With Game of Thrones finished and you’re looking for something to watch in the pandemic, you may feel like you need to feel that fantasy epic void that it has left in your life.
Luckily, the success of Game of Thrones has encouraged a spawn of alternatives that follow similar plots of war, love, and general epic fantasy story lines.
The Vikings
If fiction based in history is an important quality in your fantasy tales, The Vikings is the next series for you to watch. The story follows Ragnar Lothbrok, a farmer who has his sights set on becoming the king of Denmark.
Along the way, you see accurate depictions of the raids on France and England that are so popular with Viking fiction. Shockingly, the depiction of Scandinavia is actually relatively accurate. Contrary to what you’d believe from its name, The Vikings is like a tamer version of Game of Thrones.
Despite focusing on the raiding culture of historic Vikings, there is much less nudity and violence present in this series than what you might be used to from Game of Thrones. On the other hand, the character development of this show is very similar to Game of Thrones.
There are a lot of grey areas where you’ll find yourself hating a character one season, but grow fonder and fonder of them. If the character development of Game of Thrones is an important quality for you, the Vikings should be the next show you watch.
Black Sails
Unlike The Vikings, Black Sails has no lack of sex, violence, or nudity. In this way, it is very similar to Game of Thrones. However, don’t be mistaken, this Starz-produced content has more in common with Game of Thrones besides its R-rated material.
This show is set as a prequel to Treasure Island and follows Captain Flint, one of the most famous and feared pirates of the times. It follows his struggle to regain and maintain control of his island as he wrestles it from the thieves and pirates that have taken it over, which inevitably leads to similar action and events as in Game of Thrones.
There are heart-racing battles between the characters with intense fight scenes, like Game of Thrones. The tones of Black Sails seem a little darker overall than Game of Thrones, but the major events and themes of the between the two are very similar.
The Spartacus
While The Spartacus is not exactly fantasy, it should satisfy and fictional urges fans of Game of Thrones should be experiencing in the year long drought between seasons.
As expected, The Spartacus is about the historical figure Spartacus who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Like Game of Thrones, there are intricate sword fight scenes.
In addition, there are plot twists that viewers will never see coming, just like there is in Game of Thrones. This Starz show, like Black Sails, is packed full with violence and drama.
Despite not being as fantastical as Game of Thrones, Black Sails is likely to remind everyone of the themes present in Game of Thrones.
The Last Kingdom
As Game of Thrones is based on A Song of Ice and Fire, The Last Kingdom is based on a series of books called “The Saxon Stories”, although, this book series is more based in history than fantasy.
The story is set in 10th century AD in England during the Viking invasions and follows the character Uhtred, an English orphan adopted by the Danes. Overall, the story is about the emergence of England as a country due to King Alfred. As expected from a historical fiction based on Viking invasions, there is no limit to the violence present.
Game of Thrones fans should expect beheading, crucifixion, and at times, eye-gouging. More importantly, there are similar battle scenes with similar sword fights. Overall, if a Game of Thrones fan is trying to satisfy their action urges while trying to find a series set in a historical setting, The Last Kingdom should be their next show.
With Game of Thrones coming to a close, and a drought of fantasy television occurring, fans can turn to these four alternatives to satisfy their fantasy, action, or thematic urges.
