If you're in the mood for a trip far back in European history, then The Last Kingdom could be just what you are looking for.
It transports us back to the year 872, when many of the separate kingdoms of the country we now know as England had fallen to invading Vikings. Only Wessex remains free, alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred the Great.
A word to the wise: yes, comparisons with Game of Thrones are inevitable, as the real historical influences on George R R Martin's fantasy series are obvious – so don't get overly attached to any particular character.
This well-received eight-episode series – which begins on Sunday on OSN First HD – is, like War & Peace, a British-American venture co-produced by the BBC, under the guidance of the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning producers of Downton Abbey – who certainly know a thing or two about historical drama.
It is based on the first two volumes of The Saxon Stories, Bernard Cornwell's best-selling series of novels. They were adapted by screenwriter Stephen Butchard, whose highly regarded earlier series include Good Cop, Five Daughters and House of Saddam.
Amid valiant deeds and epic battles, we get to know the hero of the piece, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, fiercely portrayed by Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story, Blood Ransom). The orphaned son of a Saxon nobleman, he is kidnapped by the Vikings and raised as one of their own.
This sows the seeds of his ultimate dilemma – will he choose to side with the country of his birth or the people who raised him? Is he Saxon or Viking? As his loyalties are severely tested, he searches for his birthright, treading a dangerous path during the birth of a new nation as he quests to recapture his ancestral lands.
Although Uhtred is a fictional character, The Last Kingdom is set against a backdrop of historical fact, rather than the entertaining fictional fantasy of Game of Thrones. "There are no dragons or magic in this show," says executive producer Gareth Neame. "It's real and happened over 1,000 years ago.
“What I like about this particular period in history is that it’s an era that isn’t depicted much in film or television, but it is also one that is hugely important.”
Joining Dreymon in a cast of familiar faces are: Emily Cox (Homeland) as kidnapped Saxon-turned-Viking Brida; Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) as Viking poet Ravn; Matthew Macfadyen (The Enfield Haunting) as Lord Uhtred; David Dawson (Peaky Blinders) as King Alfred; Rune Temte (Eddie the Eagle) as Viking warlord Ubba; Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire) as Saxon priest Beocca; and Adrian Bower (Mount Pleasant) as warrior Leofric.
• The Last Kingdom begins at midnight on Sunday, February 7, on OSN First HD
artslife@thenational.ae
