‘Vikings’ Season 5 Will Head Into Ireland And Morocco, Plus, What It’s Like Working With Michael Hirst
For fans of History Channel’s Vikings, news on Season 5 is trickling in at such a slow pace that it seems like it will be forever until the new season arrives. While there is no news yet on an air date, the show’s executive producer, Morgan O’Sullivan, recently revealed some news on Season 5.
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 5 of History Channel’s Vikings. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid potential spoilers.
Vikings is a unique show in that, not only is it a dramatic reenactment of historical events, but that one man is responsible for writing the scripts for the show. Michael Hirst has been the vision behind Vikings since its conception. While there are people who assist with the scripts after he has written them, mostly, the vast majority of the first draft comes directly from Michael Hirst himself. It is this feat that led to the Vikings executive producer, Morgan O’Sullivan mentioning Hirst in his acceptance speech after winning an IFTA award in Ireland recently. He explained to IFTN that he did this because Michael Hirst is such a unique person within the industry.
“When I accepted the IFTA I suppose he was the only one I singled out because of the fact he is so unique. I’ve worked with a lot of writers down through the years and I have never met anybody like Michael Hirst, to be honest with you.”
O’Sullivan also revealed that he would like to work with Michael Hirst for “the next couple of years.” It is unclear if he was speaking directly about Vikings or just about working with the writer in general. If it was in relation to Vikings, this could indicate the show could go beyond the Season 6 deadline recently suggested by Michael Hirst in regard to the feasibility of the show’s content.
Filming for Season 5 of Vikings has just wrapped up on May 8. So post production will still be underway for the show. Unfortunately, for fans, this means a premiere date for Season 5 will not likely be announced just yet. Although, O’Sullivan did offer this information about the air date for Season 5 of Vikings.
“It’ll be this year we just don’t know when. It’ll be towards the end of the year I think, We haven’t an air date as yet but hopefully, we’ll have one pretty soon”
While this is not really news Vikings fans didn’t already know, Morgan O’Sullivan did reveal that Season 5 of Vikings will see characters heading as far afield as Ireland and Morocco. Of course, while what Michael Hirst does in regard to writing the scripts for the show can be considered special, for the people behind the logistics of filming a television series in three countries at the same time can be considered more of a nightmare.
“You can imagine if there are 700 people working here then you’re hiring another group of people in Iceland and Morocco. You’re having people go from here to Morocco and Iceland and then you’ve still got people that have to manage the show in Ireland, so it becomes this logistical nightmare.”
However, because of this foray into history, fans will get the chance to see camels in Season 5 of Vikings. Although, considering this is a historical drama, just how likely is it that actual Vikings got to see camels? According to Morgan O’Sullivan, the show is fairly malleable when it comes to the history of the Vikings. This is not because they will ignore history for the sake of the story — although, they do at times do this — but because the Vikings had no written language. Therefore, what little has been recorded about the Vikings is often open to interpretation — even among historians. However, it is entirely likely that the Vikings did travel to Morocco, hence why there will be camels in Season 5.
Are you looking forward to Season 5 of Vikings? Let us know your theories and predictions by commenting below.
You can view the official trailer for Season 5 of Vikings below.
Vikings has been confirmed by History Channel as returning in 2017 with Season 5.
[Featured Image by Bernard Walsh/History Channel]
