People are beginning to think that somebody at Netflix has a serious vendetta against fantasy, which is understandable when upwards of 25 original shows set in or around the genre have been canceled since the beginning of 2020.
It’s all about the algorithm at the end of the day, though, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be some cries of despair following the news that Vikings: Valhalla has officially been renewed for a third season. It might be a historical epic, but it’s still got a sizeable budget, massive action sequences, and no shortage of visual effects.
The platform initially ordered 24 episodes of the sequel series right out of the gate, but the final eight being produced was dependent on how the second run fared. Clearly, after cracking the Top 10 in almost 80 countries through its first weekend, the fabled “engagement rate” must have been high enough to see subscribers stick it out to the end of the finale.
As the Warrior Nun fandom continues to mobilize across the globe, and the rejection pile of abandoned fantasy favorites continues to grow larger by the month, the renewal of Vikings:Valhalla proves that expensive in-house exclusives can and will be spared from the chopping block should they prove popular enough with subscribers.
It wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that the Norse tale hasn’t proven to be anywhere as buzzworthy online as many of its dearly departed contemporaries, but that doesn’t mean a damn thing at the end of the day if Netflix has opted to give the green light to a third – and possibly not even final – bout of sword-swinging savagery.