<P> Vikings is a historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the History channel . Filmed in Ireland, it premiered on March 3, 2013 in Canada . </P> <P> Vikings is inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best - known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France . The show portrays Ragnar as a farmer who rises to fame by successful raids into England, and eventually becomes a Scandinavian king, with the support of his family and fellow warriors: his brother Rollo, his son Björn Ironside, and his wives--the shieldmaiden Lagertha and the princess Aslaug . </P> <P> On March 17, 2016, History renewed Vikings for a fifth season of 20 episodes, which is set to premiere on November 29, 2017 . On September 12, 2017, ahead of its fifth - season premiere, the series was renewed for a sixth season, which will consist of 20 episodes . </P> <P> The series is inspired by the tales of the raiding, trading, and exploring Norsemen of early medieval Scandinavia . It follows the exploits of the legendary Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok and his crew and family, as notably laid down in the 13th - century sagas Ragnars saga Loðbrókar and Ragnarssona þáttr, as well as in Saxo Grammaticus's 12th - century work Gesta Danorum . Norse legendary sagas were partially fictional tales based on Norse oral tradition, written down about 200 to 400 years after the events they describe . Further inspiration is taken from historical sources of the period, such as records of the Viking raid on Lindisfarne depicted in the second episode, or Ahmad ibn Fadlan's 10th - century account of the Volga Vikings . The series is set at the beginning of the Viking Age, marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793 . </P>

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