicles in 2015, but has delayed work on the show whilst they were getting The Night of, A Discovery of Witches and His Dark Materials underway.

The Last Kingdom: Season 3

AD 899. King Alfred's health is failing and his grand vision to unify the seven kingdoms of England under Christian rule has not yet been fulfilled. His son Edward stands to inherit the throne of Wessex but he is callow and untested, and the troublesome Prince Athelwold is again pressing his claim to the throne. To secure his dynasty, Alfred asks his greatest warrior, Uhtred, to pledge his sword to Edward for life. Uhtred refuses, yearning to set out on his long-planned quest to retake his ancestral home of Bebbanburg. Their quarrel turns violet and Uhtred finds himself banished from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...just as the Danes prepare their boldest plan of attack yet, and seek his support.

The Last Kingdom is one of the most enjoyable programmes on air, a (mostly) historical romp through the life and times of Alfred the Great and his heirs, who seek to unify England as one kingdom whilst facing constant pressure from the heathen Danes. Bernard Cornwell's novels are great fun and the TV adaptation is mostly faithful, although occasionally compressing events or characters for clarity.

The third season loosely adapts the fifth and sixth books in the series, The Burning Land and Death of Kings, and follows an over-arcing plot where the various tensions between Alfred and Uhtred that have built up over the series explode, bringing them to blows and seeing Uhtred banished from his new home. Uhtred is ensnared in the machinations of the alleged sorceress, Skade, and is convinced to join an alliance of Danes against Alfred, to the disquiet of some of his men who are still loyal to Wessex. The result is ten episodes of political intrigue, action and character development as the various agendas of the factions involved are put into conflict.

For a show in its third year, The Last Kingdom still feels fresh and ambitious. The show has moved from the BBC to Netflix with a notable budget increase, so battles and sets are suddenly a lot bigger and more impressive than before. This is also why we get ten episodes this season rather than eight. The extra episode-per-book is a good idea, as it allows the story a bit more room to breathe. That fast and furious pace for the earlier seasons was good, but did sometimes feel a bit rushed. This time around, there is more time to digest what is going on. This is especially useful as the story is now unfolding on many fronts simultaneously, with Alfred, Uhtred, Beocca and Brida each getting a fair slice of the action.

The regular cast are on top form, with the show getting its finest dramatic moment when Alfred and Uhtred finally abandon their formal stations and speak honestly to one another about their interlocking lives and destinies. Alexander Dreymon and David Dawson do superb work in this sequence.

There are some weaknesses. The Skade storyline is somewhat dull, not helped by Thea Naess not being the strongest actor in the show's line-up, and it's somewhat merciful when it is resolved mid-season, allowing for a lot more interesting drama revolving around Uhtred and his torn loyalties in the build-up to the excellent season finale.

The third season of The Last Kingdom (****½) represents a show still on top form, with excellent writing, performances and better pacing than previous seasons. It is available to watch on Netflix now.

A fourth season recently finished filming and should air on Netflix in 2020.

THE LAST KINGDOM renewed for fourth season

Netflix have renewed The Last Kingdom for a fourth season, as announced by the cast in an amusing video.

The BBC commissioned and began airing The Last Kingdom with a well-received first season back in 2015, co-produced with BBC America. For Season 2 BBC America dropped out as co-producer and was replaced by Netflix, who also started showing the series worldwide on the their platform, where it picked up a much wider audience. The BBC decided to pull out after the second season but Netflix picked up the show and it returned last month with a higher budget, more episodes and the strongest critical reception to date.

The TV series, set in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, follows the adventures and misadventures of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon noble boy who is captured by Danes and raised as one of them. After the death of his adopted Danish family, he finds himself torn between his Danish and Saxon heritages, but eventually swears his sword to King Alfred of Wessex, a pious and godly king who believes it is his destiny to unite the seven Saxon kingdoms together as one: England. Alfred and Uhtred have a complex relationship, with Uhtred saving Alfred's life on several occasions but Alfred struggling to create a Christian kingdom when his greatest warrior refuses to convert to the cross.

The TV series is based on The Saxon Stories, a series of novels by historical fictional writer Bernard Cornwell. The series is planned to expand across 14 novels (eleven of which have been published), which in total will follow Uhtred and the fate of Wessex from Alfred becoming King in 871 all the way to the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, when the fate of England is finally decided; Uhtred will presumably be in his eighties in the last novel of the series. The series is loosely based on real history, with the caveat that the historical Uhtred actually lived a century after the fictional one.

Trailer for THE LAST KINGDOM Season 3

Netflix have posted a brief teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of The Last Kingdom.

Based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series of historical novels (which now extends across eleven novels and counting), the series is set in 9th Century Britain and explores the clash of cultures arising when Danish raiders (and settlers) arrive and clash with the native seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the most powerful of which is Wessex. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon child raised by Danish parents, is thrust into the middle of this conflict when he allies with Alfred, King of Wessex, soon to be known as "The Great" for his dream of unifying the island of Britain as one kingdom.

The first two seasons of The Last Kingdom were produced by the BBC and well-received, but the BBC cancelled the series due to mounting production costs. Netflix stepped in to save the show.

No release date has been set for the series, but it is expected to air on Netflix before the end of the year.

THE LAST KINGDOM cancelled by the BBC but saved by Netflix

The BBC has decided not to continue with its Saxon-era historical drama The Last Kingdom, based on author Bernard Cornwell's Saxon saga which currently runs to ten novels. However, Netflix have stepped in and will continue the series, with the third season due to air later this year.

The first season of The Last Kingdom was a co-production between the BBC and BBC America, but BBC America dropped out after the first season, citing disappointing ratings in the US, although UK ratings were strong. Netflix took over as international distributor and co-funder of the series. The BBC has decided not to continue the series, so Netflix have taken over production completely.

The news does make sense, as The Last Kingdom has received good critical notices since debuting. In addition The Last Kingdom gives Netflix a toehold in the historical drama field without the monstrous price tag of some of their other shows, like The Crown and the cancelled Marco Polo. By Netflix standards, The Last Kingdom's budget is very modest and even with a moderate budget increase (which would be helpful to sell some of the bigger action scenes) it would still be one of their cheapest programmes.

Season 3 of The Last Kingdom will air before the end of 2018, with Netflix to make a decision on continuing the programme based on how it fares as a Netflix original.

Slightly paradoxically, the BBC have cited competition from Netflix and Amazon TV as reason why they can't continue production of drama programmes like The Last Kingdom, and have even advised that in the future, predicted budget shortfalls for British broadcasters may threaten shows like Doctor Who and Sherlock.

What will HBO's next big show be?

HBO have a problem, they've had it for a couple of years and it's getting more of a pressing issue as time goes on. In 2018, Game of Thrones will end and HBO will be left, for the very first time since 1998, without a big hit show that everyone is talking about.

Way back in 1998 HBO, still new to the original scripted drama game, debuted Sex and the City. It was a massive success, got lots of people talking and won HBO a huge number of subscriptions. HBO doubled down on this a year later when it began airing The Sopranos, a violent crime series about the life of mob boss who tries to keep his business running under constant surveillance. Over the next decade HBO aired many critically-acclaimed and popular dramas (including Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Deadwood, Big Love, Rome and The Wire, as well as mini-series like Band of Brothers, The Corner and John Adams) but The Sopranos and Sex in the City were the jewels in the network's crown.

Sex and the City ended in 2004. The Sopranos followed suit in 2007 and it looked like HBO might have to survive without a big, successful show on the air. However, by luck the following season they debuted a TV drama series about vampires. True Blood would go on to almost match the success and buzz of The Sopranos (although not quite the same level of critical acclaim). And just at the point that True Blood's critical and commercial success began waning in 2011, they debuted Game of Thrones, which would go on to become the most successful show in the network's history.

According to HBO, they've never "needed" a massive, genre-defining show to lead with. They get a lot of subscriptions for their sports and movie channels, and their original drama and comedy programming has really been an added bonus on top of that. Their top executives seem relatively sanguine about the possibility that they may end up in a situation where they have no massive, subscription-encouraging series on the air for a few years. How the reality of that feels after twenty years of being the top dogs will likely be a different story, however. More of an issue for HBO has been that original scripted cable drama used to be very much the field they owned exclusively, but now other channels such as Starz (Black Sails and Outlander), AMC (The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad) and Showtime (the new Twin Peaks) are fighting for that space, not to mention the competition posed by Netflix and Amazon with their original programming. HBO isn't the automatic "go-to" network any more for talented creators who want to get a pet project on the air any more.

Paradoxically, despite HBO making quite staggering amounts of money, they have also become more risk-averse. They have cancelled shows after producing pilots and canned projects that should appear to be slam-dunk successes. Embarrassingly, some of these projects have gone on to great success on other networks and in other venues (most famously Mad Men, which HBO turned down and went to air with AMC).

More impressive is the fact that HBO turned down no less than three absolutely killer shows based on books which would have been a perfect fit for them and perfect follow-ups for Game of Thrones, being fantasy shows but "different" kinds of fantasy to Thrones. The first of these was The Dark Tower, based on the Stephen King novels. HBO developed this both as a joint TV-film cross-media project and then just as a TV show. However, HBO got cold feet and dropped it. It's been picked up by Sony Pictures as a major film project and shooting starts in a few weeks with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey starring. The second was Preacher, based on the violent but critically-acclaimed graphic novel series by Garth Ennis. The series was in an advanced state of development when HBO apparently (and uncharacteristically) got cold feet over the show's controversial stance on religion and dropped it. AMC picked it up and shooting has wrapped on the first season, which should debut in a few months. Early buzz on pilot screenings is extremely positive, and the show should make an excellent companion series for The Walking Dead. Finally, there was American Gods. HBO had developed multiple pilot scripts with Neil Gaiman, the writer of the novel, and had looked virtually certain to greenlight it when they very abruptly dropped it, to the puzzlement of just about everybody. Starz has since picked up the series and production is currently underway in Toronto.

So, we have to ask, what does HBO have on its development plate right now, what is available and what could they do to produce a follow-up hit show to Thrones? Let's take a look.

Westworld

Westworld is based on Michael Crichton's 1973 film of the same name and is set in a futuristic theme park where the robot exhibits start to break free and take control. This has an absolutely stellar cast, with Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden and Thandie Newton starring and Jonathan Nolan writing and directing. The series is in the final stages of filming right now for a debut airdate expected at the end of this year. However, the show has experienced major production problems including a four-month filming shutdown amidst rumours over writing problems and controversy over some of the actors' contracts. In addition, the show seems to be mainly a cerebral affair about the future of artificial intelligence and consciousness, which will make for a stirring SF series (and this is HBO's first-ever outright science fiction show) but is unlikely to win over a mass audience.

Watchmen

Director Zack Snyder (The 300, Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice) actually made a movie of Watchmen in 2009, to a mixed critical reception (I liked it). However, even the most ardent admirers would have to admit that the film had to rush a lot of Alan Moore's material from the seminal 1985 graphic novel to fit into just two hours, so Snyder has gone to HBO with the intention of re-staging the story as a TV show (possibly drawing on some of the materials published since, such as the Beyond Watchmen project). HBO seem to be interested, but have not formally greenlit the project yet. With Snyder committed to Superman and Justice League movies for some time, this would likely be handled by other writers. To be honest, this could be a really good series, but I suspect it would only work as a mini-series rather than an ongoing, multi-year project.

Foundation

Jonathan Nolan has proposed a TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's seven Foundation novels to HBO, who have optioned the book rights ahead of further discussions and seeing a script. HBO took the step of buying the rights whilst they were already held by Roland Emmerich (who was developing a film before the buy-off), so seem to be pretty serious about this project. However, Nolan is now working on Westworld so this project has likely been kicked down the curb a fair ways.

Foundation is one of science fiction's most famous series. Set 22,000 years in the future, it chronicles the collapse of the vast Galactic Empire and the attempt by a scientific thinktank, the Foundation, to preserve scientific knowledge and wisdom through an estimated thousand years of barbarism to follow. The novels span roughly the first half of this period, culminating in the rediscovery of the long-forgotten homeworld of humanity, Earth.

This could make for an interesting series, especially if HBO adopt an anthology approach and jump forward decades or centuries between seasons a la True Detective. However, there will have to be a lot of invention for the series as Asimov's view of the future is seriously outdated by this time.

I, Claudius

As has been said a few times, Game of Thrones feels very much like a spiritual successor to Bruno Heller's excellent historical drama series Rome, which aired for two seasons and 23 episodes between 2005 and 2007. Rome was cancelled due to budgetary concerns, something HBO later regretted when they checked the DVD and foreign screening sales. However, HBO left the elaborate outdoor set in Italy standing as a tourist attraction and a filming location for other series and documentaries. In 2011 HBO announced that they were developing a fresh adaptation of Robert Graves's classic novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God, previously filmed by the BBC in 1976. Given that the original plan was for Rome to jump forward to this story in its fourth or fifth season had it stayed on the air anyway, this could be very much a clever way of getting Rome back on the air, potentially using the same sets but sadly (due to a time-skip forward of several decades) not the same actors. However, HBO have not commented on the project in some years, so the enthusiasm for it may have fizzled out, which would be a shame as a new series set in Ancient Rome would be very welcome.

The Warlord Chronicles

HBO don't have the rights to this book trilogy, but Bad Wolf Productions do, having optioned it a few months ago. Bad Wolf also have a co-development deal with both HBO and the BBC, but the BBC are likely too busy with Bad Wolf's His Dark Materials series to take this on as well. Hopefully, HBO will give this a look. Written by Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom, Sharpe), The Warlord Chronicles are a "realistic" take on the legend of King Arthur, set during the 5th and 6th Centuries in a Britain riven by religious and political turmoil. The Roman Empire has collapsed, but some of the Roman settlers and armies remain. The native Britons are trying to re-establish themselves, but the first waves of Saxons are starting to invade from the east. Roman religious cults and the newly-arrived religion of Christianity are struggling against the native pagan druids and other old faiths. It's a time of great danger, enhanced when King Uther Pendragon dies and the protection of his infant son and heir Mordred falls to Uther's bastard child Arthur. Unable to ever become king, Arthur instead takes on the mantle of Warlord.

It's a rich and atmospheric take on the legend of King Arthur, noted for its much greater focus on realism. There were no knights (in the medieval sense), massive stone fortresses or armies in the tens of thousands at this time, so the focus is on fighting with spears and shields, holdfasts are mostly made of wood and a formidable army might only consist of a few hundred - or even a few dozen! - men. Merlin is a randy priest of the old faith, Guinevere is a warrior chief and Lancelot a warrior with tremendous PR skills. The whole story is being related in exacting detail by a warrior of the Round Table, Derfel Cadarn, to some monks. To his horror, they start "sexing up" the stories with magic swords and ladies in lakes, forming the legend as we currently know it.

This would make for a great follow-up to Game of Thrones, especially if handled by a good writer. It might only be a three-season project (the books are quite slim) but there's still plenty of excellent material to get onto the screen.

Wild Cards

This would be a very different kind of story to Thrones, but potentially one with broad appeal. This series of short story collections and "mosaic novels" began in 1987 with Wild Cards and now extends across 23 books and several comics. George R.R. Martin created the universe, edits all of the books and has written several stories for the series, but the stories are the actual creation of many other writers. It seems likely, especially if HBO decides not to proceed with Watchmen, that they'll want to dip their toes into the superhero genre at some point and this story of flawed people who are more likely to be broken or corrupted by their powers than turned into paragons is right up HBO's alley. It would also tie in with HBO's development deal with Martin and give them lots of stories to adapt as well as the freedom to create their own material. The rights were until recently held by SyFy, but are due to lapse imminently.

The premise of the series is that in 1946 an alien virus is released on Earth. Thousands of people are affected: 90% are killed, 9% turn into malformed "Jokers" with useless powers and abilities and 1% into "Aces" or outright superheroes. An alternative history of the 20th Century unfolds as the Aces and Jokers take part in historical events, face discrimination and try to make their own lives in a changed world.

Temeraire

This is a bit more of a stretch because HBO's name has not come up in relation to it. However, it would be a good fit. Years ago, Peter Jackson eyed Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels with the intention of turning them into films. However, first the Tintin trilogy and then the Hobbit movies got in the way. With two Tintin movies still to make and other projects on the fire, Jackson is likely years away from even getting close to making this as a film. A few years back he acknowledged this, combined with the problem of adapting nine books, and confirmed he was repurposing it as a TV series with him only taking a producer's credit.

HBO joining forces with Weta Workshop to make a TV show about dragons fighting for both sides during the Napoleonic Wars? That's a high concept that I think would be up HBO's street and I think could make for an entertaining (if highly-budgeted) show.

The Last Kingdom: Season 1

AD 866. Uhtred, the Northumbrian Ealdorman of Bebbanburg, is slain in battle with raiders and his son, also called, Uhtred, is captured by Danes. Uhtred's spirit amuses one of the warriors, Ragnar, who decides to keep him and raise him as a slave and servant. When Uhtred saves Ragnar's daughter Thyra from another Danish boy, Ragnar adopts him into his household and teaches him the Danish art of war.

A decade later, Ragnar is betrayed and murdered by an affronted rival. Uhtred and a servant, Brida, escape. Learning that his uncle has usurped his father's seat, Uhtred decides to seek refuge in Wessex to the south. With Northumbria and Mercia overrun by the Danes and East Anglia under attack, Wessex is now the last surviving free Saxon kingdom in England. There Uhtred gains service with the king's brother, Alfred. Alfred is a visionary who sees a single great nation called England rising from the ashes of the Saxon kingdoms and the Danish strongholds...a nation that will need a great, first king.

The Last Kingdom is a television adaptation of the novel series of the same name by Bernard Cornwell, Britain's foremost and most popular writer of historical fiction. Cornwell's work has been adapted to the screen before, most notably his Sharpe series (starring a then-unknown Sean Bean) about a fictional officer raised from the ranks during the height of the Napoleonic Wars. The Last Kingdom is an earthier, harsher series where life is cheaper but also arguably more passionate. The series may have been inspired by the success of Game of Thrones, like so many others, but The Last Kingdom differs from them in one key respect: it's very, very good.

The first season adapts the first two novels in the series, The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horsemen. The through-line of the season is Uhtred's attempt to find a home where he can be accepted. Among the Danes, his Northumbrian birth causes some to look down on him, but amongst the Saxons his Danish upbringing is viewed with suspicion. His refusal to convert to Christianity also makes life difficult at the court in Winchester. Several times he offends his patron, Alfred of Wessex (the later King Alfred the Great), and he earns the enmity of several powerful noblemen, such as Odda the Younger. He does take an English wife, which helps with his image, but this causes further problems when their different backgrounds, religions and outlooks clash.

The series is clever enough to paint Uhtred as a deeply flawed human being. He is young and for all of the harshness of his times and the need to grow up quickly he can still be hotheaded, precipitous and foolish. His brashness and bravery is instrumental in achieving several victories and surviving ambushes, but also works against him as he blunders through the intricacies of court politics. Fortunately, various allies such as the priest Beocca and the great Wessex warrior Leofric are on hand to help him survive.

The series succeeds because of excellent writing, which borrows from the books but also mixes in other historical ideas, and tremendous performances. Alexander Dreymon's surly performance as Uhtred kind of grates until you realise he's supposed to be surly and arrogant, and this lessens over the series as he learns (more or less) humility. David Dawson is also nothing less than exceptional as Alfred, the bookish and quiet younger brother of the king who acts as his spymaster and chief diplomat who then unexpectedly is given the throne and crown despite a lack of charisma or battlefield skills. The fact that he somehow overcomes these problems to become the only English king in twelve centuries to ever be acknowledged "The Great" at first seems implausible, but his growth and evolution over the eight episodes leaves you in no doubt that this is a great man, a statesman who prefers reasoned dialogue but is prepared to use force when necessary. Adrian Bower gives an excellent performance as Leofric, and Leofric and Uhtred's "bromance" gives rise to many excellent moments of humour and comradeship. Female characters are also not forgotten, with Emily Cox giving a convincing conflicted performance as Brida, Uhtred's first love who cannot abandon her Danish ties. Charlie Murphy is also excellent as Iseult, the "Shadow Queen" of Cornwall, and Amy Wren gives a dignified performance as Mildrith, Uhtred's highly reluctant bride. Eliza Butterworth also has a tough role as Queen Aelswith, who initially appears to be very one-note, but later nuance is introduced to the character in a convincing manner.

In fact, all of the performances are excellent, helped by the quality script and great production values. The show is clearly made on a much tighter budget than Game of Thrones - the eight episodes in this first season apparently cost considerably less than just two episodes of Thrones - but delivers some impressive sets, visuals and battle sequences anyway.

If there are any weaknesses it's that the show can be a tad confusing at times, especially in its failure to show the passage of time. It's not made clear, for example, that months pass between some of the episodes, leading to the appearance of the Danes making peace and then breaking it almost instantly. There's also an issue with foreshadowing given that Uhtred is established as primarily wanting to retake his homeland of Bebbanburg but this ambition is then put on the backburner for most of the season. If the next season adapts the third and fourth novels in the series (as seems likely), this storyline should return to prominence then.

The first season of The Last Kingdom (****½) has a bit of a slow start but then transforms into a highly compelling, enjoyable slice of historical drama. It is available in the UK (DVD, Blu-Ray) now and will be released in the USA (on DVD only, controversially) on 6 January.

THE LAST KINGDOM renewed for a second season

The BBC has ordered a second season of The Last Kingdom, their TV drama based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Saga of novels.

The Last Kingdom has proven to be a successful series, winning critical acclaim and reasonably strong ratings on both sides of the Atlantic. The first season was based on the first two novels in the series (of nine so far), The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horsemen. If the second season is based on the next two novels, The Lords of the North and Sword Song, it will focus on Uhtred's quest to reclaim his homeland as well as widening the scope to new locations, including London.

Bernard Cornwell's WARLORD CHRONICLES optioned for TV

The television adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Saga, The Last Kingdom, is currently doing very well for the BBC and BBC America. However, news has been revealed that arguably his most critically-acclaimed work, The Warlord Chronicles, has been optioned as well.

Bad Wolf Productions, a new venture headed by ex-BBC executive Jane Tranter and producer Julie Gardner, has optioned the novels and is looking to develop them for television, possibly alongside their new American partner company, HBO. The same team are behind the His Dark Materials TV project for the BBC, announced today.

The Warlord Chronicles consists of the novels The Winter King (1995), Enemy of God (1997) and Excalibur (1998). The trilogy retells the Arthurian legend, but in an unusual way. The books are set in the realm Britain of the late 5th and early 6th Centuries, when passions and tensions are running high between the descendants of the Roman conquerors, the native British kingdoms and the invading Saxons. The books depict Arthur not as the King of Britain, but as the bastard son of the High King Uther Pendragon. After (spoilers!) Uther's demise, Arthur is named Warlord of Dumnonia (Camelot), the regent for the throne until his nephew Mordred is old enough to rule, a responsibility that Arthur takes seriously despite the claims of his enemies that he seeks to usurp the throne. The books also depict a Britain being torn in religious strife between the pagan druids, led by their high priest Merlin, and the spreading forces of Christianity. Arthur, who instead follows a Roman mystical warrior tradition, attempts to stand neutral between them but with mixed results.

The trilogy features as its protagonist Derfel Cadarn, a young man who grows up in the royal household. Although he has his own storyline, he also serves as an independent witness for many of the events of Arthur's time and is later made a member of the Knights of the Round Table. The story is also being told in flashback by Derfel as he writes down his experiences for historians, only to his horror see them being corrupted into the flashier and more exciting version of the story known in the legends (Excalibur, for example, not being remotely magical in reality).

The trilogy has been high acclaimed for its strong narrative drive, its fresh interpretation of a familiar story and its use of the real historical situation (or at least what we know of it) to create a convincing story based in politics, religion, warfare, strife and lust.

According to Julie Gardner:

"[Bernard Cornwell] is a great storyteller as we know from everything from ‘Sharpe’ to ‘The Last Kingdom. He has a very innovative way into the Arthurian stories, which is to take an ordinary man who by work, chance and life is an observer and an intimate in the relationships of Arthur, Lancelot and the key characters that we know."

THE LAST KINGDOM gets UK airdate

The Last Kingdom, the BBC drama based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, will debut on BBC2 on Thursday 22 October at 9pm.

For unclear reasons, the drama is airing first in the United States starting this Saturday on BBC America. The drama has also received a massive amount of marketing support from BBC America, including an excellent website and plenty of trailers and featurettes. The BBC press for the show in the UK has been virtually non-existent in comparison. The airdate and time is also not particularly exciting: this should really be a prime-time Sunday night show airing on BBC1, given its clearly large budget and appeal.

Despite the BBC's baffling (but not unprecedented, as anyone who can recall the shabby handling of Rome can attest) treatment of the show, it's building up some good advance press in the States, with Variety giving the first episode a glowing review and proclaiming it the equal of Vikings and much better than the similarly-themed Bastard Executioner. Den of Geek also has a positive review.