Vikings is a historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the History channel. Filmed in Ireland, it premiered on March 3, 2013 in Canada. Vikings is inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes. The series portrays Ragnar’s and his family’s rise from serfdom to nobility and fame through successful raids into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Francia. The series is also inspired by, and loosely adapts, various historical events from European history during the Early Middle Ages.
During the course of the series, 89 episodes of Vikings aired over six seasons, between March 3, 2013, and December 30, 2020.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||
| 1 | 9 | March 3, 2013 | April 28, 2013 | History | ||
| 2 | 10 | February 27, 2014 | May 1, 2014 | |||
| 3 | 10 | February 19, 2015 | April 23, 2015 | |||
| 4 | 20 | 10 | February 18, 2016 | April 21, 2016 | ||
| 10 | November 30, 2016 | February 1, 2017 | ||||
| 5 | 20 | 10 | November 29, 2017 | January 24, 2018 | ||
| 10 | November 28, 2018 | January 30, 2019 | ||||
| 6 | 20 | 10 | December 4, 2019 | February 5, 2020 | ||
| 10 | December 30, 2020 | Prime Video | ||||
Episodes
Season 1 (2013)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | “Rites of Passage” | Johan Renck | Michael Hirst | March 3, 2013 |
| 2 | 2 | “Wrath of the Northmen” | Johan Renck | Michael Hirst | March 10, 2013 |
| 3 | 3 | “Dispossessed” | Johan Renck | Michael Hirst | March 17, 2013 |
| 4 | 4 | “Trial” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | March 24, 2013 |
| 5 | 5 | “Raid” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | March 31, 2013 |
| 6 | 6 | “Burial of the Dead” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | April 7, 2013 |
| 7 | 7 | “A King’s Ransom” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 14, 2013 |
| 8 | 8 | “Sacrifice” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 21, 2013 |
| 9 | 9 | “All Change” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 28, 2013 |
Season 2 (2014)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | “Brother’s War” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | February 27, 2014 |
| 11 | 2 | “Invasion” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | March 6, 2014 |
| 12 | 3 | “Treachery” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 13, 2014 |
| 13 | 4 | “Eye for an Eye” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 20, 2014 |
| 14 | 5 | “Answers in Blood” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | March 27, 2014 |
| 15 | 6 | “Unforgiven” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | April 3, 2014 |
| 16 | 7 | “Blood Eagle” | Kari Skogland | Michael Hirst | April 10, 2014 |
| 17 | 8 | “Boneless” | Kari Skogland | Michael Hirst | April 17, 2014 |
| 18 | 9 | “The Choice” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 24, 2014 |
| 19 | 10 | “The Lord’s Prayer” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | May 1, 2014 |
Season 3 (2015)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1 | “Mercenary” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | February 19, 2015 |
| 21 | 2 | “The Wanderer” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | February 26, 2015 |
| 22 | 3 | “Warrior’s Fate” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | March 5, 2015 |
| 23 | 4 | “Scarred” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | March 12, 2015 |
| 24 | 5 | “The Usurper” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | March 19, 2015 |
| 25 | 6 | “Born Again” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | March 26, 2015 |
| 26 | 7 | “Paris” | Kelly Makin | Michael Hirst | April 2, 2015 |
| 27 | 8 | “To the Gates!” | Kelly Makin | Michael Hirst | April 9, 2015 |
| 28 | 9 | “Breaking Point” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 16, 2015 |
| 29 | 10 | “The Dead” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 23, 2015 |
Season 4 (2016–17)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 30 | 1 | “A Good Treason” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | February 18, 2016 | |||||||
| 31 | 2 | “Kill the Queen” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | February 25, 2016 | |||||||
| 32 | 3 | “Mercy” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | March 3, 2016 | |||||||
| 33 | 4 | “Yol” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | March 10, 2016 | |||||||
| 34 | 5 | “Promised” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | March 17, 2016 | |||||||
| 35 | 6 | “What Might Have Been” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 24, 2016 | |||||||
| 36 | 7 | “The Profit and the Loss” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 31, 2016 | |||||||
| 37 | 8 | “Portage” | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 7, 2016 | |||||||
| 38 | 9 | “Death All ‘Round” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | April 14, 2016 | |||||||
| 39 | 10 | “The Last Ship” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | April 21, 2016 | |||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 40 | 11 | “The Outsider” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | November 30, 2016 | |||||||
| 41 | 12 | “The Vision” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | December 7, 2016 | |||||||
| 42 | 13 | “Two Journeys” | Sarah Harding | Michael Hirst | December 14, 2016 | |||||||
| 43 | 14 | “In the Uncertain Hour Before the Morning” | Sarah Harding | Michael Hirst | December 21, 2016 | |||||||
| 44 | 15 | “All His Angels” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | December 28, 2016 | |||||||
| 45 | 16 | “Crossings” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | January 4, 2017 | |||||||
| 46 | 17 | “The Great Army” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | January 11, 2017 | |||||||
| 47 | 18 | “Revenge” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | January 18, 2017 | |||||||
| 48 | 19 | “On the Eve” | Ben Bolt | Michael Hirst | January 25, 2017 | |||||||
| 49 | 20 | “The Reckoning” | Ben Bolt | Michael Hirst | February 1, 2017 | |||||||
Season 5 (2017–19)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 50 | 1 | “The Fisher King” | David Wellington | Michael Hirst | November 29, 2017 | |||||||
| 51 | 2 | “The Departed” | David Wellington | Michael Hirst | November 29, 2017 | |||||||
| 52 | 3 | “Homeland” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 6, 2017 | |||||||
| 53 | 4 | “The Plan” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 13, 2017 | |||||||
| 54 | 5 | “The Prisoner” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | December 20, 2017 | |||||||
| 55 | 6 | “The Message” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | December 27, 2017 | |||||||
| 56 | 7 | “Full Moon” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | January 3, 2018 | |||||||
| 57 | 8 | “The Joke” | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | January 10, 2018 | |||||||
| 58 | 9 | “A Simple Story” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | January 17, 2018 | |||||||
| 59 | 10 | “Moments of Vision” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | January 24, 2018 | |||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 60 | 11 | “The Revelation” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | November 28, 2018 | |||||||
| 61 | 12 | “Murder Most Foul” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | December 5, 2018 | |||||||
| 62 | 13 | “A New God” | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | December 12, 2018 | |||||||
| 63 | 14 | “The Lost Moment” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 19, 2018 | |||||||
| 64 | 15 | “Hell” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 26, 2018 | |||||||
| 65 | 16 | “The Buddha” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | January 2, 2019 | |||||||
| 66 | 17 | “The Most Terrible Thing” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | January 9, 2019 | |||||||
| 67 | 18 | “Baldur” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | January 16, 2019 | |||||||
| 68 | 19 | “What Happens in the Cave” | David Wellington | Michael Hirst | January 23, 2019 | |||||||
| 69 | 20 | “Ragnarok” | David Wellington | Michael Hirst | January 30, 2019 | |||||||
- Notes
- ^ Jump up to:a b The first two episodes aired together on History as a two-hour premiere, “The Departed”, but were released separately on streaming services and in digital stores, with the first part titled “The Fisher King” and the second “The Departed”.
Season 6 (2019–20)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 70 | 1 | “New Beginnings” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 4, 2019 | |||||||
| 71 | 2 | “The Prophet” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 4, 2019 | |||||||
| 72 | 3 | “Ghosts, Gods and Running Dogs” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 11, 2019 | |||||||
| 73 | 4 | “All the Prisoners” | David Frazee | Michael Hirst | December 18, 2019 | |||||||
| 74 | 5 | “The Key” | David Frazee | Michael Hirst | January 1, 2020 | |||||||
| 75 | 6 | “Death and the Serpent” | David Frazee | Michael Hirst | January 8, 2020 | |||||||
| 76 | 7 | “The Ice Maiden” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | January 15, 2020 | |||||||
| 77 | 8 | “Valhalla Can Wait” | Katheryn Winnick | Michael Hirst | January 22, 2020 | |||||||
| 78 | 9 | “Resurrection” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | January 29, 2020 | |||||||
| 79 | 10 | “The Best Laid Plans” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | February 5, 2020 | |||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 80 | 11 | “King of Kings” | Daniel Grou | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) January 1, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 81 | 12 | “All Change” | David Frazee | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) January 6, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 82 | 13 | “The Signal” | David Frazee | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) January 13, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 83 | 14 | “Lost Souls” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) January 20, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 84 | 15 | “All at Sea” | Helen Shaver | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) January 27, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 85 | 16 | “The Final Straw” | Paddy Breathnach | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) February 3, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 86 | 17 | “The Raft of Medusa” | Paddy Breathnach | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) February 10, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 87 | 18 | “It’s Only Magic” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) February 17, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 88 | 19 | “The Lord Giveth…” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) February 24, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
| 89 | 20 | “The Last Act” | Steve Saint Leger | Michael Hirst | December 30, 2020 (Ire.) March 3, 2021 (Can.) |
|||||||
Specials
Athelstan’s Journal
A series of thirteen webisodes known as Vikings: Athelstan’s Journal was released by the History Channel. Each webisode serves as a journal entry for the Vikings character Athelstan. The webisodes were released prior to and in conjunction with the beginning of the third season of Vikings, and are available on the History Channel’s website. The webisodes have a running time of 1:45 to 5:01 minutes.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athelstan’s Journal | ||||||||||||
| 1 | “Chapter One: Gods” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | January 30, 2015 | ||||||||
| 2 | “Chapter Two: Honor” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 1, 2015 | ||||||||
| 3 | “Chapter Three: Loyalty” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 6, 2015 | ||||||||
| 4 | “Chapter Four: Sin” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 8, 2015 | ||||||||
| 5 | “Chapter Five: Blood” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 13, 2015 | ||||||||
| 6 | “Chapter Six: Family” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 14, 2015 | ||||||||
| 7 | “Chapter Seven: Savagery” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 18, 2015 | ||||||||
| 8 | “Chapter Eight: Gods & Men” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 19, 2015 | ||||||||
| Stones and Bones | ||||||||||||
| 9 | “Chapter One: Vows” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 20, 2015 | ||||||||
| 10 | “Chapter Two: Death” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | February 27, 2015 | ||||||||
| 11 | “Chapter Three: Love” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | March 6, 2015 | ||||||||
| 12 | “Chapter Four: Harvest” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | March 13, 2015 | ||||||||
| 13 | “Chapter Five: The Choice” | Lucas Taylor | Sam Meikle | March 20, 2015 | ||||||||
Saga recaps
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok” | Joshua Zimmerman | Justin Pollard | November 30, 2016 | |
| A recap of seasons 1–4, part 1 which aired before season 4, part 2. The cast and Michael Hirst discuss the remaining episodes of season 4. | |||||
| 2 | “The Saga of Lagertha” | Joshua Zimmerman | Justin Pollard | November 29, 2017 | |
| A recap of seasons 1–4 which aired before season 5. The Seer narrates the story of Lagertha to Ivar. The cast and Michael Hirst discuss season 5, part 1. | |||||
| 3 | “The Saga of Bjorn” | Joshua Zimmerman | Justin Pollard | November 28, 2018 | |
| A recap of seasons 1–5, part 1 which aired before season 5, part 2. Torvi narrates the story of Bjorn to their son Hali. The cast and Michael Hirst discuss the remaining episodes of season 5. | |||||
| 4 | “The Saga of Floki” | Karla Braun | Justin Pollard | December 4, 2019 | |
| A recap of Floki’s arc from the first five seasons with Ivar narrating the story to Vigrid. Alex Høgh Andersen, Jordan Patrick Smith, Georgia Hirst, Peter Franzén, Marco Ilsø and Michael Hirst discussed the first half of the final season. | |||||