'Vikings' Creator on 'Doing Justice' to Characters In Final Season (Exclusive)

By Jennifer Drysdale‍ 1:16 PM PST, December 25, 2020

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Vikings' final 10 episodes are almost here. Season 6B of the historical drama is set to drop on Amazon on Dec. 30, and as creator Michael Hirst tells ET, fans can expect a "satisfactory" ending.

"I knew that they were the last 10 episodes," explains Hirst, who is also Vikings' sole writer. "I knew that it was the end of my saga, and so it was really important to end these various storylines properly and satisfactorily and not cheat either the characters or the audience."

"There are some shows, very good shows, that when they end, they end in some unsatisfactory way. Maybe because everyone involved has argued about what the ending should be. But in this case, it's just me," he added.

Season 6A of Vikings aired earlier this year on History, and culminated with Hvitserk's (Marco Ilsø) reunion with Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen). Ivar had teamed up with the Rus vikings in a battle for Kattegat against Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig), while Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) continued to explore new worlds.

There's still quite a bit to be resolved before the series finale, but Hirst is confident he delivered for the fans.

"I felt that if I could resolve all these storylines satisfactorily to me, and happily, then I thought the audience would be happy with the results too, because I love the characters so much," he reasons. "I've lived with them for so long that I had to make these difficult life and death decisions, but I felt that I'd done justice to all the characters."

And while Vikings comes to a close, its Netflix spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, is just getting started. Though many productions have been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hirst says Valhalla has been shooting the first season in Ireland "in a COVID-friendly way." "They took over whole hotels so they could isolate the actors," he reveals.

The new series is set 100 years after the events of Vikings, focusing on characters like Harald Hardrada and Erik The Red, "vikings that people have possibly heard of," Hirst quips, adding Valhalla will be a little "different."

Jeb Stuart will serve as writer and showrunner of the series, while Hirst will executive produce. "Jeb Stuart is much more of a thriller writer, I think. It is going to be different, but it looks wonderful, I must say," Hirst teases. "I've been watching it as they've been shooting it -- it's going to be wonderful, and of course it's a great tribute to the show that Netflix wanted to have a spinoff to it."

"That's something to look forward to," he adds.

The final season of Vikings debuts on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 30.