Vikings Watch Order: The Complete Guide, Season-Split Confusion Decoded & Vikings: Valhalla Included
📅 August 5, 2026 · ⏱ 10 min read · ⚔️ 113 Episodes Covered
Start Reading Fix the Season-Split ConfusionVikings looks simple on paper — six seasons, done in 2020. But three of those six seasons were actually double-length twenty-episode orders, each broadcast as a Part 1 and a Part 2 with gaps of seven to ten months in between. Most watch order guides just say “Season 4, Season 5, Season 6” and move on, which hides how disjointed the actual viewing experience was and still can be if you’re pacing yourself.
This guide fixes that. You get a clean, part-by-part watch order, a full decoder for the split-season structure, a breakdown of whether you actually need the original show before starting the sequel series Vikings: Valhalla, and a note on the unrelated 2023 show that shares the same name and keeps confusing search results.
Watch Vikings Season 1 → Season 2 → Season 3 → Season 4 (Parts 1 & 2) → Season 5 (Parts 1 & 2) → Season 6 (Parts 1 & 2) → Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 → Season 2 → Season 3. Seasons 4, 5, and 6 each hide a mid-season break — see the decoder below before you binge.
The Recommended Watch Order (Full)
This is the cleanest path through the whole Vikings franchise, broken down by actual broadcast part — not just bundled season numbers — so you know exactly where the natural pauses are.
Ragnar Lothbrok, a Norse farmer with ambitions beyond raiding known lands, defies Earl Haraldson to sail west and discovers England. The origin story for the entire franchise and a tight, focused season with no split.
Ragnar becomes Earl and faces both political rivals in Kattegat and a renewed threat from England. A single, unbroken ten-episode run.
The Vikings launch their assault on Paris. Another clean, unbroken season — the last one before the show shifts to the double-length format.
Ragnar’s decline after his defeat in Paris, and the fallout with Rollo. This is the first of six “double season” parts — the show doesn’t tell you a break is coming, but Part 1 ends on a genuine mid-season note, not a finale.
Picks up roughly seven months later in broadcast terms. Covers Bjorn’s Mediterranean raid and the Great Heathen Army’s invasion of England, including one of the series’ most famous episodes, “All His Angels.”
With Ragnar gone, the focus shifts to his sons — Bjorn, Ivar, Ubbe, Hvitserk, and Sigurd — as rival claims to Kattegat spark a civil war.
Ivar’s rule over Kattegat, the rise of King Alfred in Wessex, and the introduction of Oleg the Prophet setting up the next season. The longest mid-season gap in the franchise so far.
Bjorn’s reign over Kattegat, Ivar’s exile in Rus’, and Ubbe’s expedition toward Iceland. Ends on a brutal cliffhanger with Bjorn stabbed by Ivar.
The final ten episodes actually streamed first on Prime Video as a full binge-release on December 30, 2020 — ahead of their traditional broadcast on History in Canada in early 2021. Closes out the stories of all of Ragnar’s surviving sons.
Set about a hundred years after the original series ends, following Leif Erikson, his sister Freydis, and the Norwegian prince Harald Sigurdsson. A new cast, a new century, and a fresh entry point that doesn’t require the original — but rewards it.
Continues directly from Season 1’s cliffhangers as Freydis, Leif, and Harald’s paths diverge across Kattegat, Norway, and beyond.
The confirmed final season, picking up seven years after Season 2. Freydis leads Jomsborg, while Leif and Harald navigate Constantinople, bringing the three-season arc to its planned conclusion.
The Season-Split Confusion — Decoded
This is the thing almost no watch order guide spells out clearly. Vikings didn’t quietly become a longer show over time — three specific seasons were double-length twenty-episode orders from the start, split into two broadcast halves, sometimes with close to a year between them.
| Season | Episodes | Split Into Two Parts? | Real Gap Between Parts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 9 | No | — |
| Season 2 | 10 | No | — |
| Season 3 | 10 | No | — |
| Season 4 | 20 (10+10) | Yes | ~7 months (Apr 2016 → Nov 2016) |
| Season 5 | 20 (10+10) | Yes | ~10 months (Jan 2018 → Nov 2018) |
| Season 6 | 20 (10+10) | Yes | ~10 months, and Part 2 streamed on Prime Video before its History Channel broadcast |
Vikings: Valhalla — Do You Need the Original First?
Valhalla is a direct sequel in setting, not in cast. It’s set roughly a hundred years after the original series ends, and none of Ragnar’s family appear — it follows a new generation of real historical Viking figures instead.
The Hundred-Year Gap
Valhalla begins in the early 11th century, roughly a century after Vikings’ 9th-century setting. No characters from the original series carry over — this is a new cast telling a new chapter of the same broader saga.
Do You Need Vikings First?
No — Valhalla is built to work as a standalone entry point. But the original does add context for the recurring setting of Kattegat and the ongoing Norse-versus-Christian conflict that Valhalla continues to explore.
New Historical Figures
Leif Erikson, his sister Freydis, and Harald Sigurdsson (later Harald Hardrada) anchor Valhalla — all real historical figures from the 11th century, distinct from the largely legendary Ragnar Lothbrok saga the original series was built around.
Three Seasons and Done
Valhalla was planned from the outset as a three-season, 24-episode story. Season 3, released in July 2024, is confirmed as the final season, bringing Leif, Freydis, and Harald’s arcs to a deliberate close rather than an open-ended cancellation.
Which “Vikings” Are You Trying to Watch? (Title Confusion)
“Vikings” is a crowded title, and it’s easy to land on the wrong thing entirely if you’re searching casually — especially since one of the other shows sharing the name is a completely unrelated documentary that surfaces in the same search results.
Vikings (2013–2020)
The scripted historical drama this guide covers, created by Michael Hirst for History, following Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons across six seasons.
Vikings: Valhalla (2022–2024)
The scripted Netflix sequel series set a century later, covered in the section above.
The Vikings (2023)
An unrelated factual documentary miniseries made for Channel 5 in the UK, presented by Dr Xand van Tulleken and Raksha Dave, covering the real Viking conquest of England. Not connected to Michael Hirst’s drama in any way, but shares enough of the name to confuse search results.
Quick Reference Table: Every Entry in the Franchise
| Title | Episodes | Year | Essential? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings Season 1 | 9 | 2013 | Must Watch |
| Vikings Season 2 | 10 | 2014 | Must Watch |
| Vikings Season 3 | 10 | 2015 | Must Watch |
| Vikings Season 4 (Parts 1 & 2) | 20 | 2016–2017 | Must Watch |
| Vikings Season 5 (Parts 1 & 2) | 20 | 2017–2019 | Must Watch |
| Vikings Season 6 (Parts 1 & 2) | 20 | 2019–2021 | Series Finale |
| Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 | 8 | 2022 | Recommended |
| Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 | 8 | 2023 | Recommended |
| Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 | 8 | 2024 | Series Finale |
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Verdict: What’s the Best Way to Watch Vikings?
For most viewers: watch the original series in release order, but plan around the fact that Seasons 4, 5, and 6 are really three double-length seasons in disguise. Knowing where those hidden midpoints fall makes a big difference if you’re trying to pace a binge instead of hitting an unexpected wall three separate times.
You don’t need to watch the original before starting Vikings: Valhalla, but it deepens the returning setting if you do. And if a search for “Vikings” turns up a presenter-led documentary instead of Ragnar Lothbrok, you’ve found the unrelated 2023 Channel 5 series, not the drama.
Once you’ve closed out Dragon’s Judgement-style finales on both shows, the story of Ragnar’s legacy — carried from Kattegat through to Leif, Freydis, and Harald a century later — comes full circle as a complete, planned saga rather than an open-ended one.
Ready to Start Watching?
Bookmark this page — we’ll update it the moment any further Vikings franchise news is announced. And if this guide helped, check out our other watch order guides below.
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