Last Kingdom To Conclude With Season 5
Historical drama The Last Kingdom is set for a bumper fifth season after it was announced the show would not be renewed for a sixth.
Having first aired in October 2015 on BBC 2 in the United Kingdom, The Last Kingdom is a long-running drama series based on a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwall about the birth of England called The Saxon Stories. Over the last six years, the show has become so popular that there is even a The Last Kingdom slot game that can be found at sites that offer the best casino bonuses, such as Casino Lab.
The news that season 5 will be the last for the show will be devastating for millions of fans worldwide, but there is something of a silver lining that comes with the revelation. In total, there have been 13 books written in the Saxon Series, and three of them have not been covered at all in The Last Kingdom, including War Lord, which was published in 2020, so there is a lot of content that needs to fit into the finale of the show.
Netflix, where the show now airs, have not given a reason for its cancellation. Still, there have been some theories, the most pervasive of which is the issue of an ageing lead character Uhtred, played by Alexander Dreymon. Uhtred is already in his 50s by most of the events that should take place in season 5 and is over 60 by the conclusion of the Saxon stories. Dreymon is only 38 and has spoken often about how difficult it would be for him to portray an older character. He has become such an iconic part of the show, and it would almost be unthinkable for it to continue without him.
Another major reason could be that Netflix is still wary of letting shows overstay their welcome after what happened with Game Of Thrones, once its most popular show but now one of its most vilified after an atrocious final season. It is a concept a bit unfamiliar with American audiences used to show producers milking every last drop out of every popular series. Still, it is pretty common for British shows to conclude when the material runs out, even when they are at their most popular.
Filming of the final season began about six months after the release of the final book of the Saxon Series, but there is a strong chance it still wasn’t enough time for them to include War Lord in their scripts. So it seems most likely the show will conclude with the events found in either The Flame Bearer or War of the Wolf, which means anyone who wants to find out how it all really ends is going to have to get their hands on a copy of the final book in the series instead.
In terms of cast and crew, as mentioned, Dreymon will be returning as Uhtred, along with most of the supporting cast everyone will be familiar with. They will be joined by Patrick Robinson, who will play the role of a religious man with a dark past, Father Benedict, and Sonya Cassidy, who will play the wide-eyed and open-hearted Eadgifu.
There has been some significant fan backlash to the news the show would be ending with season 5. It resulted in a petition being launched on Change.org, which has gathered over 17 000 signatures to convince producers to extend the show for at least one more year.
“The series, currently showing on Netflix, is based on the historical novel series Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, and there are 13 books in the series following the warrior Uhtred against the backdrop of the formation of England,” the petition reads. “There are enough books to cover at least six seasons, so it is unacceptable to all the fans of the show that season five would be the last one. Uhtred’s story and the history of England deserve a proper ending.”
