It may not be an obvious frontrunner for one of the best Amazon shows, but My Lady Jane – a fantasy romance set in an alternate version of 16th-century England – was one of Prime Video's most charming and imaginative offerings this year. 

Unfortunately for those who wanted to see the continued adventures of Lady Jane Grey and the Pack, it was canceled in August just weeks after release. Now, Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has voiced his displeasure at the decision on his personal blog.

"I have always loved alternate history and Jane Grey, England’s nine-days queen, has always fascinated me," Martin wrote. "Small wonder, then, that I really enjoyed My Lady Jane, a clever and original historical fantasy on Amazon Prime, set in an England full of witches and shapechangers, where Jane lasts more than nine days."

Martin, who worked with My Lady Jane showrunner Meredith Glynn on a scrapped Game of Thrones spin-off, described the Prime Video series as "witty and original", reminding the writer of The Great, the historical comedy starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult.   

"Alas, The Great is gone, and it appears My Lady Jane is too," Martin lamented. "Amazon did not renew it for a second season."

Martin, though, did point fans to a change.org petition (initially signal boosted by MovieWeb) to help make a noise over the cancelation. It's almost reached its goal of 75,000 users as of writing and, who knows, might be enough to bring it to Amazon's attention.

"I wish them luck. Jane deserved more than nine days, or eight episodes," Martin wrote, just days after penning a now-deleted post that aired his frustrations with a major book change in House of the Dragon season 2.

For more, check out the new TV shows coming your way very soon.

Shōgun is proving to be a huge hit on streaming, breaking streaming records with its debut. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, across its first six days, Shōgun episode 1 brought in 9 million views across Hulu, Disney Plus, and Star Plus (views are calculated by viewing time divided by running time). Disney says that this is its best ever debut for a Disney General Entertainment scripted series – in plain terms, that means a show that's not a Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic, or Disney Branded TV title. 

In the US, the first episode of Shōgun was also the biggest Hulu streaming premiere for an FX show (with help from Disney Plus), which means it beat out the first episode of The Bear season 2. Internationally, Shōgun beat The Kardashians season 1 to be the best premiere of a Disney General Entertainment series. 

As for its TV debut on FX, the first episode drew 764,000 viewers, with the second securing 442,000 viewers. That beats Fargo's season premiere in November, which was 566,000 and 311,000 viewers across its first two episodes, and American Horror Story's in September, which scored 454,000 viewers.  

Shōgun, adapted from James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, and Anna Sawai. It's proved a hit with critics, too, earning a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. 

"Truly it is a character piece and it is about this intrigue," director Jonathan van Tulleken, has said of the show. "This is a dangerous world where violence can come out of nowhere but the real danger is in the machinations. A conversation can be as dangerous as anything else. A better comparison [than Game of Thrones] would be Succession or House of Cards."

Shōgun is streaming weekly. You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the best new TV shows coming soon. 

New series Shōgun is a feudal drama with high stakes and plenty of political intrigue, so it's no surprise that it's earning comparisons to Game of Thrones (including in our own review...). However, according to director Jonathan van Tulleken, it has more in common with another, very different, HBO show.

"Truly it is a character piece and it is about this intrigue," van Tulleken, who helmed the show's first two episodes, told the Today show (via Deadline). "This is a dangerous world where violence can come out of nowhere but the real danger is in the machinations. A conversation can be as dangerous as anything else. A better comparison [than Game of Thrones] would be Succession or House of Cards."

Set in the early 17th Century, Shōgun sees English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) shipwrecked on the shores of Japan, where his path crosses with the powerful Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the mysterious samurai Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai). It's based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell, which was first published in 1975.

Succession and House of Cards, meanwhile, are both set in the present day. The former follows the battle for the top spot in family-run media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo as patriarch Logan Roy's (Brian Cox) health begins to fail, while the latter centers around an ambitious and amoral politician (Kevin Spacey) in Washington DC.

Shōgun has been a hit with critics, with a current score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our own review praised "memorable performances" from Sanada and Sawai, as well as the show's "gorgeous" costumes and cinematography. 

Shōgun is releasing weekly on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK. For more, check out our guide to the other biggest new TV shows coming our way in 2024.

Disney Plus has just unveiled the first trailer for its upcoming historical drama Shardlake starring Game of Thrones’ Sean Bean and Masters of the Air’s Anthony Boyle, and it looks like a bloody good time. 

Set in Tudor England during the dissolution of the monasteries, the series follows Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes), a "crook-backed" lawyer with an acute sense of justice who works for Henry VIII’s scheming right-hand man Lord Thomas Cromwell (Bean), and Shardlake's cocky assistant Jack Barak (Boyle). 

The trailer begins with the brothers of the church admitting to Shardlake that they are afraid of both him and Cromwell, which sets an eerie tone before we get a shot of a devious-looking Bean as the Lord. Soon it becomes apparent that a murder has taken place and Cromwell wants Shardlake and Barak to investigate, leading them on a whodunnit adventure. But before they leave the Lord utters, "You will not fail me… the house must fall," making us think that there is more to this murder investigation than what meets the eye. Watch the full trailer below.

The official synopsis from Disney reads: "Shardlake’s sheltered life as a lawyer is turned upside down when Cromwell instructs him to investigate the murder of one of his commissioners at a monastery in the remote town of Scarnsea. The commissioner was gathering evidence to close the monastery and it is now imperative for Cromwell’s own political survival that Shardlake both solves the murder and closes the monastery. He leaves Shardlake in no doubt that failure is not an option. Cromwell insists that he is accompanied by Barak to Scarnsea, where the duo are met with hostility, suspicion, and paranoia by the monks who fear for their future and will seemingly stop at nothing to preserve their order."

The four-part drama, based on the first novel from author C.J. Sansom’s best-selling book series, is directed by Justin Chadwick - best known for helming the 16th-century historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Natalie Portman as Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn.

The series' cast also includes Babou Ceesay, Paul Kaye, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Peter Firth, Matthew Steer, Irfan Shamji, David Pearse, Miles Barrow, Mike Noble, and Kimberley Nixon.

Shardlake does not yet have a release date but will be available to stream on Disney Plus as soon as it drops. For more, check out our guide to the other best new TV shows coming your way.

The official trailer for Sky's upcoming historical drama has arrived, introducing Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine as the most unconventional mother-son duo.

The steamy trailer, which you can watch above, opens with Mary (Moore) deep in the realization that she and her children will soon face squalor if they do not find a new source of income. In true Tudor fashion (we’re looking at you Anne Boleyn), Mary has the idea to seduce the King with her angelic-looking son George in exchange for power and status. "He’ll be yours, mine, ours," Mary says to George, before he beds the King More scenes of debauchery follow. 

Alongside the raunchy clip, Sky has announced that all seven episodes of the limited series will launch on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on March 5.

Based on the novel 'The King’s Assassin' by Benjamin Woolley, which is in turn inspired by the true story of Countess Mary Villiers, her son, and King James VI of Scotland and I of England, the series follows in The Great, The Favourite, and Versailles’ footsteps in retelling the sauciest yet mostly unknown parts of Royal history.

The official synopsis reads: "Always the smartest person in the room, Mary was never able to realize her full potential until she spots an opportunity to take advantage of the King’s voracious appetite for fine wine, fine company, and fine men. George, naïvely beautiful and charismatic, is thrust into the spotlight as his mother masterminds their pursuit of the King. Through audacious scheming and seduction, Mary and George claw their way to the center of Court to become the most powerful family in England. But as George grows in power, his relationship with his mother will be pushed to the very limits. George must prove to himself that he can be defined by more than just his beauty. He must make his mark on history, no matter the consequences."

Alongside May December's Moore and Galitzine, the cast also includes Tony Curran as the King, Nicola Walker, Niamh Algar, Trine Dyrholm, Sean Gilder, Adrian Rawlins, Mark O’Halloran, and Laurie Davidson to name a few.

Mary & George will air on March 5 on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK and STARZ in the US and Canada. For more check out our list of upcoming TV shows heading your way in 2024 and beyond.  

After taking on such a massive role as Elvis Presley, Austin Butler needed to find a way to cleanse his acting palette, and it looks Apple TV+ World War 2 series Masters of the Air did just the trick. The series features in the 2024 preview issue of Total Film, which hits shelves this week. 

"I went immediately into boot camp. I went from being on stage in a jumpsuit to being just one of 50 guys in fatigues. It was really humbling, and there’s something about the uniformity that I think started to cleanse me," Butler told Total Film last year. 

The Elvis actor is referring to the intense boot camp that the band of actors went through when they arrived for filming in the UK in 2021, training together and learning the mechanics of flying. An experience Butler, fresh off obsessing over the King of Rock 'n' Roll, says was a "beautiful thing".

Based on the book 'Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany' by Donald L. Miller, the upcoming series follows a group of airmen deep in World War 2, as they risk their lives flying aircraft with the 100th Bomb Group, which would later become a brotherhood forged by bravery, grief, and great triumph. The cast also includes Saltburn's Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, and Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa.

This seems like a world away from Baz Luhrmann's glitzy Elvis movie, which details the music legend's dazzling rise to fame, and later his troubles in the spotlight. Butler noticeably took the role very seriously and even adopted Presley's southern drawl, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his efforts.

• Preorder the Argylle 2024 preview issue of Total Film here

Masters of the Air will premiere on Apple TV+ on January 26, 2024. Elvis is available to rent on Prime Video. For much more on the show, pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves on December 7. Inside, Total Film has a huge 2024 preview breakdown with exclusive insight into all of the biggest releases arriving in the new year. Check out the covers below:

That's not all either, our 2023 Review of the Year supplement is also included, which features our round-up of the best films and TV shows of the year. Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy, or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. With our latest offer, you can get a JOBY Magnetic Wireless Charger worth £29.95 when you take out a print subscription.

The Crown season 6 has arrived on Netflix, marking the beginning of the end for the streamer's hit historical drama documenting the highs and lows of the British royal family. The show's final season is a rollercoaster ride, spanning the years 1997 to 2005, which means several major deaths are set to be depicted. It will also show the young princes growing up – and the meeting of the future king and queen. 

Only one segment of The Crown season 6 is available to stream at the moment, though. Part 1 is out now, but there's still a little while to wait before part 2 brings the season to a close. Below, we've got the confirmed Netflix release date for The Crown season 6, part 2.

When is The Crown season 6 part 2 releasing on Netflix? 

The Crown season 6 part 1 is out now on Netflix, releasing on November 16, but that doesn't mark the end of the season – part 2 is coming on December 14. New episodes will drop at midnight PT/3am ET, which is 8am in the UK.

How many episodes are in The Crown season 6?

There are 10 episodes of The Crown season 6 in total, with four episodes in part 1 and six episodes in part 2.

• The Crown season 6 episode 1 – Persona Non Grata – out now!
• The Crown season 6 episode 2 – Two Photographs – out now!
• The Crown season 6 episode 3 – Dis-Moi-Oui – out now!
• The Crown season 6 episode 4 – Aftermath – out now!
• The Crown season 6 episode 5 – December 14
• The Crown season 6 episode 6 – December 14
• The Crown season 6 episode 7 – December 14
• The Crown season 6 episode 8 – December 14
• The Crown season 6 episode 9 – December 14
• The Crown season 6 episode 10 – December 14

Up to date on The Crown season 6? Add to your watch list with our picks of the other best Netflix shows.

In a surprise move, two beloved HBO shows are heading on over to Netflix – and you can binge them in just a few weeks’ time.

Band of Brothers and The Pacific, the two epic miniseries brought to screens by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, will be available on Netflix from September 15.

Widely regarded as one of the best TV shows of all time, Band of Brothers follows the 101st Airborne Division’s ‘Easy Company’ during its time in World War Two. Starring the likes of Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, and Scott Grimes, the HBO series is also notable for its emerging secondary cast – including Tom Hardy, Simon Pegg, Stephen Graham, Andrew Scott, James McAvoy, and Michael Fassbender.

It proved a hit at the time, with 10 million viewers tuning in to its HBO premiere. It has since been praised for its historical accuracy, personal character drama, and unflinching portrayal of war. It’s currently sitting pretty at a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Its slightly less-lauded little brother The Pacific aired in 2010 and turned its attention a new cast in the Pacific theater of war during WW2.

While the inclusion of two of HBO’s biggest names may raise some eyebrows, it’s all down to an agreement between Warner Bros. Discovery – which owns HBO – and Netflix. Dwayne Johnson’s Ballers and Insecure are also available on the streamer.

A spiritual successor series, Masters of the Air, is set to be released on Apple TV Plus. For more, here are the best Apple TV Plus shows and best Netflix shows you should be watching right now.

Oppenheimer may be taking the box office by storm, but Christopher Nolan's new movie isn't the only recent Hollywood take on the birth of the atomic bomb. 

Manhattan, a TV show that ran for two seasons on the now-defunct network WGN America, told a fictionalized account of what went down in the laboratories at Los Alamos, the isolated town in the New Mexico desert where the nuclear weapon was tested and made. Airing between 2014 and 2015, the cast included Rachel Brosnahan, David Harbour, and Neve Campbell.

While the show mostly featured fictional characters and was not aspiring to be historically accurate, some real figures from the Manhattan Project did make an appearance – one of which was J. Robert Oppenheimer. When it came to casting, showrunner Sam Shaw had a few names on a shortlist, including one very familiar face. "A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list," he told Vanity Fair.

Beck, David Bowie, and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach were also considered. "We wanted Oppenheimer to feel both like he possessed a certain undeniable charisma, a presence onstage, but also that he was playing a different instrument," Shaw continued. "He needed to feel alien – or other – in some ways. He stood out." In the end, the role went to Old Joy and Synecdoche, New York actor Daniel London.

And, of course, Murphy went on to play Dr. Oppenheimer in Nolan's movie, with a performance that's already prompting talk of Oscar nominations (and wins). With Murphy and Nolan collaborating on a number of projects prior to Oppenheimer, including Dunkirk and the Dark Knight trilogy, it's safe to say that this was the version of the physicist that Murphy was born to play. 

Oppenheimer is out now in cinemas. For more on the movie, check out the rest of our coverage: 

• Our interview with Christopher Nolan on crafting Oppenheimer
• Christopher Nolan on Oppenheimer's R-rating
• Christopher Nolan on Oppenheimer's blockbuster status
• Our interview with Cillian Murphy
• Our interview with Matt Damon
• Our interview with Emily Blunt
• Robert Downey Jr. is at his best in Oppenheimer

Outlander has been renewed for season 8, which will also be the final installment of the hit historical drama series. "What an incredible journey with an incredible fanbase," the show's official Twitter account wrote. "Outlander has officially been renewed for an eighth and final season."

Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander stars Catríona Balfe as Claire, a woman who travels back in time from 1945 to 1743 and finds herself in the midst of the Scottish uprising against English rule. She marries Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and their romance is the main focus of the show. Season 6 aired in 2022, while season 7, which will consist of 16 episodes, is set to air in summer 2023. 

This isn't the end of the Outlander-verse, though – Starz has officially greenlit prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood. The series was originally announced to be in development in August 2022, but it's officially going ahead at the network.

The new series will center around the love story of Jamie's parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. Outlander showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is on board to write the prequel, as well as serve as showrunner and executive producer. Ronald D. Moore, who developed Outlander for TV, is also executive producing. No casting information has been revealed so far. 

Neither Outlander season 7 nor Outlander: Blood of my Blood have specific release dates just yet. While we wait, check out our picks of the other best new TV shows coming our way in 2023 and beyond.

SAS: Rogue Heroes is officially returning for season 2. The show launched to 3.8 million viewers and episode 1 was watched by almost 10 million people in its first 28 days after it premiered on October 30.

SAS: Rogue Heroes is set in Cairo, Egypt, in 1941 and follows the formation of the UK's Special Air Service (AKA the SAS), a unit that specializes in things like counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and covert reconnaissance. When eccentric young officer David Stirling (played by Sex Education's Adam Swindells) is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong, he uses the time to come up with a radical new plan and sets out to recruit the boldest and brightest soldiers. Season 1 ended with Paddy Mayne (Jack O'Connell) taking over from Stirling following a dramatic turn of events.

"After the roaring success of Rogue Heroes I’m delighted to be embarking on the next chapter of the story," series creator Steven Knight said in a statement. "Series two will take the SAS into mainland Europe and will take our heroes to the limits of their endurance."

Knight, who's best known for creating the period crime drama Peaky Blinders, wrote the series, while Tom Shankland directed – he's previously helmed episodes of TV shows including The Leftovers, House of Cards, and The Serpent. The series also stars Alfie Allen, Dominic West, Sofia Boutella, and House of the Dragon's Tom Glynn-Carney. 

All episodes of SAS: Rogue Heroes season 1 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. For more viewing inspiration, check out our picks of the best new TV shows coming our way this year and beyond. 

Netflix has confirmed the release date for Vikings: Valhalla season 2, with creator Jeb Stuart also revealing more about the show’s new locations and characters.

As per Netflix, Vikings: Valhalla returns on January 12, 2023. With how Kattegat fell in the first season, it should come as no surprise that the show’s trio of heroes – Leif, Freydis, and Harald –  have been scattered to the winds.

"The whole concept of season 2 is that we take these three heroes who are in Scandinavia and blow them out of their comfort zones," Stuart told Netflix’s Tudum. "Season 2 for Harald and Leif is a road trip: It’s Thelma and Louise on the Dnieper River. The two of them will begin this incredible journey. Freydís has to go to Pomerania, which is a very difficult environment."

With those new locations (Pomerania was a region that is now Poland and Germany, geography fans), comes new characters. Netflix has introduced the first batch of kings and rulers who will stand alongside, and possibly against, the show’s leads.

There’s Harekr (Bradley James), "the ruler of Jómsborg, a sort of legendary Viking place where the uber-pagan Vikings lived." Stuart describes him as "a great warrior" but warned that "he’s got a bull’s-eye on his back for any of our pagan hunters, like Olaf."

Joining the cast is Hayat Kamille, who plays Mariam, "an astronomer who’s stuck in Novgorod." Marcin Doronciski plays Olaf and Harald’s "tough love" uncle King Yaroslav the Wise, while Sofya Lebedeva is Elena, the daughter of a Russian noble.

Vikings: Valhalla, then, is set to go further afield than Scandinavia. We’ll see how far the journey takes Leif, Freydis, and Harald in January.

For more from the streamer, check out our list of the best Netflix shows you should be watching right now.

Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana, Princess of Wales, in season 5 of The Crown, has revealed that she got the role after auditioning for a minor role in season 2. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Debicki recalled: "My agent says, 'Would you go in and audition for this one episode, small part, for season two.' So I say, 'I’m not at all physically right for that part. I don’t think I work. I don’t think I want to do that.' And she said, 'Of course you’ve got to just do it because these people are making this amazing TV show.' So I go into this audition and there’s the casting director there and some producers, when I get halfway through the scenes, and it’s a bit like, 'OK, thank you so much for coming,' and I go home with my tail between my legs."

As for what that role was, Debicki doesn't say. However, things turned out better than she could have imagined. "They saw something Diana-y in that audition, which surprised no one more than me when I got the email a few days later. And it was sort of faintly penciling it in like, “We think this might be a good fit and we’ll bring it up in four years’ time,” which in an actor’s life is like an eternity. You’re like, 'Well, I’ll be old then! I want to do it now!' It was very, very loosely on the back burner in my mind. But I’d always hoped that it would come back around, but I didn’t know. And then it did and then I was asked to do it in 2020."

Debicki took over the role from Emma Corrin, who portrayed a younger version of Diana in season 4. The latest season of The Crown also sees Imelda Staunton take over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth. The new cast also includes Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Jonny Lee Miller as Prime Minister John Major, and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret. 

All episodes of The Crown season 5 are now streaming on Netflix. For more on the fictionalized account of the royal family, check out our guide to the series' upcoming final installment, The Crown season 6. 

The Crown season 5 is almost here – and in honor of its fast-approaching release date, Netflix has released a special featurette. In it, the period drama's all-new cast tease the upcoming installment alongside a ton of fresh footage, which offers up our first real glimpses at Camilla, Philip and Margaret's narratives in particular.

"No institution is beyond reproach, and no member of it either," Imelda Staunton's Elizabeth II states via voiceover as the promo, which you can watch below, kicks off. "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. It has turned out to be an annus horribilus." Over those 12 months, the Queen dealt with the collapse of three of her children's marriages – including Prince Charles' to Princess Diana – and the fire that severely damaged Windsor Castle.

But given that season 5 is likely to span over a decade, those are hardly the only hardships we'll see the fictionalized version of the real-life ruler face. According to series creator Peter Morgan, the fifth season is also set to explore how "overtly critical" people were of the monarchy in the early 1990s. 

"It's quite shocking," he says in the clip, as Staunton adds: "It does start with people questioning, 'Do we need the monarchy? Do we need the Queen?' And she has to ride that particular storm."

Then, we're treated to a couple of tension-filled scenes between the sovereign and her son Charles (Dominic West), as they clash on how to modernize themselves and make the Royal Family more relevant again. Elsewhere, Philip frets over how the public are perceiving Elizabeth: "She never stops, she never complains. She never puts a foot wrong, she's utterly magnificent, and they print rubbish like this?" he growls.

Elizabeth Debicki opens up on her Diana, too, explaining: "As a result of the marriage breaking down and how she becomes more and more removed from the rest of the royal family, that sort of encourages her to grow other pieces of her life in an attempt to recoup control." Later, Olivia Williams talks about Camilla's jarring switch from Charles' "close friend" to "subject of media scrutiny", while Lesley Manville – who plays Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret – praises season 5 for carving out time for "little quiet dramas" in amongst it's explosive, "epic stories".

The Crown seasons 1-4 are available to stream now. While we wait for season 5 to land on November 9, check out our breakdown of the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.

The Crown season 5 has finally arrived on Netflix – and it's chock full of Royal Family-related drama. Dealing with everything from the breakdown of Diana and Prince Charles' marriage to the Windsor Castle fire as it moves into the 1990s, the most recent batch of episodes sees Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth II face her most challenging few years yet.

That's not all that's going on across the ten episodes, either, but we don't want to give everything away – even if the majority of it is inspired by real-life events and you can learn what happened through Wikipedia anyway.

If you've yet to press play on episode 1 yet – we don't blame you, there's so much good stuff out there these days – we've taken a deep dive into everything you need to know about the show prior to doing so. This includes the new cast members and who they'll be playing, what the plot is, and when it was released on Netflix. We do mention some events that occurred in The Crown season 4, so if you aren't up to speed on the show, then beware of "spoilers." 

The Crown season 5 release date

The Crown season 5 arrived on Netflix worldwide on November 9, 2022. It consists of ten episodes. 

The streamer doesn't really do weekly rollouts, so it'll come as no surprise to you that all of the episodes landed at the same time – and you get to decide the speed in which you watch the whole thing. Lovely jubbly.

The Crown season 5 trailer

The Crown season 5 trailer was released only last month – and it's a very tense watch.

"The House of Windsor should be binding this nation together," says a voiceover. "And setting an example of idealized family life. It's a situation that cannot help but affect the stability of the country." We then see Charles, Camilla, and Diana as it becomes clear they'll be a big focus of the new season. Elsewhere Lesley Manville's Princess Margaret and Jonathan Pryce's Prince Philip appear as well for the first time since taking on the roles. 

The Crown season 5 cast

Much like how Olivia Colman took over from original lead Claire Foy in seasons three and four, Imelda Staunton plays Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown season 5 and beyond.

"I have loved watching The Crown from the very start," Staunton said in a statement when her role was announced. "As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to [series creator] Peter Morgan's scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."

Jonathan Pryce appears as Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip, while Lesley Manville brings Princess Margaret to life, following on from Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham Carter. Marcia Warren, Claudia Harrison, Sam Woolf, and James Murray play The Queen Mother, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew, respectively. Former James Bond star Timothy Dalton has a small role as Peter Townsend, Margaret's lover whom we last saw in season 1.

Princess Diana was introduced in The Crown season 4, when Emma Corrin joined the cast. This time around, she's portrayed Elizabeth Debicki. Elsewhere, Dominic West is tasked with embodying Prince Charles, Diana's husband and Elizabeth's son, while Olivia Williams takes on his long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana and Charles' eldest son William is played by Senan West, while Will Powell and Teddy Hawley play their youngest Harry.

Diana's lover Dodi Fayed, who died alongside her in 1997, is by Khalid Abdalla, while Salim Daw and Amir El-Masry appear as Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed. Given the fact that Masry is younger than Abdalla, his scenes will likely be flashbacks. Prior to her relationship with Dodi, Diana was involved with Dr. Hasnat Khan, who will be played by Humayun Saeed.

At Number 10, we've got Jonny Lee Miller (as John Major), Flora Montgomery (Norma Major), Bertie Carvel (Tony Blair), and Lydia Leonard (Cherie Blair). Other supporting cast members include Emma Laird Craig (Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York), Andrew Havill (Robert Fellowes, the Queen's private secretary and brother-in-law of Princess Diana), Natascha McElhone (Penelope Knatchbull, Lady Romsey), Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Monique Ritz), and Prasanna Puwanarajah (Martin Bashir).

Netflix has already begun casting season 6, too, with Rufus Kampa set to play Prince William at age 15, and Ed McVey taking on the role of the prince in his later teen and adult years. Meg Bellamy will play Kate Middleton.

The Crown season 5 plot

The Crown season 4 spanned from 1977 to 1990, with season 5 picking up sometime after it left off. Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated "amicably" in 1992 – a year Elizabeth later dubbed her "Annus horribilis" despite it being her Ruby Jubilee – which is a pretty big plot point. During filming, Elizabeth Debicki was papped on set wearing Diana's iconic "revenge dress", which she wore to a dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens in 1994, and that features in one episode, too.

Diana and Charles' divorce isn't the only one touched on in season 5, either. In the 1990s, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew split, as did Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. Neither Anne or Andrew have ever been huge parts of the show, however, so their personal lives are certainly not a main focus. 

Diana's infamous Panorama interview features, too, made clear by the casting of Prasanna Puwanarajah's casting as the BBC's Martin Bashir – and that was broadcast on November 20, 1995. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she told the journalist at the time, which caused quite the stir. Of course, Diana was tragically killed in a car accident two years later, which is another key moment viewers can expect to see explored in the fifth chapter. 

Other storylines you should gear yourselves up for include Tony Blair becoming Prime Minister in 1997, the Windsor Castle fire, and Prince Philip's close friendship with aristocrat Penny Brabourne, née Knatchbull.

As season 5 sees Elizabeth's reign extend into the 21st Century, we may also see the death of Princess Margaret in 2002 play out, after season 4 highlighted her struggles with her physical health, addiction, and depression. Either way, we'll definitely see her suffer a mild stroke in 1998.

The Crown's creator Peter Morgan has already stated that he wouldn't want to bring the show right up to present day, as it would be uncouth to cover things that are actively happening in the Royals' lives right now. If season 5 ended around 2003, then season 6, which is set to be the last chapter, would conclude in 2016 – and that really wasn't all that long ago. But we'll just have to wait and see when it comes to the exact time frames.

What's in store beyond The Crown season 5?

"As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," The Crown creator Peter Morgan explained back in 2020. Essentially, yes, The Crown season 6 is happening – but it will be the show's last. 

It has since been confirmed, via a casting call for teenage versions of Prince William and Prince Harry, that shooting will begin in late August 2022.

The Crown seasons 1-5 are available to stream now. If you've already bingewatched it all, check out our breakdown of the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.

The first trailer for The Crown season 5 is here – and it promises fireworks, family feuds, and a monarchy struggling to maintain its traditions in an increasingly modern world. "How did it come to this?" Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth II asks in the teaser. We're sure to find out come the new season's release.

In the clip, which you can watch above, we see the Queen deal with the aftermath of the Windsor Castle fire in 1992, and the brewing scandal surrounding her son Prince Charles' (Dominic West) affair with Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), and the breakdown of his marriage to Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki). 

"The House of Windsor should be binding this nation together," a voiceover suggests. "And setting an example of idealized family life. It's a situation that cannot help but affect the stability of the country." Talk about pressure...

"People will never really understand how it's really been for me," Diana whispers in a later scene. "I never stood her chance." Her infamous Panorama interview – which was broadcast on November 20, 1995 – features, too, with Ten Percent's Prasanna Puwanarajah playing the BBC's Martin Bashir. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she told the journalist at the time. Of course, Diana was tragically killed in a car accident two years later, which is another key moment viewers can expect to see explored in the fifth chapter. Season 4 spanned over a decade, so we can expect season 5 to do the same...

The footage also offers us good looks at Lesley Manville's Princess Margaret and Jonathan Pryce's Prince Philip. Other storylines we can gear ourselves up for in the new chapter include Tony Blair (played by Bertie Carvel) taking over from John Major (Jonny Lee Miller) as Prime Minister in 1997, the Queen's visit to South Africa, and Prince Philip's close friendship with aristocrat Penny Brabourne, née Knatchbull.

The Crown seasons 1-4 are available to stream now. While we wait for season 5, which arrives on November 9, check out our breakdown of the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.

A source behind the scenes at The Crown has revealed that the crew are "on edge" as season 6 filming gets closer to Princess Diana's death.

"We’ve been dreading getting to this point. The countdown is two weeks and while we’re calmly carrying on it’s fair to acknowledge that there’s a certain anxiety; a palpable sense of being slightly on edge. I mean, there’s bombshell sensitivity surrounding this one," a source on the production told Deadline.

Diana will be played by Elizabeth Debicki in seasons 5 and 6, taking over from Emma Corrin who portrayed the princess in season 4. Her death won't actually be shown in the series, though – instead, the show will depict the events before and after. 

"It’s the run-up: the car leaving The Ritz after midnight with paparazzi in pursuit and then the aftermath with the British Ambassador to France swinging into action with the Foreign Office and then the subsequent constitutional aftermath."

While season 6 is currently filming, season 5 is set for release next month. The new season will cover the events of the '90s and will see Imelda Staunton take over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth. The new cast also includes Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Jonny Lee Miller as Prime Minister John Major, and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret. 

The Crown season 5 arrives on Netflix on November 9. In the meantime, check out our picks of the other best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 5. If you've yet to catch up, then turn back now!

House of the Dragon episode 6 will see four of its major characters be recast, as the story leaps forward ten years – and to prepare us, HBO has introduced two of the fresh faces in a doubt-dispelling new clip. 

The snippet, which you can watch below, follows on from the wedding of Rhaenyra Targaryen (then played by Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) in episode 5. Here, the latter, who tied the knot with the princess after the two privately agreed they would allow one another to have separate lovers, checking on Rhaenyra and her new baby. 

"A boy! I've just heard," Laenor (now played by John Macmillan) rejoices as he bursts through the door. "Well done. Where are you going?"

"She wants to see him," a dazed Rhaenyra (now played by Emma D'Arcy) explains, referring to her former best friend and stepmother Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke, taking over from Emily Carey). As the pair start walking to the Queen's chambers, Laenor innocently asks whether the birth was "terribly painful", to which Rhaenyra shoots him a scalding stare. "I took a lance in the shoulder once," he recalls sweetly, as Rhaenyra sarcastically replies: "My deepest sympathies."

Before they ascend some stairs, Rhaenyra buckles in pain. But when she hears the clock bell start to chime, she insists to Laenor that they have to keep walking. As the war of succession looms, she isn't about to let Alicent see her in a weakened state.

Even though it's only 71 seconds, it's a great introduction to the new actors. Fans who are skeptical about the time jump will likely be pleased to see that Rhaenyra is just as stubborn and determined as she was in her younger years, while her sweet relationship with Laenor has remained for the past decade – despite the fact that her paramour Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) beat his, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), to death following a misunderstanding at their wedding. In short, though, it's all too easy to accept that these are the same characters we've been watching for the last six weeks.

House of the Dragon is set to continue on Sunday, September 25 on HBO in the US, and the following day on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. To ensure you never miss an episode, keep up to date with with our House of the Dragon release schedule.

House of the Dragon's Emily Carey and Milly Alcock are earning praise for their performances as Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Game of Thrones' prequel – but the duo's stint on the HBO fantasy drama is almost over. In a couple of weeks, episode 6 will see two different actors take over their roles (and they're not the only ones being replaced). 

The reason behind the shake-up is the show's upcoming time-jump. As it adapts parts of George R. R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon season 1 spans 28 years overall, with several months passing with each episode but between episodes 5 and 6 – which airs in the US on September 25 – ten years will have passed. We reveal who will be stepping in to play Alicent, Rhaenyra, and more instead below, so keep scrolling if shock recastings aren't your thing...

Who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen from episode 6 onwards?

From episode 6 onwards, Rhaenyra, Princess of Dragonstone, will be portrayed by Emma D'Arcy. The actor is eight years older than Alcock, so it's fitting that they take over the role as the storyline jumps forward a decade.

D'Arcy past credits include Wanderlust, Misbehavior, Mothering Sunday, Hanna, and comedy horror Truth Seekers, in which they played Astrid, a reclusive young woman who is being haunted by a bunch of ghosts. Desperate to rid herself of the spirits, she reaches out to broadband installer-turned-paranormal investigator Gus Roberts (Nick Frost) and his new business partner Elton John (Samson Kayo) for help.

Having spent the first half of House of the Dragon season 1 grieving her mother, living up to her status as named heir, and batting off potential suitors, the second half is set to see the older version of the character continue to navigate the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of Dragons.

"She's grappling with these questions of identity and the restriction of womanhood from very early on," D'Arcy explained to Vogue recently. "That was the aspect of the text that really spoke to me – reading someone on the page who's so young and already aware that the rules apply differently to men and women."

Who plays Alicent Hightower from episode 6 onwards?

As D'Arcy takes over from Alcock as Rhaenyra, Olivia Cooke will come onboard as Rhaenyra's bestie-turned-stepmother Alicent Hightower. Some of her most popular credits include Pixie, Ready Player One, Sound of Metal, Ouija, The Limehouse Golem, Vanity Fair, and Thoroughbreds opposite Anya Taylor-Joy.

In 2015, Cooke earned critical acclaim for her performance in comedy-drama Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, but its arguably her role as Norman Bates' pal Emma Decody in Psycho prequel Bates Motel that is her most well-known.

"Being in a follow up series to Game of Thrones is super surreal. The experience has been undulating waves of calm and pressure," she previously admitted to Harper's Bazaar. "When I initially got the role it was four seconds of euphoria, then just immediate dread." Despite the weight of expectation and the super serious situations Alicent finds herself in, Cooke describes filming House of the Dragon as "a lovely bubble of love and creativity and fun". 

Who plays Leana Velaryon from episode 6 onwards?

In the first few episodes of House of the Dragon, it is stated that Leana Velaryon is 12 years old, so it stands to reason that young actors Nova Foueillis-Mose and Savannah Steyn would be replaced by someone older due to the ten-year time-jump. From episode 6 onwards, Nanna Blondell will star as Leana instead. 

Compared to the duo above, the Swedish-born actor hasn't been in all that much prior to the show, but she did have a small role in Marvel's Black Widow. Last year, she fronted her first Swedish-language feature: Netflix thriller Red Dot.

Who plays Laenor Velaryon from episode 6 onwards?

Up until now, Leana's brother Laenor Velaryon has been brought to life by Matthew Carver and Theo Nate but come episode 6, John Macmillan will step into the role. Macmillan is perhaps best known for playing Julian in the Mitchell and Webb sitcom Back.

Despite the youngsters being swapped out, Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, and Rhys Ifans will continue playing King Viserys, Daemon Targaryen, and Otto Hightower into the second half of season 1, respectively. With House of the Dragon having already been picked up for a season 2, it's unclear whether the new foursome – and the remaining cast members, for that matter – will stick around for the second chapter's entirety or whether they'll be recast, too. Only time will tell; we'll be sure to get you updated.

Will Milly Alcock and Emily Carey ever return to House of the Dragon?

It's hard to imagine how Milly Alcock and Emily Carey would reprise the roles of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon. Flashbacks are possible but the show seems pretty keen on propelling the story forward, so they're unlikely. That said, the actors would be keen to return...

"It's been spoken about, conversations have happened," Carey previously told The Hollywood Reporter. "But, in all honesty, I know absolutely nothing and I have no idea. Of course, I would love to come back. It depends on how it's received and where they want to take the show next. I'm just going with the flow!"

House of the Dragon is set to continue on Sunday, September 18 on HBO in the US, and the following day on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. To ensure you never miss an episode, keep up to date with with our House of the Dragon release schedule.

Outlander prequel series, titled Blood of My Blood, is officially in the works, Starz has confirmed. News that a prequel was in development first broke back in February, but the new series has now been confirmed and plot details have also been announced.

The new series will center around the love story of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan)'s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, Deadline reports. Outlander showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is on board to write the prequel, as well as serve as showrunner and executive producer. Ronald D. Moore, who developed Outlander for TV, is also executive producing. No casting information has been revealed so far. 

"Outlander is a riveting show that from season to season has captured the hearts of its fans around the world," said Kathryn Busby president of original programming at Starz. "We are excited to peel back the layers of this vibrant world to bring our audience the origin of where it all began."

As for the original series, season 6 aired earlier this year and filming on season 7 is currently underway in Scotland. Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander stars Catríona Balfe as Claire, a woman who travels back in time from 1945 to 1743 and finds herself in the midst of the Scottish uprising against English rule. She marries Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, and their romance is the main focus of the show. 

While we wait for Outlander: Blood of My Blood to arrive on Starz, check out our picks of the best new TV shows coming our way this year.

Gentleman Jack creator Sally Wainwright says she's "gutted" the show has been canceled by HBO – but promises that all hope for season 3 is not lost, as the BBC looks into finding a new partner.

Last week, the US channel confirmed it would not be moving forward with the historical drama – which is a co-production between the two broadcasters – following its second season. The announcement prompted the cast to reflect on their involvement in the series on Instagram, while fans took to Twitter to launch a #SaveGentlemanJack hashtag. 

"It's been a bit of a surprise really because it's been doing really well, certainly in this country," Wainwright explained to Radio Times. "We were ready to go again, the BBC certainly [is] up for going again.

"I think if HBO had been up for it, there'd have been no question. It's been a very successful show in all areas for them – it's had fantastic reviews, it's had a very respectable audience and on top of that it's had an impact on the community of gay women. We have the most extraordinary fanbase, they organise all sorts of events."

Having premiered in 2019, Gentleman Jack centers on real-life Yorkshire-based landowner Anne Lister (Suranne Jones), retroactively dubbed "the first modern lesbian", as she strikes up a romance – and eventually navigates a secret marriage – with the wealthy Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle), all while juggling male-dominated business ventures in the early 1800s. 

Season 2 focused on Ann's move into Shibden Hall, and the new wives' efforts to divide their estates – much to the dismay of Ann's meddling brother-in-law Captain Sutherland (Derek Riddell). Their relationship is tested elsewhere, too, by money troubles, public scrutiny, and Anne's entanglement with her ex-lover Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard).

"I think [it] wouldn't want to continue with it without it having the same production values," Wainwright replied, when asked whether the BBC would ever entertain the idea of producing the show on its own.

"So we would need to find another partner who would stream it globally. You know, I think all those other options are being explored at the minute given that there is a desire to go on with it amongst quite a lot of people – the BBC, Lookout Point, myself, you know."

Gentleman Jack is available to stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and HBO Max in the US. If you've already binge-watched, then be sure to check out our roundup of the best TV shows of all time for some viewing inspiration.

Gentleman Jack has been canceled by HBO after just two seasons.

Created by Happy Valley's Sally Wainwright, the Suranne Jones-led period drama centers on real-life Yorkshire-based landowner Anne Lister, retroactively dubbed "the first modern lesbian", as she strikes up a romance with the wealthy Ann Walker, and navigates male-dominated business ventures in the early 1800s. 

"HBO will not be moving forward with a third season of Gentleman Jack," the network said in a statement (via Deadline). "When we began this journey more than five years ago, we knew the series' creator Sally Wainwright had a uniquely compelling vision, and it's been tremendously gratifying to see how Anne Lister's journey has resonated with viewers. 

"We are incredibly grateful to Sally, to the impeccable Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle, and to the entire cast and crew for bringing Anne and Ann's story to life. We'd also like to thank our partners at BBC and Lookout Point for their collaboration on two remarkable seasons."

After season 1, which aired in 2019, ended with Anne and Ann essentially getting hitched, season 2 focuses on the latter's move into Shibden Hall, and the new wives' efforts to divide their estates – much to the dismay of Ann's meddling brother-in-law Captain Sutherland. Their relationship is tested elsewhere, too, by money troubles, public scrutiny, and Anne's entanglement with her ex-lover Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard).

Sharing her reaction to the news, Jones took to Instagram to share the recently released bloopers from the latest installment. Alongside the post, she reflected on her "beautiful journey" making the show, writing: "While it is sad news Gentleman Jack will not be renewed, this show has brought so many together ❤️ Enabled people to share their stories, brought joy, emotion and creativity and gave me a real connection to you as it's audience 😍 

"I have never been involved in a show that has made such a huge impact and touched my heart like this one has. It wasn't always the easiest job I've had… but it was always worth it to see the response it got. THANK YOU for all your support. 

"Thank you to Sally Wainwright for bringing us this amazing story and passion. Thank you to @lindaviemakeup and @tompye33 for the stunning work over both seasons, and to our design team who blew me away on set everyday. To our cast and crew who are just so talented and beautiful and finally I love you @sophiesophierundle 🎩 you are a true friend and a total star ⭐️."

"What a privilege it has been to play Ann Walker and bring her and Anne Lister’s extraordinary love story back to life," Rundle said in her own social media upload. "I am so proud to have been a part of reclaiming their place in history. And I will be forever grateful to have been allowed to spend time in the eye wateringly talented orbits of Sally and Suranne, and the incredible team of people who brought this story to your screens. Thank you for being such a kind, funny, creative and supportive fan base. I am overwhelmed by the love this show inspired. And PROUD. So fiercely proud."

Gentleman Jack fans had been worried about the fate of the series for some time, due to HBO and BBC One's silence on whether or not it had been renewed – and the fact that season 2 was confirmed before season 1 had even concluded in the US. All hope is not lost, though, as the BBC cryptically told Metro: "We are tremendously proud of Gentleman Jack, a show which has made a huge cultural impact, and we are in discussions with Sally about what's next."

Gentleman Jack is available to stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and HBO Max in the US. If you've already binge-watched, then be sure to check out our roundup of the best TV shows of all time for some viewing inspiration.

Vikings: Valhalla season 2 may not have even been released on Netflix yet – but we've already got some casting news for the third season. The Boys star Goran Visnjic has been cast as Erik the Red, who is the viking father of Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett) and Freydis (Frida Gustavsson).

We've yet to meet the character in the Netflix series but he has been mentioned in passing by his son. The explorer is often reminded of the atrocities that his father committed in Iceland and Norway. Currently, Erik the Red is in exile in Greenland but it will certainly be interesting to see what exactly happens when the pair are reunited.

Visnjic recently appeared in the Amazon Prime Video series The Boys as the leader of the Church of the Collective Alastair Adana. However, he is probably best known for playing Luka Kovac in 185 episodes of the medical drama ER. Other shows he's appeared in include Timeless, Santa Clarita Diet, Dollface, and This is Us.

Vikings: Valhalla was given a two-season renewal from Netflix after the success of its first season. The show acts as a spin-off to the Michael Hirst-created History show Vikings, which ran for six seasons. Jeb Stuart created Valhalla, which is set 100 years after the events of the original series, chronicling the end of the Viking age.

Currently, no release date has been set for the second season of the show but Netflix has released a treat for fans of the series. As part of Geeked Week, a blooper reel for season 1 dropped featuring all of the major stars.

Looking for what to watch next? Check out our guide to the best Netflix movies and best Netflix shows to watch right now.

Gentleman Jack fans have urged the BBC and HBO to renew the show for a third season following its "emotional" season 2 finale.

Created by Happy Valley's Sally Wainwright, the Suranne Jones-led period drama centers on Yorkshire-based lesbian landowner Anne Lister, as she navigates rocky romances and male-dominated business ventures in the early 1800s.

The latest installment concluded in the UK on Sunday (May 29), and viewers wasted no time taking to Twitter to share their reactions to the episode. Having essentially tied the knot at the end of season 1, much of Gentleman Jack's second outing has focused on Anne and her new wife Ann Walker's efforts to divide their estates, much to the dismay of the latter's meddling brother-in-law Captain Sutherland – as well as Anne's complicated connection with her ex-lover, Mariana Lawton.

Elsewhere, the couple has faced money squabbles, their inability to start a family together, and a mocking marriage announcement in the local paper. So it's hardly surprising that fans were left in tears when several of those storylines came to a head yesterday evening.

"This series is a rollercoaster of emotions", one Twitter user wrote, as another said: "My god, #SuranneJones is absolute perfection as #AnneLister I never want to see anyone else in the role. She owns it. Magnificent. #RenewGentlemanJack."

"Already missing Gentleman Jack so much. S3 ASAP," a third added.

"That was such a good ep but I am actually sobbing" one person admitted, while another wrote: "RIGHT WHERE’S THE SEASON 3 ANNOUNCEMENT?"

"I've just shouted and bawled my eyes out throughout that bloody awesome episode," one more chimed in.

Check out some more reactions below...

In 2019, BBC and HBO renewed Gentleman Jack four weeks into its eight-week run in the US, and just four days after it had premiered in the UK. So the lack of a season 3 announcement has got fans worried that there may not be more to come.

Their anxieties were exasperated when Jones and her fellow cast members Sophie Rundle, Lydia Leonard, Gemma Whelan took to Instagram over the weekend to share a bunch of behind-the-scenes photos and pay tribute to the show, reading their posts as potential goodbyes. As the tweets above suggest, though, there's still hope.

Gentleman Jack season 2 is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer in the UK. It is set to wrap up in the US, on HBO Max, on June 13. While we wait to see if more episodes are on the horizon, check out our roundup of the best TV shows of all time and pad out your to-watch list.

Following the huge success of the final season of The Last Kingdom on Netflix, we’ve been eagerly anticipating the upcoming film. This will explore the final stretch of Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s (Alexander Dreymon) story after he claimed his ancestral home at the end of season 5.

The new movie is called Seven Kings Must Die and is due to go into production very soon. However, sadly one of the show’s stars has confirmed they will not be returning for the film. Eliza Butterworth, who plays Aelswith in the series, has a conflicting schedule that means she cannot appear.

She shared the news to The Screen Chronicles, explaining: "I have to say, I have had a conflict of scheduling. So, I was meant to be in the film and it gutted me because I got another job which is the one I’m currently on now." Butterworth is filming in Tenerife currently for the series A Town Called Malice, a new crime show for Sky. She plays Clary Lord in the series alongside Jack Rowan, Tahirah Sharif, and Jason Flemyng.

Her The Last Kingdom character Aelswith appeared in every season of the Netflix show so we’ll be sad to see her go. She was King Aelfred’s widow in the series, as well as being mother to King Edward and Lady Aethelflaed. There’s no news yet on the release date for the upcoming movie or what plot it will follow, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as anything is released.

While we wait for more news, check out our list of best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

Netflix's The Last Kingdom is bringing in rave reactions online – and people are even saying it's better than Game of Thrones.

The series is based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories novels and started out as a BBC show. It follows Uhtred, who is raised as a Dane after most of his family is killed, and sees the arrival of the Viking army to Britain. Uhtred's loyalties are torn between the Danes and the Saxon king Alfred. While season 5 is the final installment in the show, a film is on the way. 

"[I don't care] what y'all say, The Last Kingdom > Vikings and Game of Thrones," says one fan, while another agrees: "The Last Kingdom. Better than Game of Thrones. That's the tweet." 

"Game of Thrones rushed the ending, whereas The Last Kingdom was consistently brilliant," believes another tweeter. "The Last Kingdom on Netflix had the final season Game of Thrones should have had. WHAT AN ENDING," says someone else. "The Last Kingdom is a like a more satisfying Game of Thrones," agrees another fan. 

"It's way better than Games of Thrones. The Last Kingdom is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The story. The acting. The cinematography. The music. The sets. The choreography. And everything. Uhtred and his band of merry supporters are just brilliant. And I must say I love Finan," one viewer says. 

Even beyond the Game of Thrones comparisons, people are loving the historical show. "Extremely captivating from its soundtrack to its staging in battle through history, everything in general is transmitted in an impressive way, this season has been really moving and for me it is one of the best series in history," is one person's review on social media. 

"What a show. Almost had me in tears, the last scene of the final episode. Anyone who hasn't watched this show is genuinely missing out. 10/10 from me," agrees someone else. 

"Finished The Last Kingdom. This is a must watch for anyone that enjoys peak fiction. Such a phenomenal series that will catch you by surprise. Top tier quality content," says another Netflix viewer. 

The Last Kingdom is streaming on Netflix now. If you're up to date, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows to fill out your watchlist.

The Crown may be getting a prequel series, according to Deadline – Netflix is reportedly in early discussions about a new series, although nothing is officially in development yet. 

There are set to be six seasons of the original series in total, with season 5 airing later this year. A prequel would reportedly cover the pre-World War Two era or late Victorian era – season 1 begins with Queen Elizabeth's ascension to the throne in the '50s.

Season 4 of the historical drama ended in the late '80s, so season 5 will follow the royal family through the early to mid-'90s. This was a turbulent time for the royals – three of the Queen's four children separated from their partners in 1992, Windsor Castle caught fire, and Diana gave a now-infamous interview to the BBC's Panorama program in 1995 in which she famously referred to the "three people" in her marriage to Charles. How many of these events will be featured in the upcoming season, however, remains to be seen. 

Dominic West takes over the role of Prince Charles in the series from Josh O'Connor, while Elizabeth Debicki is replacing Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season 5. The Queen will be portrayed by Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce takes over as Prince Philip, while Lesley Manville is Princess Margaret, Jonny Lee Miller is Prime Minister John Major, and Khalid Abdalla is Dodi Fayed.

The Crown season 5 arrives on the streamer in November. In the meantime, check out our list of the best Netflix shows that you can watch right now.

The first teaser trailer for Pistol, a limited series about the Sex Pistols, has dropped.

Directed by Danny Boyle, the series is based on guitarist Steve Jones' memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol and charts the band's rise to fame in '70s London. 

Toby Wallace plays Jones, while the rest of the band is portrayed by Anson Boon (lead singer John Lyndon, AKA Johnny Rotten), Christian Lees (bass guitarist Glen Matlock), Louis Partridge (bassist Sid Vicious), and Jacob Slater (drummer Paul Cook).

Maisie Williams is playing Pamela Rooke, AKA the late punk icon Jordan, while fellow Game of Thrones alum Thomas Brodie-Sangster is playing the Sex Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren. Talulah Riley, who previously appeared in Westworld, is playing fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who was also McLaren's partner.

Boyle is best known for directing movies like Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, and his last big-screen effort was 2019's Yesterday. As for the small screen, he directed the FX series Trust in 2018, which starred Donald Sutherland and followed the abduction of John Paul Getty III. 

Pistol was co-written by Craig Pearce and Frank Cottrell-Boyce – the former co-wrote the screenplays for Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet, and The Great Gatsby with Baz Lurhmann, as well as the upcoming movie Elvis.

Pistol arrives on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK on May 31, with all six episodes dropping at once. While we wait, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2021.

Peaky Blinders season 6 Netflix release date is imminent. The series has finished airing on BBC in the UK, but if you're overseas, you're going to have to wait a little while longer. The latest – and final – series sees the return of Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, while Anya-Taylor Joy also returns as Gina Gray, Tom Hardy is Alfie Solomons, Paul Anderson is Arthur Shelby, Sophie Rundle is Ada Thorne, and Sam Claflin is Oswald Mosley. 

If you're wondering when you'll be able to watch Peaky Blinders season 6 on Netflix in the US, the good news is a date has been announced – and we've got all the details right here. Plus, we've got how to watch the show in the UK, too.  

When is Peaky Blinders season 6 coming to Netflix?

Peaky Blinders season 6 is coming to Netflix US on June 10. You won’t have to wait around week-by-week, either. All six episodes will be available to stream instantly, likely from 12:00 AM Pacific/3:00 AM Eastern that day.

In the UK, the series has finished airing on the BBC, but you can catch up on  BBC iPlayer (and for more on that, here's our go-to guide on how to watch Peaky Blinders season 6). But if you’re hanging around for it to arrive on Netflix, you might have a little while to wait yet.

Season 5 dropped almost exactly eight months after its BBC premiere. Given licensing deals and the like, it should be the same again here. A December 2022 release window for Peaky Blinders season 6 on Netflix in the UK is a distinct possibility.

While you wait for your belated Brummie fix, here are the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies you should be watching. Plus, take a look at what's still to come with our guide to what's new on Netflix this month.

Netflix has released a new trailer for Bridgerton season 2, and the next installment of the historical romp promises romance and scandal in equal measure.

Season 2 will see the Sharma family, including daughters Kate (Sex Education's Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran), arrive from India and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) attempting to court Edwina. 

However, when Kate discovers that his intentions for pursuing her younger sister are less than pure, she does everything in her power to stop the pair getting closer – until she finds herself getting closer to Anthony in the process. Oh, and Lady Whistledown is stirring things up, as usual. What could possibly go wrong?

Set in Regency-era London during the ‘social season’, when debutantes were presented at court, season 1 followed the relationship between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). 

Season 2 will be based on the second book in Julia Quinn's series of novels, The Viscount Who Loved Me. Each of Quinn's books focuses on a different couple, and the TV show seems to be following suit. The new season will also see the return of cast members including Dynevor (but not Page), Nicola Coughlan as Peneople Featherington, Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury, and Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton. 

Bridgerton is the streamer's second most watched series of all time behind Squid Game, with a total of 625 million hours watched in its first 28 days on the platform.

Bridgerton arrives on Netflix on March 25. In the meantime, check out our list of the best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

 Vikings: Valhalla creator Jeb Stuart has revealed a potential end point for Netflix’s new historical series.

GamesRadar+ asked Stuart about his plans for the future of the show. His reply? "I think there are definitely more stories out there. If I had my druthers, I’d love to get 1066."

That isn’t a date plucked out of thin air. Valhalla may begin in 1002 with the VIkings retaliating after the St Brice’s Day Massacre, but 1066 marks the downfall of their people. That’s punctuated by the ascendancy of William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England.

For Stuart, it would be a neat throughline for the entire franchise, which includes the original six-seasons show that began at the birth of the Viking age in 793. But it will take more than the current Netflix order of three seasons (H/T Entertainment Weekly) to get the job done.

"If we think about the original Vikings, it starts with the Lindisfarne [attack in 793]," Stuart says. "Most historians think that the end of the Vikings era is 1066. I’d love to do that. For me, that’ll take more than three seasons."

"It would be [the endgame]. There’s a lot of great history out there, an enormous amount of growth on all these characters."

For more on our conversation with Jeb Stuart, check out our complete spoiler breakdown of the first season. If you’re more forward-thinking, then there’s our guide to Vikings: Valhalla season 2 to pore over. Plus, here are the best Netflix shows you should be watching next.

Ships were sunk, kings were slain, and heads rolled. It’s safe to say Vikings: Valhalla didn’t shy away from the more brutal side of history during its first season on Netflix.

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to look back and assess the considerable damage wrought by the Vikings (and their English counterparts, it has to be said) in the first eight episodes.

We sat down with Vikings: Valhalla creator Jeb Stuart to pick apart the bones of the season, including its biggest talking points, most shocking moments – and where the series goes from here.

MAJOR spoilers for Vikings: Valhalla follow. If you haven’t seen the show, find your nearest longship and sail away from here for the time being.

Leif rediscovers his Viking roots

In terms of Vikings, Leif isn’t too hot headed. Sure, he has a nasty streak in him – and can swing an axe with the best of ‘em – but, by and large, his struggles with Christianity fit in snugly with his position as the show’s moral compass. That is, until the final episode.

After his partner Liv died in his arms, Leif transformed into a terrifying barechested berserker, chopping and slicing anyone in his way. For Stuart, this marked a major turning point for the lead – and it’s partly down to the sins of the father.

"We sort of set it up that his father Erik the Red has this very dark aspect to him," Stuart says. "We know that his father killed a man in Norway, was banished to Iceland, and killed a man in Iceland. He had to find or create a settlement in Greenland. We knew he had this very dark tone to him. And I always felt that Leif carried that somewhere buried back there and he kind of put something on it."

Stuart continues, "We internally called that sort of primal scream that you get at the end of season one ‘Old Testament Leif.’"

"It’s very raw. Forget about this, ‘come to Jesus’ forgiveness guy, that's over. Essentially what I wanted the audience to say is when you get to season two, you're going to see a very different Leif Erikson, somebody who is driven now and is pulling his father out of every pore in his body."

Stuart also teases that "hopefully we’ll get to see his father down the road at some point too." If that’s the case, expect Vikings: Valhalla to be painting the town Red…

King Edmund’s death

When it comes to King Edmund’s death, the history books are decidedly murky on how he went. So why was Godwin the one to strike the killing blow in a murder designed to look like an accident, just moments after the pair had kickstarted a coup with the Earls against Forkbeard?

“Some people think he died on the toilet, there are all sorts of things. If I can’t prove something, it works better for me to tell it a little bit differently,” Stuart explains. “I needed to really establish Godwin’s character there as much as creating a historical piece on how Edmund died.”

“I felt like one of the things that I wanted to establish with Godwin is he’s a character for the long haul,” Stuart continues. “So I needed a way for Godwin to establish himself in Canute’s court. By [killing Edmund] he integrates himself in that court, especially with Forkbeard, and the rest is history – he goes on from that point… I needed to establish him in a really Machiavellian style.”

Olaf’s triumph – and swift defeat

As successes go, Olaf's short stint as ruler of Kattegat is about as deflating as it gets. Mere minutes after Olaf’s booming proclamation of victory echoed around the main hall, Forkbeard’s fleet docked in the harbor. 

"That was a really fun piece to work on to make because I want to ride that high," Stuart says of Olaf’s sudden reverse in fortunes. 

Stuart also teases that the fallout – of which we saw precious little – will come next season.

"It could be very bad for him. Season 2 puts a whole different spotlight on Olaf. We’re lucky to have an actor like [Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson]. He’s bigger than life," Stuart says.

Freydis as The Last

Freydis may be the latest in a long line of badass female warriors, but Erik the Red’s daughter sets herself apart by embracing her destiny.

Freydis visits Uppsala and undergoes a ritual, later being termed ‘The Last.’ For Stuart, Freydis’ newfound position as a potential leader is something that is reflected throughout Viking culture.

"The Vikings were very pragmatic people, they knew that they couldn't control their destiny, whether they were Christian or pagan," Stuart explains. "But what they could control was their ability to meet their destiny and meet it in a way the gods would smile favorably on. And I think that that's something that people grasp onto."

Jarl Kåre: The show’s fictional villain

Even in a world filled with burly, bearded Vikings, Jarl Kåre stood tall. The religious zealot spent much of the first season butchering pagans. The villain eventually put Kattegat in his sights, before succumbing to the sharp end of Freydis’ sword.

But, try as you might, you won’t find Kåre in any history book. "He’s an amalgamation of about three or four Viking jarls that I read about," Stuart says. "There's a great book about the Christian conversion of the Vikings in the 10th and 11th century. Quite frankly, some of those things were just horrific."

When asked if there was anybody Stuart would miss from the characters he chose to kill off, the showrunner says, "he is definitely somebody that was like ‘Why did I do that?!’"

The genesis for Kåre’s dangerous beliefs actually stemmed from the initial conversations Stuart had about the show.

"When I was pitching this show, years ago, one of the things that I said was the only thing scarier than a pagan Viking is a Christian Viking," he adds. "Part of that reason is because suddenly you've got these zealous Christians, they believe, with every pore in their body, that they have to get rid of all of those totems and the false gods"

"I think Kare just feels driven by that in every part of his Christianity. It's every part of his belief. It may be scary and it may be disturbing, but it's because it's driven on such a recognizable platform."

What’s next for Vikings: Valhalla?

Phew. Vikings: Valhalla has already rattled through history; London Bridge has fallen down and several characters have had their trajectories shifted dramatically. What’s next?

The second season has already been filmed ("We’re in the editing phase now," Stuart reveals) and we can expect the show to equip its characters with the tools required to look a little further afield in their travels.

"What I like about the launchpad for season two is that we're not going to return to Kattegat and everything's going to be great," Stuart says. "The neat thing about this particular time in history, for me, was the Vikings blew out of Scandinavia. It was a period where they were going down routes… and ending up in Constantinople. We also know about my characters that we end up hitting points further West."

"So how did they get there? We know Leif was an explorer, but what did we have in his toolbox that allowed him to get there? It can’t just be courage. If it was just courage, the Vikings would have found the New World way back. Did he have to learn something about navigation that wasn’t apparent to him or anybody else?"

Stuart adds: "These are exciting pieces for me because what I want to do is blow them out and make the characters start to really become more adult. They have to not just assume things, they have to earn things."

The creator also wants to go far beyond his current timeline to signal the end of the Viking age.

"I think there are definitely more stories out there. If I had my druthers, I’d love to get 1066," Stuart says. "If we think about the original Vikings, it starts with the Lindisfarne [attack in 793]. Most historians think that the end of the Vikings era is 1066. I’d love to do that. For me, that’ll take more than three seasons."

Vikings: Valhalla will return on Netflix. For a further look at the series, be sure to read our guide to Vikings: Valhalla season 2.

Peaky Blinders has paid tribute to the late actor Helen McCrory, who played Aunt Polly in the hit BBC series.

The Peaky Blinders season 6 premiere, "Black Day," ended with a message accompanied by birdsong that read, "Dedicated to the memory of Helen McCrory OBE ‘Polly Gray’"

McCrory, who played ‘Aunt Pol’ for the first five seasons of the show, passed away in April 2021. The season 6 premiere also reveals what became of Aunt Polly in the fallout from Tommy Shelby’s foiled plot to assassinate Edward Mosley, though we won’t spoil it here.

Peaky Blinders fans flocked to social media to praise the tribute to McCrory.

"Lovely tribute to the brilliant Helen McCrory on Peaky Blinders last night," one wrote on Twitter. Another said, "you will be missed," while one viewer described the episode’s treatment of Aunt Polly as "very poignant."

“What a beautiful tribute to the late Helen McCrory - aunt Pol. The birdsong at the end. An absolute icon, Queen and the heartbeat of Peaky Blinders,” journalist Charlie Webster wrote.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has revealed that the sixth (and final) season is merely "the end of the beginning."

"It's a world that has a life around the world... it's so popular, but you stop when people want it to stop, not when we want it to stop," Knight said at a recent red carpet event (H/T BBC). A Peaky Blinders movie is also in the works.

Need to catch up on the exploits of Tommy Shelby and friends? Here’s how to watch Peaky Blinders, no matter where you live.

Vikings: Valhalla ends with a bang, not a whimper. Its various interlocking story arcs all come to a head in Kattegat while, across the Channel, change is afoot in England. It’s not quite Ragnarok but, after the finale, it might feel like the end of the world for some of your favorite characters.

With so many moving pieces in the Valhalla finale, it can be a little tricky to keep track of who we should now be rooting for and who has taken a few steps towards the Viking dark side. The show completely changes in its final moments as key characters shuffle off this mortal coil to head for the afterlife. As such, it’s worth taking a step back to get the lay of the land after the Netflix series capped things off with a thunderous battle.

Below, we’ll run through all the key moments from the Vikings: Valhalla ending and, crucially, what they all could mean for the show moving forward. Spoilers follow, starting with a recap of all the major scenes from the eighth (and final) episode of Vikings: Valhalla’s first season. 

Vikings: Valhalla ending: what happens in the finale?

As the finale begins, the Vikings are on the precipice of war in Kattegat and the winds of change are blowing in England.

In London, Emma is banished from her court and back to Normandy by the combined forces of Queen Aelfgifu and Sweyn Forkbeard. Despite Emma’s exile, Queen Aelfgifu does not give Forkbeard the location of Canute’s remaining fleet. Instead, Aelfgifu wants to “prove her worth” by trying to bring the region of Mercia in line.

Over at Kattegat, the Viking forces (including Leif, Freydis, and Haakon) are preparing to wage war against the imminent threat of Kåre and his religious zealots, who are now bolstered by the aid of Harald and Olaf. Leif once again finds his ‘pagan’ faith tested after witnessing a human sacrifice to the Allfather in Kattegat. 

Despite a parley to avoid conflict, Kåre begins to attack Kattegat and gains the upper hand by putting a dummy fleet out to sea and attacking from elsewhere. Kåre, believing he will be betrayed, also captures Harald. Fortunately for the young prince he is then saved by Olaf, who reveals he has enlisted Kåre’s help for his own ends: to rule Kattegat and use Kåre’s men (and Kåre himself) as part of a suicide mission.

Haakon is mortally wounded by arrows during the assault. With her dying breath, she tells Freydis that she “must survive” because she is “The Last.”

Harald is stabbed by a Kattegat warrior, then Freydis kills Kåre by decapitating him. Freydis then saves Harald and rides to safety; Olaf grievously wounds Liv.

Olaf takes his place as ruler of Kattegat, though there’s one final wrinkle in his plans: Sweyn Forkbeard sails for the port. Olaf, likely to be killed by Forkbeard for his betrayal, looks despondent in the throne room and gives up his newly-won royal garb.

How did Forkbeard get his fleet? Emma (and Godwin) have been busy in England, revealing her exile was a ruse to help buy Forkbeard time to find his fleet. She’s now sitting on the throne with Queen Aelfgifu frozen out.

As Forkbeard hits land, Liv dies in Leif’s arms. Worse still, she does so without Leif committing to the pagan faith. In the final moments of the season, Leif murders some of Olaf’s forces in a fit of rage and screams at one of Forkbeard’s grandchildren.

What happened to Leif?

Throughout the season, Leif has been torn between his old ‘pagan’ religion and the hot new thing on the continent: Christianity.

By the season’s end, Leif seems to be firmly on the side of the Christians, though the death of his beloved Liv may have given him pause for thought. He “promises” Liv that he’ll see her in Valhalla, though it’s hard to believe Sam Corlett’s Leif given how he waited until after Liv died to pinky swear on their afterlife plans.

The whole ‘Leif is a pagan again’ theory doesn’t exactly fall apart though. Leif descends into a beserker rage in the finale’s last moments, killing several of Olaf’s men after they attempted to rape some of Kattegat’s women. As a final, bloody cherry on top, he roars at Forkbeard’s grandchildren.

Why? Leif’s final act might not be the smartest move for his short-term future, but he’s clearly beyond the pale at this point in time. 

The moment can be seen as a hugely significant and symbolic one: post-Liv’s death, he has been ‘reborn’ as an animalistic, almost stereotypical Viking. He may not have renounced his Christian faith entirely, but he’s certainly not singing from the same hymn sheet as his peers. Instead, he is now set up to be the show’s loose cannon: a man who doesn’t align himself with anyone and is instead consumed by rage at the loss of his loved one. If that’s the case, expect Leif to be Viking: Valhalla’s major wildcard (and possible leading anti-hero) moving forward.

What will Sweyn Forkbeard do now?

Sweyn Forkbeard is not a happy man by the time of Vikings: Valhalla’s ending. He’s left England in the more than capable hands of Emma of Normandy, and has some “traitors” firmly in his sights.

Chief among them is Olaf, who has decided to go into business for himself to take control of the Norse port. Expect that to form one of season 2’s main conflicts – if Olaf isn’t swiftly dispatched in the premiere, that is. 

What next for Freydis and Harald?

The star-crossed lovers are united by Valhalla’s conclusion. But where next? In the immediate future, Freydis and Harald will likely reconvene and re-assess their plans. With a power vacuum in Kattegat, things are suddenly looking more volatile on the continent. We don’t like to dive too far ahead into history (because spoilers!) but that could soon involve Harald’s plans to one day become King of Norway. Canute might have something to say about that, however.

Freydis, meanwhile, is destined to be “The Last.” Essentially the great last hope of Vikings, Freydis could have her own eye towards a handful of thrones, or even uniting Kattegat’s people (and beyond) under one banner. If that’s the case, expect her to lock horns with King Canute and Sweyn Forkbeard in future. 

Who rules Kattegat now?

For now, no one. But Forkbeard certainly lays the biggest claim (and biggest fleet) to ruling over Kattegat. Olaf knows it, too, acquiescing his place as Kattegat’s ruler almost immediately after claiming it.

Others who might soon have Kattegat in their sights include Harald, Freydis, and Canute. That power struggle centred around one of Scandinavia’s most important locations could be an interesting one as the show hurtles towards a second season.

How is Emma back on the throne in England?

Blame that pesky Godwin. His subterfuge aided Emma. She tricked Aelfgifu into thinking she was being sent back to Normandy. That ruse allowed Forkbeard to find his fleet and remove Aelfgifu’s influence over the court. From there, Godwin pretended to draw Aelfgifu in, all while making plans for Emma to return to the throne. Classic Godwin.

What will happen to Queen Aelfgifu?

In short, it’s not good news for Queen Aelfgifu. But her trust in Godwin is unlikely to be a fatal flaw on her part. For now, she’ll be on the outside of the halls of power and likely plotting her next move. Given that Canute has re-married, she might yet turn to the region of Mercia for help (and forces) to help turn the tide back in her favor and make a play for England’s throne.

Where is Canute?

Speaking of Canute, the Danish king was conspicuously absent from the finale and is still fighting unseen battles in Denmark. Expect him to return as a major player in the second season. As far as we know, he’s still alive and still hunting for glory. England feels settled and safe with Emma by his side, though he may have to deal with the twin threats of Godwin and Aelfgifu should they arise. 

On the continent, Kattegat will likely prove to be a similar headache; Harald and Freydis could have aspirations of their own, and we wouldn’t put it past a father-son showdown in future if things get messy as Forkbeard increases his grip on the port settlement.

Will there be a time jump?

Time jumps are all the rage nowadays. The Walking Dead and Avengers: Endgame flipped through months and years to good effect, while the original Vikings series also sprung forward a handful of times during its run.

Vikings: Valhalla is likely setting things up for a similar situation. As per IGN, William the Conqueror is set to appear in an upcoming season of Vikings: Valhalla. If you know your history, you’ll no doubt be aware that the future king of England doesn’t take the throne until around 50 years after some of the events depicted in Valhalla. 

Couple that with the suspiciously out-of-nowhere inclusion of Canute’s children/Forkbeard’s grandchildren and there’s every chance they could form part of the core (aged-up) cast in future seasons if Valhalla decides to jump ahead further decades. It could even be presented in a similar fashion to Ragnar’s sons playing a pivotal role in later seasons of Vikings, especially if they have to deal with the impending threat of William the Conqueror in the pre-1066 era.

What can we expect from the second season?

The first thing to say is we can expect a second season. Netflix may have an unfortunate track record for cancelling shows after just one season (RIP Cowboy Bebop 2021-2021), but Vikings: Valhalla season 2 has actually already wrapped filming.

If the likes of The Witcher are any indication, Vikings: Valhalla will get a nice bump up in budget: bigger battles, bigger sets, and bigger scope should all be the name of the game.

In terms of story, things are a little less clear-cut. The core cast of Leif, Freydis, Harald, Canute, Emma, and Godwin will almost certainly drive things forward in their own way.

Leif is the hardest person to pin down as we enter a second season. He is flooded by grief and lashing out at people. That’s a bad combination for anyone, let alone a bloodthirsty Viking. If he continues on this downward spiral, he could be joining Liv in Valhalla sooner than later. Freydis might be the one to calm him down if the two are able to find each other.

Freydis and Harald could be the show’s new power couple, while its other loved-up duo, Emma and Canute, also have messes to tidy up from England, to Denmark, and Kattegat. Godwin will also do whatever it takes to worm his way into power, should an opportunity arise. And we can’t rule rule out the emergence of Harald’s brother Sten, who was briefly glimpsed during the first season.

The first season was defined by the Vikings versus the English and then, latterly, in-fighting based on religion. The second season could be altogether more complex, presenting things in various shades of gray as various kingdoms and regions become up for grabs. On top of that, certain historical figures could become emboldened by the events in the season 1 finale. We’re looking at you, Harald. It might not reach Game of Thrones levels of deft political manoeuvring and power grabs, but it’ll probably make a good attempt at taking the crown left behind by HBO’s epic.

We've also dug down into two of the show's most pressing questions away from the action: is Vikings: Valhalla a sequel? And when is Vikings Valhalla set?

Unless you are a history buff, the Vikings: Valhalla timeline may as well be Norse code. That can be frustrating. Chances are, you will want to immediately dive into that corner of history after bingeing Netflix’s swords-and-shield epic featuring real-life historical figures such as King Canute, Leif Eriksson, and the Earl of Godwin.

But where to start? At the expense of thumbing through history books and reams of confusing Wikipedia entries, we’re here to bring you a brief overview of the period that newcomers can use to provide further context to the series. On top of that, Valhalla diehards can even use the info to accompany them on a rewatch. We’ll even keep things as spoiler-free as possible.

 When is Vikings: Valhalla set? 

Vikings: Valhalla begins in the early 11th Century. 1002 to be precise. To be even more precise, the premiere is set on November 13, 1002, when the St Brice’s Day Massacre took place. The events of the series, though, take place some time later.

Sadly for those looking to follow along with a proper timeline, Vikings: Valhalla plays it pretty fast and loose with which year everything is set in. 

The only thing that is clear is that a fair amount of time has passed since St Brice’s Day. The premiere’s story card reveals Canute’s plans to sail for England in “revenge”, but comes without a firm date.

There are other historical moments that did not happen in the order presented in the Netflix series, which confuses things further. King Canute’s rise to power comes almost 15 years after St Brice’s Day, for example. There’s also the small matter of Harald not even being born in 1002, despite being present during the St Brice’s Day Massacre. As such, it’s a fool’s errand attempting to piece everything together and place the series neatly over real-world history.

In short, Vikings: Valhalla is set in 1002 to start with. The early part of the 11th Century can then be used as a rough timeline for everything that goes down. We imagine it’s just a few years after, given that no one has aged significantly and younger characters (such as Harald) are also around on St Brice’s Day. Besides, attempting to plot how long each journey and battle takes would be maddening and goes against the blunt, straightforward nature of Vikings: Valhalla.

How many years has it been since Vikings?

In terms of the Vikings franchise, the first season of the main series begins in 793 and ends decades later. That means Vikings: Valhalla takes place, according to Netflix’s “A New Era” featurette, 150 years after Vikings season 6.

For more context on the series, here's the answer to whether Vikings: Valhalla is a sequel and whether you should watch the original series first.

You’ve started watching Vikings: Valhalla – or want to, anyway. There is, however, an unfortunate roadblock getting in the way: Valhalla is a sequel to the series Vikings which aired on The History Channel and Amazon Prime Video.

Should you watch Vikings seasons 1-6 before starting Valhalla on Netflix? It’s a good question – one without a hard and fast answer at first glance. 

Below, we’ll address the issue for those who have already started watching Vikings: Valhalla, as well as those who have been a little more cautious and want to know if they have any boxsets to binge for homework. 

So, if you want some more in-depth detail on Vikings’ small-screen history before committing to sailing for Valhalla, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll keep spoilers to a minimum.

Should I watch Vikings before Valhalla? And is it a sequel?

In short, no. At least, you don’t have to watch it. Vikings: Valhalla takes place around 150 years after the end of Vikings season 6. As such, the previous series has no direct impact on Valhalla and is a completely separate, standalone story. 

Bradley Freegard, who plays King Canute on the show, told GamesRadar+ that Valhalla is "its own show entirely." Series creator Jeb Stuart explained to EW that the original Vikings series and Valhalla do not have "any connected tissue.” So, no: Valhalla is not a direct sequel to Vikings.

While there are minor mentions of figures such as Travis Fimmel’s Vikings lead Ragnar and his brother Rollo (who have become figures of legend by the time of Valhalla), there is only one returning character, who we won’t spoil here. And not knowing who they are only adds to their mystery, which can be a good thing.

Why you should watch Vikings before Valhalla

There is a case for the opposing point of view, however. Valhalla is teeming with different territories and factions vying for power. To get a feel for that political arena, Vikings is the best bet to get well-acquainted with a complicated juncture in history and to understand why things have reached a certain tipping point, particularly across the Channel in England. 

Getting a feel for the world also helps. Vikings takes place mostly across Scandinavia (including Denmark and Norway) and it can be fairly hard to keep up with the whos, whats, wheres, and why of certain kings and princes. Vikings’ main setting, Kattegat, also features prominently in Valhalla. Being aware of the bloodsoaked history of the location and lineages of the characters only enriches the experience.

As Freegard puts it succinctly: “If you have watched all of it, or you’re a big fan of the original Vikings show, then what you have there is a deeper interest and a lot of knowledge to fall back on.”

TL;DR? If you’ve got time to spare, Vikings is well worth a watch. The first four seasons, in particular, are gripping television. The final two seasons veer off slightly in terms of its compelling cast, but are equally as enjoyable. However, they’re not essential to watching Vikings: Valhalla. Netflix’s new Norse-based series is very much set on building up its own mini-franchise on its own merits.

For more background on the Netflix series, here's when Vikings: Valhalla takes place in terms of real-world history.

The History Channel’s Vikings may have drawn to a close, but the story does not end with Ragnar, Lagertha, and Rollo. Set around 150 years later, Vikings: Valhalla is Netflix’s attempt to crack the Norse code and shape real-world legends into a gripping historical epic.

Vikings: Valhalla begins with the familiar: kings, rulers, and warriors vying for power. The setting and time period itself, however, is a little more obscure. A power-keg landscape in early 11th Century Europe is set off by the so-called St Brice’s Day Massacre, which saw potentially thousands of Vikings slain on November 13, 1002.

That Viking genocide on the order of England’s King Aethereld later gives way to invasion and warfare between the forces of England and Scandanavia, and forms the crux of the Vikings spin-off’s narrative. But you don’t need a working knowledge of that period, or of the original Vikings series, when entering the halls of Valhalla. 

"What’s really great is Vikings: Valhalla is its own show entirely," Bradley Freegard, who plays the Danish monarch King Canute on the show, tells us. "And it's a fresh start building on what has gone before. You don't have to have seen any of the original Vikings series to come on board and start watching Vikings: Valhalla."

"But if you have watched all of it or you’re a big fan of the original Vikings show, then what you have there is a deeper interest and a lot of knowledge to fall back on…It’s good that we have all of that knowledge in the past and it’s been seen and known by the fans. We can use that and we can draw upon that."

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, who plays Jarl Olaf, adds: "We’re standing on [the original series’] shoulders and riding the machine." Frida Gustavsson (who portrays Freydis Eriksdottir in the Netflix series) shares that sentiment, but does temper caution: this is a very different beast entirely.

"I feel like we share a lot of the core DNA of the show, I feel like fans are going to recognise what they learned from Vikings. But they're also going to meet a new show," Gustavsson says. "I feel like new fans who maybe didn't see it, or maybe didn't like Vikings, are going to find that it is a standalone thing."

Gustavsson also mentions that she "was very inspired by Katheryn Winnick [who played Lagertha in Vikings] to carry the torch of this female lead, this badass female warrior."

Viking yin and yang

Valhalla, then, is certainly intent on setting out on its own voyage. Steering the ship are the dual leads of Leif and Freydis, two children of famed and feared warrior Erik the Red. Despite being linked by blood, however, the two differ in some key respects.

"They’re very different people," Gustavsson says. "They’ve taken on the legacy of Erik the Red, their father, quite differently. Where Freydis is forward, stubborn and resistant to change, Leif is more reflective. They have a yin and yang type of relationship, they learn from each other."

Sam Corlett, who plays Leif, agrees. "They’re both different sides of the same coin. They've had very similar experiences growing up in what I saw as a harsh environment of Greenland and under a harsh ruler, as a father, Erik the Red. I think in the ways Freydis may have admired Erik the Red and his way of being, Leif questioned it. And that kind of takes him on that journey."

It’s a journey that takes Greenlander Leif, along with King Canute and his forces, across the channel to England and to Kattegat, a settlement best known to Vikings fans as that show’s central location. In both settings, they come into contact with a whole host of power-hungry figures with minds just as sharp as the axes being gripped by the invading forces.

Among them is Emma of Normandy, the whipsmart wife of King Aethelreld and stepmother to heir apparent Prince Edmund. The one-time outsider has positioned herself firmly inside England’s court by the time the new series begins – and for good reason.

"She has extraordinary strength and intelligence and she has the ability to look behind people's masks, she knows their intentions, she knows their weaknesses," Laura Berlin, who portrays Emma, says of her character’s ability to outmanoeuvre her foes. "She is a very good strategist. She is a chess player. And that's really fascinating."

On the other side of the board, so to speak, is Godwin, the Earl who holds the ear of the king and, as we come to discover, the keys to the kingdom. His duplicitous nature belies some sort of warped desire to keep England ticking, according to actor David Oakes.

"I think he is loyal to a sense of what England could be," he says. "I think that is a sense of nationalism that isn't rooted in the past. And one that is aspirational, but also linked to a sense of familial survival."

Over in the port settlement of Kattegat, it’s Jarl Haakon who rules the roost amid an impending internal struggle between the Viking people. Her well-travelled, celebratory ways are often at odds with the Vikings who stab first and ask questions later.

"She's a very strong, fierce leader," Caroline Henderson says of her character. "[She has] this calmness and strength. Because she's not a young woman, I tried to portray her as somebody who's seen it all. She's been there. She's travelled all around the world. She's been back, she's been raiding. She speaks very passionately."

Haakon’s position also speaks to the show’s treatment of leaders. Namely, the ways to inspire a population are manifold. Where Haakon is open, Godwin works from the shadows;  Emma of Normandy may have a way with words but, for someone like Canute – who is leading the charge to England – it’s his penchant for force that could turn the tide in his favor.

"He has been used to taking what he wants by force," Freegard observes. "Some of the other kings that may appear in the show have been quite comfortable for a long while and think that they can do as they please. They don't see the Vikings as so much of a threat anymore. And I think they ought to take it a bit more seriously."

A history lesson

Despite its familiar trappings, diving back over a millennia can feel alien, even to the most skilled of actors. However, the ensemble were more than keen to hit the history books and contemporary works to get a feel for the distant age of yurts and jarls.

"I might have read a bit of Beowulf. I didn't read all of it. But yeah, I certainly dove into that history," Leo Suter, who plays headstrong Prince Harald, says. "Figuring out the kind of world that these Vikings lived in was important for me and a fun part of the job."

Corlett took a different approach in embodying the legend of Leif, who is believed to be one of the first Europeans to discover North America. That meant leaving some distance between himself and history.

"For me, it was not diving too deep into that, because obviously, he's considered a legend," Corlett says. "And he doesn't see himself as that. It's just a grounded individual who's just living out his life and doing the best he can for what he thinks is right. And so it was all about going there, but bringing it back down and coming back to the heart."

Berlin echoes those thoughts; her research for portraying Emma was essentially providing broad strokes, allowing the finer details to be built in her own performance.

"When you read these books [they] are more like suggestions, we know so little of that time," Berlin says. "We can only suggest. Another source [might be] slightly different. So it gives me as an actress enough room to create a whole new character and human being basically."

Oakes adds: "One of the main sources that we do have was actually paid for by Emma of Normandy. So if in any way Godwin comes across as a little bit slimy, that is wholly due to Emma of Normandy’s historical bias. He was charming, lovely, affable, kind, and loved goats."

Why we can't get enough of Vikings

Alongside other historically popular eras, such as Romans or Egyptians, Viking influence seems to have a degree of permanence and influence in pop culture. In recent years alone, the Viking aesthetic (and period) has proved all-conquering: the Marvel movies with Thor, and the video games Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and God of War have all benefitted from a touch of Norse mythology and have been wildly successful. Why are we still up in arms about Vikings, well over 1000 years on?

"I think it's because it's far enough back in history that it's exotic," Gustavsson says. "It's just so deeply mythological. People, you know, are attracted to people that are adventurous, who are willing to risk themselves for greater causes. And what sets apart Vikings from all the others is that they were at the end of the day, great explorers."

Henderson points to the intriguingly progressive way in which women are portrayed in the Viking era compared to even much later historical periods.

"From a woman's point of view, if you go 100 years back, it's more difficult to see yourself in that context," she says. "But 1000 years, then you can see a woman be able to divorce, to marry, to own property, to do all this. You can relate to that on a different level. And that's very interesting."

And sometimes the straightforward answers are the best. "I think the Viking era, for better or worse, sums up everything that we're not allowed to be in the current age," Oakes adds.

Of course, Valhalla can’t whip up a storm on source material alone. For Jóhannesson, the series has one final, crucial ingredient that might help separate it from the legion of Vikings-related media that have proved prevalent over the years.

"It has a great script," he says. "I'm not saying the other shows don't have great scripts, but that's the one thing I find is most valuable with our show. And I was so happy when I got the scripts. They’re real page turners and that's always great as an actor when you get scripts that are really, really good."

He continues, "It reads so well that you just hope you’re able to capture it, put it together, and get it out there. That’s our greatest asset on Vikings: Valhalla: the fast-paced, intriguing scripts we have. They’re absolutely great."

So grab a tankard of mead and sharpen your bingeing battleaxe. It’s time to let Vikings: Valhalla regale you with tales of legends, guts, and glory when it hits Netflix on February 25.

Vikings: Valhalla does not waste time. The Netflix spin-off invades, pillages, wages war, and crowns kings – all within its first few episodes. It’s little wonder, then, that the event that kicks off the series feels like an afterthought. 

Set over a century after the original History Channel series, Valhalla sees the Vikings in a precarious position after the St. Brice’s Day Massacre, an event that centres on England’s King Aethelred removing the Viking presence from his shores in an act of genocide.

At this point, the show’s charming cast of characters are introduced and things start to temporarily (and mercifully) settle down. King Canute (Bradley Freegard) leads his Danish fleet to England alongside a composite of Viking forces. Chief among them is the brash, cocky young Norwegian prince Harald (Leo Suter) and his half-brother Olaf (Johannes Johanneson), a boorish, untrustworthy figure who thinks only of which throne he’s best suited to sitting on. 

The two main characters, though, are wisely positioned as newcomers and outsiders. Viewers setting sail with the Vikings franchise for the first time will instantly connect to Greelander siblings Leif (Sam Corlett) and Freydis (Frida Gustavsson), the children of legendary warrior Erik the Red.

It’s Leif’s journey that proves the most compelling. The central conflict of the show is between the Viking factions and religion: on one side, the burgeoning Christian faith that has spread throughout Denmark and Norway. On the other, the Greenlanders’ ‘pagan’ beliefs in following the Allfather. Throughout Vikings: Valhalla, Leif is torn between both the new ways and the old ways.

Where Leif’s inner turmoil provides some of the most intriguing character explorations, Freydis’ pilgrimage to holy site Uppsala (via the familiar Vikings locale of Kattegat) on a quest for revenge is altogether more straightforward and one-note. It’s all in service of setting up a hero’s journey that is far too familiar.

A new Leif

Each of the sibling’s stories, however, do share in some of Vikings: Valhalla’s biggest hooks on different sides of the continent: the world-building and action. It’s rare to see a show (admittedly, backed by a previous series) arrive with such a swaggering confidence. Everyone knows their place on the board from the outset, and it mostly involves them swinging swords and shields at each other.

Vikings fans will be familiar with Valhalla’s visceral intensity, and it’s in the fight scenes and action sequences where the show truly shines. The slightly too clean choreography may not mesh as well with the handheld style of direction, but the battles are always entertaining. 

The rushing onslaught of bodies and guttural growls also slide in neatly alongside the show’s mantra of never shying away from meaningful stakes. Punches are not pulled and plot armor is nonexistent. Big characters can (and do) meet the pointy end of a sword or a hangman’s noose. These brutal, furious jolts of energy often bring various conflicts to a head in devastating fashion, even if the best ones come a little too soon in Vikings: Valhalla.

Yet, it’s not all about Vikings. The entrenched English court in London is where much of the heavy plotting and intrigue lay. 

Godwin, the opportunistic right-hand man to the king, oversees a changing dynamic in London, all while having to contend with bratty king-in-waiting, Edmund, played by Louis Davison who brings shades of Games of Thrones’ Joffrey to the role, but lacks the required nuance in his big scenes. Edmund’s stepmother Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin) and Queen Aelfigu (Pollyanna McIntosh) also add a regal touch and further muddy the political waters to good effect.

Godwin’s scenes are what Vikings: Valhalla strives to be away from the battlefield but, the Earl aside, never really consistently hits the mark with any real conviction. His pursuit of power (and staying in power) improves even the most dramatic of moments thanks to his propensity for backstabbing and betrayal. David Oakes’ performance gifts the viewer with just enough juicy double meaning so that we can see whirring gears start to turn in his head, all while his captive court remains oblivious. In that sense, it mirrors some of Game of Thrones’ best-laid plans, but those moments are few and far between.

When worlds collide

The show does hit its stride in both realms when the worlds of the Vikings and the English collide. Oddly, they almost all arrive, as is a frustrating running theme with the series, very early on. The latter half of the eight-episode run is far more distracted with the Christian zealot Kåre (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen), who delivers an imposing force-of-nature performance that works tremendously well as the season’s overarching villain but often feels like a second season plot intruding on its first.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Vikings: Valhalla hits fast-forward through multiple seasons’ worth of material in just a few episodes. Relationships are rattled through, tensions rise and fall, and monarchs rush across continents, all in mere minutes. As such, you can never really buy into some of the core dynamics thanks to their rickety and rushed foundations, and the second half of the season fizzles out because the big dramatic beats don’t always land. 

Slightly more glacial pacing would have worked wonders for the series. In a show dotted with a handful of complex, rich characters, it’s clear that they deserved a larger, broader canvas on which to paint.

Vikings: Valhalla isn’t one for fan theories and beat-by-beat breakdowns. It’s a breakneck rollercoaster; a big, grimy axe swing of a series that will appeal to many but will put off those craving more minutiae in its characters and drum-tight plotting in its story. Ultimately, it burns bright and flickers out towards the end of the first season – but not without first delivering a lean, sinewy historical series that aspires to one day be an epic. With a little more finetuning, Vikings: Valhalla could join the pantheon of great Netflix series in the years to come. Skol!

Vikings: Valhalla is available on Netflix from February 25. While you wait, check out the best Netflix shows available on the streamer.

Olivia Colman and Matt Berry are taking on the world of Charles Dickens with a new adaptation of Great Expectations, Variety reports.

Great Expectations was first published in 1861 and the novel is a coming of age story centering around an orphan Pip and featuring an eclectic ensemble cast of characters who come and go from Pip's life. Colman will play the eccentric Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster who takes on Pip as a companion, while Berry is Mr. Pumblechook, the uncle of Pip's sister's husband.

The limited series' cast will also include Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead as Pip, as well as Ashley Thomas (The Night Of), Johnny Harris (This Is England '86), Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty), Hayley Squires (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain), Owen McDonnell (Killing Eve), and Trystan Gravelle (The Terror).

Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight is writing and executive producing the series – his fellow executive producers include Ridley Scott and Tom Hardy. Lucy Forbes, who recently helmed several episodes of the BBC series This is Going to Hurt, starring Ben Whishaw, will serve as lead director. This is Knight's second Dickens adaptation for the BBC and FX, as he previously helmed 2019's A Christmas Carol limited series, which starred Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge. 

Colman was recently seen in the Netflix movie The Lost Daughter, which saw her nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar, while Berry has appeared in TV shows including What We Do in the Shadows and The Book of Boba Fett.

While we wait for Great Expectations to arrive on the small screen, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2021.

Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy has teased a dark final season for the hit show – "dark as fuck," in fact, is how the actor described it in an interview with Esquire.

Murphy plays Tommy Shelby, part of the notorious Shelby crime in interwar Birmingham. But after six seasons, will we see Tommy's redemption in the final installment? "I think that’s what Steve [Knight, showrunner] was aiming for," Murphy added, "with loads of wrong turns along the way. But I don’t know. I’ll leave that to the court of public opinion. I don’t know if he’s been redeemed."

The series first aired in 2013 on BBC Two and since then has won numerous awards. Joe Cole, Paul Anderson, and the late Helen McCrory also star (she passed away while season 6 was filming), with actors like Sam Claflin, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Adrien Brody also appearing in previous seasons.

Although season 6 may be the end of the series, we don't have to leave the world of Peaky Blinders just yet – a movie is set to start shooting in 2023 and, according to showrunner Steven Knight, "that will probably be the sort of the end of the road for Peaky Blinders as we know it."

As for what's next for Murphy, he's set to lead Christopher Nolan's next movie Oppenheimer alongside Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, and Josh Hartnett. Murphy will play Robert Oppenheimer, the man who developed the atom bomb. He's worked with Nolan several times before, appearing in The Dark Knight, Inception, and Dunkirk. 

Peaky Blinders season 6 arrives on the BBC later this month. In the meantime, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2021.

Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie have joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See. 

The series is based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Doerr, which was first published in 2014 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. The story follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a young German soldier, whose paths eventually cross during World War 2 in occupied France. Marie-Laure will be played by newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, while the role of Werner has yet to be cast. 

Ruffalo will play Marie-Laure's father Daniel, who is the head locksmith at Paris' Museum of Natural History. Laurie will play Marie-Laure's eccentric great-uncle Etienne, a World War 1 veteran who's part of the French resistance. 

Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight penned the limited series, while Shawn Levy will direct all four episodes – he's previously helmed episodes of Stranger Things and movies like Free Guy. He's also directing Ruffalo in another Netflix project, the upcoming sci-fi movie The Adam Project, which also stars Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldana. 

Elsewhere on the small screen, Ruffalo recently starred in the HBO series I Know This Much is True, while Laurie appeared in the sci-fi comedy Avenue 5 and the BBC thriller Roadkill.

While we wait for All the Light We Cannot See to arrive on the platform, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best Netflix shows that you can stream right now.

Keanu Reeves is set to take on his first major US TV role in The Devil in the White City.  

Deadline reports the Hulu show will count Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio among its executive producers. Based on the 2003 book of the same name by Erik Larson,  an adaptation has been in the works for a while – DiCaprio bought the rights to the book back in 2010 and was originally planning a movie adaptation with Scorsese in the director's chair.

The series is based on true events and will follow two men: Daniel H. Burnham, an architect, and Henry H. Holmes, a doctor-turned-serial-killer, whose fates were linked by the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 – Burnham was the architect behind the fair, while Holmes lured victims to his "Murder Castle" in the grounds of the fair. As for which role Reeves will be taking on, that hasn't been confirmed yet.

On the big screen, Reeves was most recently seen in The Matrix Resurrections and Bill & Ted Face the Music, and he can next be seen (and heard) in the animated DC League of Super-Pets and John Wick: Chapter 4. He starred as American stuntman Tex Johnson in the Swedish series Swedish Dicks between 2016 and 2018, but The Devil in the White City will be his first major role on a US show. 

While we wait for The Devil in the White City to arrive on the small screen, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2021.

A new trailer for A Very British Scandal gives us our first look at Paul Bettany and Claire Foy in the upcoming period drama.

Set in the '60s, the three-part series will follow the infamous divorce of Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll (Bettany) and Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll (Foy), which is based on real events.

The trailer features sex, gossip, and some great '60s outfits – as well as a hefty dose of misogyny aimed at Margaret Campbell. Things start out well for the couple as sparks fly, but their relationship eventually falls apart in what would become a very public – and messy – divorce. The real-life Ian Campbell released salacious accusations and a compromising polaroid to the press, which haunted Margaret for the rest of her life.

Both actors have recently had critically acclaimed small screen roles – Bettany played Vision opposite Elizabeth Olsen in Disney Plus' WandaVision earlier this year, while Foy played the Queen in seasons 1 and 2 of The Crown on Netflix. Foy also recently starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the Amazon movie The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.

The series is the follow-up to 2018's A Very English Scandal, which starred Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw and followed a political scandal involving an English politician and his former lover.

A Very British Scandal airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on December 26 in the UK, and will follow on Amazon Prime Video in the US in 2022. In the meantime, check out our list of the best shows on Amazon Prime that you can watch right now.

The Crown season 5 has found its Prince William – and he'll be played by Prince Charles actor Dominic West's real-life son, Variety reports.

Senan West will reportedly play a slightly older Prince William, portraying him as he begins to mature into a young man, and he'll make his on-screen debut in the final episodes of the season. This will be the 13-year-old's first acting role. 

West Sr. takes over the role of Prince Charles in the series from Josh O'Connor, while Elizabeth Debicki is replacing Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season 5. The Queen will be portrayed by Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce takes over as Prince Philip, while Lesley Manville is Princess Margaret, Jonny Lee Miller is Prime Minister John Major, and Khalid Abdalla is Dodi Fayed.

Season 4 of the historical drama ended in the late '80s, so season 5 will follow the royal family through the early to mid-'90s. This was a turbulent time for the royals – three of the Queen's four children separated from their partners in 1992, Windsor Castle caught fire, and Diana gave a now-infamous interview to the BBC's Panorama program in 1995 in which she famously referred to the "three people" in her marriage to Charles. How many of these events will be featured in the upcoming season, however, remains to be seen. 

While we wait for The Crown season 5 to arrive on the streamer in November 2022, check out our list of the best Netflix shows that you can watch right now. 

New images have revealed the first look at SAS: Rogue Heroes, the new TV show from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. 

SAS: Rogue Heroes is set in Cairo, Egypt, in 1941 and follows the formation of the UK's Special Air Service (AKA the SAS), a unit that specializes in things like counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and covert reconnaissance. When an eccentric young officer (played by Sex Education's Adam Swindells) is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong, he uses the time to come up with a radical new plan and sets out to recruit the boldest and brightest soldiers. 

The six-part series' cast also includes Sofia Boutella, Dominic West, Alfie Allen, and Jack O'Connell. See the new images below.

Knight is best known for creating the period crime drama Peaky Blinders, and he also created the Apple TV Plus sci-fi series See starring Jason Momoa. On the big screen, he penned the scripts of movies like The Girl in the Spider's Web, Serenity, and the upcoming Princess Diana biopic Spencer. The series is directed by Tom Shankland, who's previously helmed episodes of TV shows including The Leftovers, House of Cards, and The Serpent.

"It has been a privilege to work on a project which tells the story of a renegade band of soldiers who used wit and imagination as much as firepower to halt the march of Fascism across North Africa during the darkest days of World War Two," Knight said in a statement. "This is a war story like no other, told in a way that is at once inspired by the facts and true to the spirit of this legendary brigade of misfits and adventurers."

Filming has wrapped, and SAS: Rogue Heroes will arrive on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK sometime in 2022 – no word on a US release yet. In the meantime, you can fill out your watch list with our picks of the best TV shows of 2020.

The first trailer for Vikings' spin-off Vikings: Valhalla has been released by Netflix, with the series confirmed to be coming in 2022.

Vikings: Valhalla is set 100 years after the History Channel's original series, at a time when the Vikings had overrun England, taken control of Normandy in France, and ventured across the Atlantic Ocean – but their time in England was nearing an end. 

It follows the adventures of Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter), and the Norman King William the Conqueror (no confirmation on who's playing him yet), some of history's most famous Norse men and women. The cast also includes Laura Berlin as Emma of Normandy, Bradley Freegard as King Canute, and Bosco Hogan as Æthelred the Unready. 

The series doesn't have an official release date yet outside of '2022', unfortunately – things are a bit behind schedule at the moment due to delays to filming caused by a number of false-positive COVID test results on set last year.

Die Hard screenwriter Jeb Stuart co-created the series with Michael Hirst, who created the original series. Vikings ran for six seasons between 2013 and 2020 and was inspired by the sagas of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), following his rise from farmer to king. 

Did you miss out on the main event? Here's how to watch Netflix Tudum fan event. And if you're all caught up, then check out the best Netflix movies and best Netflix shows available to stream right now. Plus, check out our guides to everything you need to know about The Witcher season 2, Stranger Things season 4, Ozark season 4, and The Umbrella Academy season 3.

Aside from Marvel's Thor, what other properties out there offer regular access to beefcake Vikings? Exactly: far too few. The original Vikings series wrapped up its six-season run on The History Channel leaving its hordes of loyal fans desperate for more. 

On the cards for some time, the show's sequel Vikings: Valhalla promises to continue on the ethos of what made the original so successful. So, beefcakes, ships, and drama, then. The first footage from the spin-off dropped in a new look as part of Netflix's Geeked Week.

As expected from a teaser reel, not much is given away in terms of story yet what is revealed is appetite-whetting stuff. Plenty of big hulking Vikings and big hulking Viking ships. What you'd expect and want from the show, alongside a nifty time-lapse moment showing you how much work goes into the set constructions and a lot of shots of farmyard animals.

Specifics on this sequel spin-off remain scarce, but we know it kicks off around 100 years after the events of the original. The show is set to include appearances from what the official synopsis dubs "some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived", Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, Harald Hardrada and the Norman King William the Conqueror. The show adds: "These men and women will blaze a path as they fight for survival in the ever changing and evolving world."

Also evolving are the people bringing the show to life. Vikings creator, producer, and writer Michael Hirst is only returning in an executive producer capacity this time around. Jeb Stuart, who wrote Die Hard and The Fugitive, is on board to tackle the showrunning duties and executive produce alongside Hirst. 

Another big change is distribution. The History Channel no longer plans to make dramas, so the show moved to Netflix with Hirst telling IGN: "Netflix gives you obvious advantages and so we're very pleased to be in partnership with them. And it's a long-term commitment for them. And obviously I'm thrilled that my saga, in a way, it lives on." One constant is the filming location: Vikings Valhalla is shooting in Wicklow, where the original lensed every season.

Vikings Valhalla doesn't yet have a release date but in the meantime, check out our deep dive on why we're so obsessed with Norse mythology, and discover a new favorite series with our guide to the best Netflix shows.

Netflix has unveiled the first look at 1899, a new series from the creators of Dark. 

The upcoming show will follow a group of immigrants on a ship travelling from Europe to New York at the end of the 19th Century. A diverse bunch who are all looking for a new and better life in the 'new world', their journey is derailed when they discover a second ship that had gone missing months previously – and things take a turn for the nightmarish. 

Netflix shared the first image of the show on Twitter, writing: "There will be mysteries. There will be nightmares. And most importantly: there will be surprises." The accompanying photo shows series creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar alongside the show's ensemble cast kitted out in period costume. They're on the deck of a ship, with a dramatic and somewhat ominous-looking sunset behind them.

The passengers are from all different backgrounds and nationalities and the cast is similarly international, including Emily Beecham (Hail, Caesar!), Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk), Andreas Pietschmann (Dark), and Miguel Bernardeau (Elite) – it will be a multilingual series, with each actor speaking their native language. Production on the eight-episode series has just started in Germany.

Friese and Odar's last show, Dark, was Netflix's first German-language original series. The sci-fi thriller explores the connections between four estranged families as they unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy that spans multiple generations.

While we wait for 1899 to arrive on the streamer, check out our list of the best Netflix shows  that you can watch right now.

Bridgerton season 2 may not see the return of Regé-Jean Page, but some new faces are joining the cast.

Charithra Chandran, Shelley Conn, Calam Lynch, and Rupert Young are all on board for the upcoming season of the hit Netflix period romp. Set in Regency-era London during the ‘social season’, when debutantes were presented at court, season 1 followed the relationship between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings (Page). Dynevor will return for season 2 in a smaller role, but Page will not.

Simone Ashley, best known for her role in Netflix's Sex Education, has already been cast as Kate Sharma, the main female role in season 2. Smart and headstrong, Kate is a new arrival in London and will be the love interest of Anthony Bridgerton (played by Jonathan Bailey). 

Chandran and Conn will play other members of the Sharma family, Edwina and Mary. Edwina is Kate's naive and endearing younger sister, who's been taught to be the perfect debutante by her older sister. Mary is their mother, newly returned to London with her daughters after her marriage embroiled her family in scandal years previously. Meanwhile, Lynch will play Theo Sharpe, a working class printer's assistant, while Young will play a new character called Jack who has connections to one of the series' most notable families. 

After his breakout role in season 1, Page's contract with the Netflix show has come to an end and will not be renewed. He has some new projects up his sleeve, though – he was recently cast in The Gray Man, an upcoming spy thriller from Netflix and the Russo Brothers starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling.

While we wait for Bridgerton season 2 to arrive on the streamer, check out our list of the best Netflix shows that you can watch right now.

Ridley Scott and Steven Knight are teaming up for a World War 2 epic, Deadline reports. Roads to Freedom, a 10-episode epic, will tell the story of World War II from several international perspectives.

Based on the books of military historian Sir Antony Beevor, Scott will direct the first episode of the series, while Knight will co-write every episode with Beevor. The series will focus not just on UK and US soldiers, but also on characters – including women and children – in Russia, Germany, France, and beyond with an emphasis on humanity and people bound together by one dramatic story. 

Knight is best known for his work on the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders, serving as creator, writer, and executive producer on the series, which is due back on our screens for a sixth and final season. He's also penned the screenplays for a number of movies, including mystery thriller Serenity, pandemic comedy Locked Down, and the upcoming Princess Diana biopic Spencer.

Scott, meanwhile, has a lot on his plate at the moment – his upcoming movie, House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, is currently filming in Italy, and the director has a Napoleon Bonaparte biopic, Kitbag, led by Joaquin Phoenix in the works, too. On the small screen, he's worked as executive producer on the horror anthology series The Terror and the sci-fi series Raised by Wolves. Roads to Freedom is said to be a priority and personal project for the director, who'll draw on his own memories of childhood in wartime Britain. 

While we wait for Roads to Freedom to hit the small screen, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to watch right now.