Netflix is set to return to the hallowed halls of Valhalla very soon. The streamer revealed that its medieval epic series Vikings: Valhalla returns for Season 2 just after the New Year on January 12. With it comes more of the adventures of legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) as they navigate an era where the Viking culture of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) is on the decline.
Vikings: Valhalla centers on the cultural divide from within the Nordic kingdoms thanks to their conflicting Pagan and Christian beliefs and their bloody conflict with the English royals. All the while, the legendary trio embarks on an epic journey that has them fight to survive and earn glory in their travels across the land. Season 2 finds them at their lowest following the fall of Kattegat. With their spirits crushed and destines forever altered, they'll continue on through Scandinavia as fugitives in search of something in the world beyond.
With the release of Season 2 close at hand, series creator Jeb Stuart sat down with Tudum to discuss how the upcoming batch of episodes offers a different feel than the first season which was mostly set in the familiar fjords of Kattegat. "The whole concept of Season 2 is that we take these three heroes who are in Scandinavia and blow them out of their comfort zones," he said. "Season 2 for Harald and Leif is a road trip: It’s Thelma and Louise on the Dnieper River. The two of them will begin this incredible journey. Freydís has to go to Pomerania, which is a very difficult environment."
Beyond simply placing its characters in foreign lands, Stuart adds that Season 2 will see its trio intermingle with new people and cultures that they've never really experienced. He told Tudum:
Season 2 will show that sometimes when you hang out with the people that are just like you, eat like you, talk like you, you can still run into trouble. So you need to stir the pot, which I think is what the Vikings did. And they did it beautifully, better than probably any other culture out there. So we put together this motley crew of Russian nobles, Muslim astronomers and con men, and they shove off from Novgorod.
Cast and Crew for Vikings: Valhalla Season 2
Alongside its main trio of Corlett, Gustavsson, and Suter, Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 will see the return of Bradley Freegard, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Laura Berlin, David Oakes, Pollyanna McIntosh, and Soren Pilmark.
With new lands comes new faces though. Bradley James boards the series as Harekr, the ruler of Jómsborg and leader of the most pagan Vikings of all, while Hayat Kamille plays the astronomer Mariam, Marcin Dorocinski portrays King Yaroslav the Wise, the uncle of Olaf and Harald and the ruler of Novgorod, and Sofya Lebedeva rounds out the newcomers as Elena, the daughter of a Russian noble.
Aside from creating and serving as showrunner, Stuart also executive produces with Stuart, Morgan O’Sullivan, Michael Hirst, Sheila Hockin, Steve Stark, James Flynn, John Weber, Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, and Paul Buccieri. Under their watch, Vikings: Valhalla has been a success for Netflix, resulting in an order for two more seasons back in March.
Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 premieres on January 12. Check out a first look at the upcoming season below: