A little after the Vikings panel Saturday morning at WonderCon last weekend, I had the opportunity to join a roundtable discussion with actor George Blagden, who plays Athelstan, the captured English monk who is brought to live as a slave by the Vikings who raid is monastery.  Blagden talked a lot about his relationship with Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), the Viking who captured him, and about his new place in the Viking culture.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.  Vikings airs on the History Channel Sundays at 10pm.

History has a scored a few big ratings hits this season, and though its first scripted drama Vikings has not even finished its inaugural run, the cable network has already renewed it for a 10-episode second season.  According to the network, Vikings has been the #1 new cable series in 2013 in terms of viewership, even in its competitive Sunday night slot, averaging around five million viewers.  I reviewed the series as it first aired and found it compelling, especially in the weeks before another gritty period drama, Game of Thrones, returned — although Vikings certainly has its own merits.  Hit the jump for more.

HISTORY has announced their cast for the scripted series, Vikings. Hoping to bank on the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, writer Michael Hirst (The Tudors) created the series based on real life figures of Scandanavian history.  The story follows the family saga and rise to power of Ragnar Lothbrok, a great hero who pushed the limits of exploration and rose to become King of the Viking tribes.  Gabriel Byrne and George Blagden are joined by Travis Fimmel, Jessalyn Gilsig, Gustaf Skarsgard, Clive Standen and Katheryn Winnick. Hit the jump for the full press release.