fter seven years, six seasons and 89 episodes, hit historical drama Vikings is preparing to join the great television Valhalla in the sky – but it leaves behind an enormous legacy as one of the most popular TV series in the world, rivalling Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
Less auspicious, Vikings is also one of the most-pirated shows around the globe.
“It’s spread around the world and people watch it in the Sahara desert, and they watch it in many places where the vikings themselves never went to,” the show’s creator, Michael Hirst, tells me.
The drama is among the most-streamed shows on Amazon Prime Video, which carries it in Britain, Ireland, Germany and other countries, and at one point it was second only to The Walking Dead in online demand ranging from internet searches to social media chatter.