NORSE POWER

Sam Corlett stars as legendary Viking explorer Leif Eriksson in an action-packed historical sequel

- SEAN MARLAND

NEW DRAMA

Vikings: Valhalla

From Friday 25 Feb, Netflix

We've been thirsting for more Norse adventures ever since Vikings came to an end after six seasons in 2020-and now the team who brought us the gripping historical drama is back with a brand-new saga.

Set in the early 11th century - more than 100 years after the events of the original show-eight-part sequel Vikings: Valhalla takes place at a time when tensions between the Vikings and England's Royal Family are reaching a blood-soaked breaking point.

It was a period when some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived - such as legendary explorer Leif Eriksson, who hailed from Greenland were carving out names for themselves that would echo down the centuries.

'It was a tumultuous era, says Australian actor Sam Corlett, who plays Eriksson. 'In the series, the Vikings are at war with the English, but we also see them clashing with each other over religion. By this time, many of them had converted to Christianity, bringing them into conflict with their pagan brothers and sisters. That's a major part of the series these years proved to be the last stand for the old Viking way of life!

The first episode opens with King Aethelred II of England vowing to rid his country of Vikings by slaughtering the ancestors of those who settled after arriving from Scandinavia.

When King Canute of Denmark hears of the massacre, he hatches a plan to travel to England and take his revenge. But as he builds his army in the coastal town of Kattegat, Eriksson, his fiery sister Freydis Eriksdotter (The Witcher's Frida Gustavsson), and their fellow Greenlanders arrive...