A weak king rules over a cobbled-together kingdom that's already coming apart at the seams. Various heroes and villains compete and scheme to claim the throne. A new challenger rises up from across the sea, full of vengeance and bloodlust.
If that sounds like the premise of Game of Thrones, well, that's because it is. But it's also the set-up for Prime Video's thrilling new action drama from one of the 21st-century's most successful showrunners. During New York Comic Con 2026, I attended an early screening of Bloodaxe, a new series from Vikings creator Michael Hirst and his son Horatio.
Based on the show's first episode, which premieres in January 2027 on Prime Video, the streamer might just have a new Game of Thrones-level hit on its hands. Or at the very least, an entertaining new show for VIkings fans. Bloodaxe tells the real-life story of Eric Haraldsson (aka Eric Bloodaxe), who lived during the 10th century.
When we first meet Eric (Xavier Molyneux), he's already a powerful warrior and a popular figure in Viking society. His father, King Harald (Jesper Christensen), is beginning to lose his grip on the Norwegian kingdom he spent his life uniting. Eric expects to be named successor, but then Harald reveals that his younger son Haakon (Levi Miller), who spent his childhood in England learning the art of diplomacy, will be king instead.
Meanwhile, Eric's statuesque wife Gunnhild (Bridgerton's Jessica Madsen) has her own schemes in mind to elevate her husband to the throne, while her exiled brother Egil (Kārlis Arnolds Avots) plots his own ascension to power from nearby Iceland. That might sound like a lot of plot to pack into one hour of television, and… it is. But Michael and Horatio Hirst deftly plunge us into this world headfirst like a Viking warrior sprinting into the frigid Norwegian Sea.
Like Game of Thrones, Bloodaxe pulls out all the stops in its opening act to win over its audience. That means plenty of political intrigue, shocking deaths, stunning scenery, meticulous production design, beautiful actors, and gratuitous sex scenes. The landscapes are particularly stunning.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
