*Spoilers For Episode One*

In 2016 Netflix had a problem.

Inspired by the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones and the History Channel’s Vikings, epic historical/fantasy TV shows were at the height of their popularity. However, following the cancellation of big budget flop Marco Polo, Netflix’s foothold in the genre was rapidly slipping away. 

Step forward The Last Kingdom: a BBC Two adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories following the exploits of Saxon-born yet Viking-raised Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the wars between Saxon and Dane. After a strong first season Netflix saw the potential, and became the show’s international distribution partner for the second season, before taking it on outright as a Netflix Original from the third season. 

The Last Kingdom is full to the tankard’s brim with everything you would expect from a historical epic: bloody violence, a strong dose of historical inaccuracy, and enough sex to make you regret watching with your family. The show is anchored by a powerful, leading-man performance by Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred, and also boasts strong performances from the entirety of its supporting cast, including Emily Cox as Brida, David Dawson as King Alfred the Great (yes he does burn some cakes), Ian Hart as the warrior priest Father Beocca, and some wonderful cameos including the late great Paul Ritter as a hapless Cornish King. The fact that any of these characters can be killed off at any moment only makes you all the more invested, as a heart-warming moment can very quickly become a gut punch. The show uses perhaps its biggest names, Matthew Macfadyen and Rutger Hauer, in the first episode to send this message: no one is safe.

How then could a show with all the right ingredients suffer the backhanded compliment of the label underrated? Part of the problem lies in the combination of the show’s lack of recognised big name actors and the sheer deluge of similarly gritty historical epics as studios strive to match the success of Game of Thrones. Yet much of the fault lies with Netflix themselves. Despite the fifth season reaching the number one spot on Netflix, marketing was lacklustre, with the streaming giant’s focus on bigger budget productions like The Witcher and Vikings: Valhalla, and therefore much relied on internal promotion from the show’s social media. Even despite the success of The Last Kingdom, it is still looked down on by its promoter, not even making it on Netflix’s own list of sixteen essential historical TV series to watch on the platform. With friends like these…

The Last Kingdom is not as flashy as other popular shows in its genre, but what it lacks in dragons it makes up for with a strong consistency that continues throughout the five season (and a movie) run, culminating in the satisfying ending that proved elusive for its counterparts. Ultimately, Netflix has not found the global phenomenon to solve its historical problem, because in The Last Kingdom it still does not know what it’s got.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons