‘Bloodaxe’ Teaser and Release Date Revealed as the Vikings Creator’s Next Brutal Norse Saga Hits Prime Video

Michael Hirst has spent more than a decade turning semi-legendary Norse figures into political animals. His original ‘Vikings’ ran from 2013 to 2020, and its Netflix follow-up, ‘Vikings: Valhalla’, kept the longboats sailing. Now the writer is heading back to the fjords with a brand-new ‘Bloodaxe‘ series.

The project was first announced in March 2025, with Hirst writing and executive producing alongside his son, Horatio Hirst. Horatio previously played Bishop Grimketel in ‘Vikings: Valhalla’, and this series marks his writing debut. Prime Video kept things quiet for a long while after that, trickling out casting news and little else.

That silence ended this week. On October 5, the streamer dropped 10 first-look images, and fans got their first real glimpse of the cast in costume.

The bonds between brothers will be broken and only one can seize the throne. Watch the teaser for the upcoming Prime Video original series Bloodaxe, from the creator of Vikings. https://t.co/PmEO1Q2hrI

— Bloodaxe on Prime (@BloodaxeOnPrime) October 9, 2026

On Friday, October 9, Prime Video debuted the first teaser trailer at a New York Comic Con panel. Michael and Horatio Hirst appeared alongside stars Xavier Molyneux, Jessica Madsen and Levi Miller, in what was the first public discussion of the show. The panel was moderated by Nerdist Editor-in-Chief Rotem Rusak.

The bigger headline is the premiere date. ‘Bloodaxe’ arrives on Wednesday, January 20, 2027, and all 8 episodes of Season 1 will drop at once. The series launches exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.

The teaser opens on a quiet, mist-draped lake with mountains looming overhead, a long way from the chaos that follows. It runs 1 minute and 34 seconds, and it sets up a story of ambition, betrayal and brutal family politics.

At its core, ‘Bloodaxe’ follows the rise of Erik Bloodaxe, played by Molyneux, and his formidable wife Gunnhild, known as the Mother of Kings, played by Madsen. Their fight is over Norway’s vacant throne, and the kingdom is torn apart by fierce rivals, shaky alliances and bloody betrayals. The creators have described the show as an epic succession drama.

They have also compared the couple to a medieval Bonnie and Clyde, which says a lot about the tone. This is a partnership built on shared ambition as much as romance. Erik and Gunnhild will face threats from within their own family, too, including Erik’s younger half-brother, Haakon the Good, played by Miller.

The conflict also pulls in other powers. Danish kings and even a powerful English ruler threaten to drag the region into full-scale war.

Fans will want to know how this relates to the earlier shows. ‘Bloodaxe’ is a standalone original rather than part of the ‘Vikings’ franchise. Even so, it shares plenty of DNA with Hirst’s earlier work, including a similar setting and time period.

The show also has a deep bench of familiar faces. Jessica Madsen is best known for ‘Bridgerton’, while Rune Temte, who plays Gorm, previously appeared in ‘The Last Kingdom’. Jesper Christensen plays King Harald Fairhair, the aging first king of Norway, whose sons are circling as his rule nears its end.

The rest of the main cast is just as stacked:

• Karlis Arnolds Avots plays Egil, a poet and sorcerer.
• Rod Hallett plays Athelstan, King of Wessex.
• Alina Tomnikov plays Greta, an elite shield-maiden in Erik’s inner circle.
• Sisse Marie plays Thyra, Denmark’s queen and Gunnhild’s mother.

Prime Video clearly believes in this one. ‘Bloodaxe’ was renewed for Season 2 in June 2026, months before anyone outside the production had seen a frame. That second season is already in production in Ireland, and the cast has grown to include Maddy Ambus, Steven Brand and Lasse Steen.

The series is produced by MGM Television, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, in partnership with O’Sullivan Productions. Morgan O’Sullivan, Steve Stark, Arturo Interian, John Weber, Sheila Hockin and Fred Toye are among the executive producers. That is a lot of muscle behind a show that hasn’t aired a single episode.

Releasing the whole season in one go also positions the series as an event. Some headlines have already branded it a ‘Vikings’ meets ‘Game of Thrones’ epic, a label that will only raise expectations. Hirst has spent his career proving that history can be just as ruthless as fantasy.

With the January date locked in, the next few months should bring more footage and, hopefully, a longer trailer. For now, the teaser has done its job by making the wait feel longer.

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