20 Best Movies & TV Shows About Vikings, Ranked

Summary

• Viking shows and movies offer a diverse range of content, from historical to comedic and animated.
• The popularity of Viking-themed content has grown, influenced by fantasy shows like Game of Thrones.
• From documentaries to epic action flicks, Viking stories continue to capture the imagination of audiences worldwide.

Though not the most prolific of genres, the best movies and shows about Vikings feature some notable entries. Dating back thousands of years, these tales of brave and vicious warriors, strong communities, and brutal tales of survival highlight an exciting world for audiences to enter. The big screen has delivered some huge blockbusters on the subject, as well as small intimate movies, while Viking shows have grown in popularity over the years, perhaps due to the emergence of fantasy medieval shows like Game of Thrones, which can feature similar elements.

Fans of Viking lore have had a diverse range of content to choose from recently. The sequel series to Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla just wrapped up its third and final season, and The Last Kingdom also ended on Netflix in 2022. The wave of popularity of Vikings has most recently swung its ax with Robert Eggers’ The Northman. The Viking genre has also had influence in unexpected places, from the superhero realm to animated family movies. With such diversity within such a small genre, the best movies and shows about Vikings prove why these stories are so popular with audiences.

20 The Last Journey Of The Vikings (2020)

A Documentary Featuring Dramatic Reenactments And Insight From Experts

There are so many interesting aspects of the Viking world to explore that some of the best shows to watch on the subject simply dive into the facts of the history. The documentary series The Last Journey of the Vikings may not have the same excitement as some of the narrative shows about Vikings, but it is eye-opening.

Combining expert commentary with dramatic reenactments, The Last Journey of the Vikings focuses on just why the Vikings chose to sail away from Denmark. That’s because while most stories of Vikings focus on the culture at its peak, this four-part series focuses on the end of the Viking age as Christianity rose and Europe completely transformed.

It’s a different take from the eras that most Viking docuseries spotlight, allowing those who might be fans of the fictional tales of Vikings to understand why this society slowly dissipated.

19 Ragnarok (2020-2023)

A Young Teen Discovers He Is The Modern Version Of Thor

With the culture and society of Vikings being such an ancient way of life, it is fun to see some series and movies that take a look at the modern world with a Viking element, such as Ragnarok. This Netflix teen series combines Norse myth with modern ideas about climate change in an interesting way.

A teenager discovers he’s the reincarnation of Thor and hits back against the family causing the pollution in his town. However, the family is actually supernatural beings posing as a family to edge the world closer to the apocalypse. It’s not strictly a Viking series, but it does include aspects of Viking culture in its fantasy story.

The show received mixed reviews, so the combination of teen drama, ancient mythology, and a climate change warning isn’t going to be for everyone, but it is a unique melding of those topics. Given its modern setting, the insight into the history of the Vikings is very surface-level, but it is a sign of how aspects of this culture remain today.

“Ragnarok” refers to the end of times in Norse mythology.

18 National Geographic’s Viking Warrior Women (2019)

A Documentary Special About The Overlooked Warriors Of Viking Culture

National Geographic offers a variety of specials that take grounded and fact-based approaches to various aspects of history. Fans of the Viking world will be particularly interested in taking a look at Viking Warrior Women. The special follows scientist Ella Al-Shamahi as she examines the overlooked fact that not all Viking warriors were men. She traces historical evidence to prove that some of the elite warriors in Viking society were women.

Most movies and shows that tell the stories of Viking culture focus on the men of society because that is where the focus of the historical record lies, so the special is a nice change of pace. Shows like The Last Kingdom and Vikings have begun to popularize the idea of warrior women being part of this society and fans of those shows will likely find a lot to learn about just what the lives of these women were like. It is another rich, insightful look at the complexities of the Vikings.

17 Erik The Viking (1989)

A Comedy About A Reluctant Viking

Amid all the serious takes on Vikings, a lesser-known of the Monty Python projects offers a humorous take in Erik the Viking. The legendary comedy group is known for its hilarious looks back into history, with Biblical times in Life of Brian and medieval times in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The idea of them taking the same absurdist approach to Vikings is an exciting prospect for comedy fans and those interested in the period of history.

Monty Python’s Terry Jones takes on Viking culture and Norse mythology as the story follows a Viking who doesn’t want to pillage anymore but is willing to travel to Asgard to help the Norse gods save their home. A series of misadventures on the Viking quest is what makes up the bulk of the movie. Less of a drama about conquest or action, Erik The Viking is a fun addition to the genre, though audiences looking for historical accuracy should look elsewhere as the movie is only focused on delivering laughs.

16 Secrets Of The Viking Stone (2020-)

A Docuseries Looking At The Vikings’ Possible History In America

Originally made for the Science Channel and called The American Runestone, this is an interesting addition to the collection of Viking docuseries out there. Hosted by actor Peter Stormare (Fargo, Constantine) and history enthusiast Elroy Balgaard, Secrets Of The Viking Stone focuses on an artifact in Minnesota that some believe proves that the Vikings reached the area before Christopher Columbus and his team.

Stormore and Balgaard speak with historians, anthropologists, archeologists, and more in the quest to understand the Kensington Runestone in this Viking docuseries. While the show doesn’t give any concrete answers to the theory, it is a fascinating look at how such a thing might have been possible. In exploring the question, the show is able to take a look at various aspects of Viking life and culture, as well as examine just how much of the world these cultures explored.

15 Vinland Saga (2019-2023)

A Young Viking Seeks Vengeance For His Father

While many of the best Viking shows and movies are live-action, the world can be explored in just as compelling of a way in animated form as seen in this anime series. Based on the manga of the same name by Makoto Yukimura, Vinland Saga is set in 1013 and follows a young man named Thorfinn who wants to avenge his father’s death. Though he works for a killer, he hasn’t been allowed to do that himself.

While it might seem like a fairly standard story of vengeance, it is set against the backdrop of the decline of Viking culture. The Viking anime is a sweeping saga that combines real historical moments from Viking history with Thorfinn’s processing of grief.

The animation lends itself to the brutality of this way of life that is vibrantly captured in the show. However, despite the animation, it might surprise some how engrossing the show is in the history and cultural elements of Vikings, achieving this more effectively than some live-action shows.

14 The 13th Warrior (1999)

An Ambassador Teams With Viking Warriors To Take On A Mysterious Threat

The 13th Warrior is a different kind of Viking movie because it actually examines cultures clashing, and then blending. In the film, a Muslim ambassador in exile ends up part of a Viking caravan during their travels. While their lifestyles are very different, they bond over defending the world from an ancient evil.

Antonio Banderas leads the cast as the ambassador, and the script is from the Michael Crichton novel Eaters of the Dead. Crichton also wrote the original stories for Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, while director John McTiernan helmed such classic action movies as Die Hard and Predator so the result is a bloody and epic historical action movie.

The 13th Warrior is more for fans of grisly battle scenes and swordplay rather than those looking for an accurate depiction of this time in history. While The 13th Warrior was one of the biggest box office bombs of all time, it has since been reevaluated as a solid R-rated adventure.

The story is loosely based on the epic poem of
Beowulf
.

13 Tales Of The Vikings (1959 -1960)

The First Mainstream Series About Vikings

While a lot of TV fans might think Viking shows are only part of modern television, that isn’t the case. Tales Of The Vikings aired in the late 1950s and was produced by Kirk Douglas. The series used props and set pieces from the 1958 movie The Vikings, which is the film responsible for creating Hollywood’s interest in Viking culture. It followed Firebeard (Stefan Schnabel) and his sons on their adventures.

As to be expected with the times, this isn’t a very epic take on the genre with it relying on a relatively small scale and minimal budget. It is also confined by the type of stories that could be told on television at that time, never getting into the uglier aspects of Viking culture, nor depicting the violence in a realistic way. Though the series isn’t available to stream, collectors might be able to find DVDs of the episodes for sale.

12 National Geographic’s Vikings: The Rise And Fall (2022)

A Docuseries Separating Myth And Fact About Vikings

National Geographic has been leaning into its Viking programs more in recent years, likely thanks to the increased interest in this world. Vikings: The Rise And Fall examines the myths of Vikings and how they’ve grown and compares those stories to archeological evidence to see what’s true and what’s not. The series also has a Norse narrator, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, trying to step into the culture instead of relying on scholars from outside the community to tell the story.

As fascinated as the world is with Vikings, it is hard to discern the facts of history with how pop culture has morphed stories of Vikings over the years. This show attempts to separate the two while looking into how a culture that was a big part of the world quickly vanished. Many of National Geographic’s specials are available to stream on Disney+, but this one isn’t just yet.

11 The Vikings (1958)

Kirk Douglas Plays A Viking Prince

The 1958 film that got Hollywood interested in Viking shows and movies is, appropriately, called The Vikings. Kirk Douglas stars as a Viking prince and after he kidnaps a princess (Janet Leigh), the princess becomes the focus of multiple men who want her for themselves, leading to conflict on multiple fronts.

The movie might not be the best acted of all the stories about Vikings, but it was so influential that Douglas made the first television series from his production company one about Vikings. The Vikings sparked the creative interest in Vikings that persists today.

As with most swashbuckling Hollywood adventures of the era, The Vikings is not a deep dive into the historical accuracy of the times and Douglas never convincingly comes off as a Viking himself. Instead, the exciting period of time makes for a fun backdrop for an Old Hollywood adventure.

10 How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

A Young Viking Boy Befriends A Dragon

While more of a fantasy movie than a historical Viking story, How to Train Your Dragon adds a family-friendly element to the genre which is usually filled with brutal violence and mayhem. In How to Train Your Dragon, young Viking Hiccup dreams of becoming a dragon hunter, but when he captures a rare dragon, he instead befriends him, naming him Toothless. The pair teach their respective clans how to co-exist and thus begin the high-flying adventures together in their land of Berk.

How To Train Your Dragon started a franchise that spans three feature films, three TV series, five short films, and an upcoming How To Train Your Dragon live-action remake. The series has been heavily awarded and huge at the box office as a DreamWorks hit.

The movie doesn’t have any real interest in exploring Vikings as a real culture, imagining this fantasy world where they coexisted with dragons. However, it provides a nice backdrop to the harsh and rugged life of Hiccup and his people.

9 Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor Attempts To Prevent The End Of Asgard

In the third Marvel movie for Thor, Taika Waititi brings a fresh take on the character played by Chris Hemsworth. After his banished sister Hela returns to take Asgard, Thor is captured on an abandoned trash planet, finding himself in a race against time to stop Hela and save Asgard and his people.

While the Norse God of Thunder Thor is not technically a Viking, he is a god to the Viking people. As such, the character’s stories share similarities with the lore of the Scandinavian figures. Many MCU fans call it the funniest Marvel movie to date.

With returning favorites like Hulk and new characters Valkyrie and Korg, Thor: Ragnarok is a comedic, action-packed, and profound take on the character. The superhero story doesn’t do much to shed light on Viking lifestyle but this movie does explore Asgard and its history more than any other MCU Thor project to date.

8 The Last King (2016)

Two Viking Warriors Protect Their Infant King

Though not a movie that many might be aware of, The Last King is a thrilling and impressive period-action movie with some great Viking fun. When a Viking king is murdered after the birth of his son, two of his bravest and most loyal warriors attempt to transport the infant heir to the throne across the dangerous land.

The Norwegian movie doesn’t boast any big names with Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones’ Tormund Giantsbane) as likely the only recognizable face. However, seeing these two Vikings protecting a baby while fighting off enemies and having epic ski chase sequences makes it a small, underseen thrill ride.

It is a simple action movie, but its grounded and practical take gives a surprisingly accurate sense of the Viking world, from different rival factions to the battle tactics to the various skills the average Viking would have.

7 Norsemen (2016–2020)

A Comedic Look At Everyday Viking Life

The Netflix comedy series Norsemen focuses on an often overlooked aspect of Viking life, which is the everyday struggles of the “regular people.” Set in 790s Norway, the show follows what looks like ruthless characters but turns out to be bumbling Joe Schmoes on misadventures.

The Viking show portrays these characters as having modern problems, like resistance to cultural change. The series has a parody vibe of shows like Vikings or Game of Thrones. The spoof comedy was a critical hit but ended after three seasons.

Nevertheless, it is a perfect lighthearted show for anyone interested in the Viking world to check out. Similar to Erik the Viking, the show is more focused on delivering laughs than historical accuracy. However, it does use aspects of Viking life to make its humorous observations about how strangely relatable it all is.

6 The Last Kingdom (2015–2022)

A Young Slave Is Raised By Vikings

Based on the novel series The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom follows a young Uhtred, who is taken as a slave after his father is killed. He is raised by his Viking captors and eventually becomes family to them.

Throughout The Last Kingdom, Uhtred is conflicted between loyalty to his homeland and his newfound family. Along with several of its main characters being based on real figures, the show depicts real historical events that happened during this era.

While the show was a hit for Netflix, it didn’t hit the mainstream popularity some of its counterparts did. However, it is regarded as one of the best epic action shows on TV and earned a Netflix movie, The Last Kingdom: All Kings Must Die, following its final season. Fans of the action-packed, beautifully shot Viking tale sing its praises as an underrated medieval history gem.

5 Valhalla Rising (2009)

A Silent Viking Escapes Captivity

Before stepping into the neo-noir crime world in Drive, director Nicolas Winding Refn delivered the brutal and compelling Viking story, Valhalla Rising. Mads Mikkelsen plays a silent warrior known as One Eye. After escaping his captors, along with a slave boy, One Eye embarks on a quest filled with danger. Much like Refn’s Drive, the violence in Valhalla Rising is shocking and graphic, showing the merciless lifestyle of these Viking warriors.

Without speaking, Mikkelsen still brings his usual intense on-screen persona, making for a Viking superhero of sorts and a thrilling protagonist to follow on this bloody journey. It is a brutal action movie in the hands of Refn, who gives the movie a grimy and grounded feel. It is another project that is not overly interested in getting into the historical context of Vikings yet still does a solid job showing this particular way of life.

Nicolas Winding Refn and Mads Mikkelsen previously collaborated on the
Pusher
trilogy.

4 Vikings: Valhalla (2022–2024)

A Vikings Spinoff Series Set 100 Later

The spin-off series to The History Channel’s hit show, Vikings, dropped in February 2022 on Netflix and is set 100 years after the events of the original series. Voyaging beyond Scandinavia, a whole new cast of characters are in bloody conflict with the English while also struggling with their own power dynamics. Similar to the original series, the show combined elements of history with the original storytelling of the show and its characters, creating one of the most epic and in-depth looks at a Viking story.

The Viking series quickly became the most-watched show on Netflix, (via Deadline) and was able to set itself apart from the original series, earning its place in the lore of Viking shows. While the third and final season of the show aired in July 2024, the continued popularity of this franchise means that more could be on the way.

3 Beowulf (2007)

A Retelling Of The Epic Poem

Following Robert Zemeckis’s collaboration with Tom Hanks on the motion-capture animated movie The Polar Express, the director decided to use the same animation approach for his take on the Viking legend Beowulf.

The story follows the legendary titular warrior who is summoned to a kingdom to vanquish the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing them. It also features a stellar cast that includes Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, Angelina Jolie, and Anthony Hopkins.

As with The Polar Express, the animation style is distracting at times, with an uncanny valley aspect to the characters’ faces. However, it is still a vicious and brutal action movie with some amazing intense sequences made possible by the animation. It is another take on Viking mythology that combines historical elements with fantasy, as the movie is filled with fearsome monsters and wild battle sequences that likely would not have been possible in a live-action movie.

2 The Northman (2022)

A Viking Warrior Seeks To Avenge His Father

Robert Eggers’ brutal revenge flick, The Northman, follows Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) on a mission to avenge his father. After his father is murdered by his uncle and his mother kidnapped, young Prince Amleth escapes by boat and is taken in by Vikings.

It’s a trippy and intimate character-driven story and the Shakespearean-like dialogue in The Northman makes for a gripping story that plays like a Viking take on Hamlet. True to Eggers’ style, the movie doesn’t shy away from gore, and the violence is visceral. It also sticks as close to historical context as it can, even with some of the grander elements.

The Northman‘s Viking rituals and practices enrich the familiar revenge story and turn it into something much more exciting and engrossing. Fans and critics especially enjoyed its cinematography and performances, especially from Skarsgård, Anya-Taylor Joy, and Nicole Kidman.

1 Vikings (2013–2020)

A Historical Epic Look At A Real Viking Legend

Vikings follows Ragnar, a Viking farmer whose ambitions take him and his family on bloody raids throughout France and England. Ragnar’s slow rise to power in the ferocious epic drew fans in, and in later seasons his sons. Loosely based on true Viking stories, Ragnar Lothbrok is a legend who was rumored to have descended from the Norse god, Odin. Due to its compelling characters, scenery, and intriguing world, the show gripped fans with its introduction to Viking lore.

The show was a hit with the ratings for The History Channel and gained more exposure when it moved over to Netflix. Critics also praised the performance of the cast and the engaging story and it’s a must-watch for fans of Viking and Norse god lore. While certainly not the first Viking story, it has helped to introduce and intrigue a lot of modern audiences with this part of history.