Fantasy shows and shows based in the Middle Ages often have a certain sense of pomp and circumstance. The great king, the hero of destiny, the outcast who can save us all, blah blah blah. It certainly can make for some great entertainment but frankly it can also muddle the diversity of content. What separates Game of Thrones from Lord of the Rings from Vikings from The Last Kingdom? They all fall into certain tropes and that is great if you are looking for something easy and familiar. Heck, that probably describes most TV.
Truly unique television is when two genres combine to create their own adventure. This is where Norsemen succeeds. I want to state right off the bat that the show is not for everyone. Its sense of humor can be crude and insensitive, particularly around issues of sex and consent, so if those are triggers for you, I would recommend staying away. However, for those of you looking for something crude and unique, then look no further than this Viking sitcom that is basically The Office in 790 AD. Based around a group of villagers in Norway, Norsemen follows a diversity of characters from the incompetent chieftain to the village slaves. While the show has a larger underlying plot, it comedically deals with a lot of modern-day issues inn character, but just a large cast of very imperfect people.
While it is certainly not a show that is going to win any Emmys, if you are looking to eat some pizza and watch mindless silly TV, then Norsemen is perfect. With three seasons on Netflix, now is the perfect time to start.
Jonah van Driesum is the senior editor of Link, and co-host of our the MicroLink podcast!
