Vikings History

FAITH AND FAMILY ARE TESTED AS THE STRUGGLE OVER POWER, LAND & LOYALTY RAID ON… VIKINGS HISTORY®’s Hit Drama Series Sets Sail for Season Three Thursday, February 19 at 10 pm ET/PT Canadians Lothaire Bluteau and Kevin Durand Join the Cast For additional photography and press kit material visit: http://www.shawmedia.ca/Media and follow us on Twitter at @shawmediaTV_PR For Immediate Release NEW YORK/TORONTO, December 16, 2014 – Season three of HISTORY’s hit scripted drama series Vikings returns on Thursday, February 19 at 10 pm ET/PT. In the new 10-episode season, Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), the former farmer, is now King and has great responsibility resting on his shoulders. With the promise of new land from the English, Ragnar leads his people to an uncertain fate on the shores of Wessex. King Ecbert (Linus Roache) has made many promises and it remains to be seen if he will keep them. This season, the ever-ambitious Ragnar searches for something more – and he finds it in the mythical city of Paris. Rumoured to be impenetrable to outside forces, Ragnar and his band of Norsemen must come together to break down its walls and cement the Vikings legend in history. The gripping family saga of Ragnar, Rollo (Clive Standen), Lagertha (Canadian Katheryn Winnick) and Bjorn (Canadian Alexander Ludwig) continues as alliances and loyal friendships are questioned, faith is catechized and relationships are strained. Vikings tells the extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors and portrays life in the Dark Ages, a world ruled by raiders and explorers, through the eyes of Viking society. New characters introduced this season include: Harbard (Canadian Kevin Durand) – A wanderer who turns up unexpectedly in Kattegat when Ragnar and most of the men of the town are away raiding. Harbard has a profound effect on Queen Aslaug, Siggy and Helga, all of whom share the same dream, presaging his arrival. Emperor Charles of France (Canadian Lothaire Bluteau) – A complex, troubled and powerful man who views battling the Vikings as spiritual destiny. Kalf (Ben Robson) – Lagertha’s young, handsome second in command. She is fond of him and trusts him to look after her affairs while she is away, but is Kalf more ambitious and calculating than he appears? Princess Gisla (Morgane Polanski) – The daughter of Emperor Charles and a beautiful, young woman of considerable courage and resolution. Travis Fimmel continues to lead the stellar cast as the strategic Viking warrior Ragnar, along with Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, an Earl and fierce shield maiden; Clive Standen as Rollo, Ragnar’s impulsive brother; Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn, the intelligent and bold warrior son of Ragnar; George Blagden as Athelstan, a former monk befriended by Ragnar; Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, beautiful wife of the late Earl Haraldson; Linus Roache as Ecbert, King of Wessex, a man of strength, knowledge and undisguised ambition; Gustaf Skarsgard as Floki, a genius ship builder and loyal yet sometimes dangerous friend of Ragnar’s; and Alyssa Sutherland as Queen Aslaug, Ragnar’s wife. Vikings season one was the #1 specialty drama of 20131 and earned seven Canadian Screen Award nominations. Season two is currently the #1 Canadian specialty program2 among multiple key demos and is the #1 program on HISTORY3. Fans can catch up on the exciting first two seasons of Vikings on shomi. All ten episodes of Vikings’ third season are directed by Canadians including Ken Girotti, Jeff Woolnough, Helen Shaver and Kelly Makin. Created and written by Michael Hirst, one of the premier historical story- tellers in the industry (Academy-Award winning film Elizabeth; and the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated series The Tudors), Hirst serves as Executive Producer along with Morgan O’Sullivan of World 2000 (The Count of Monte Cristo; The Tudors), Sheila Hockin (The Tudors; The Borgias), John Weber of Take 5 Productions (The Tudors; The Borgias), Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer and James Flynn (The Tudors; The Borgias). Vikings is an international Irish/Canadian co-production being co-produced by World 2000 and Take 5 Productions. HISTORY broadcasts both domestically in Canada and in the U.S. MGM Television is the worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. Vikings is produced in association with Shaw Media. 1 Source: Numeris (BBM Canada) PPM Data: All Cdn Specialty 12/31/12-12/29/13, A2554, M2554, A1849, M1849, A1834 excluding sports 2 Source: Numeris (BBM Canada) PPM Data: All Cdn Specialty 12/30/13 – 6/1/14, Ind2+, A2554, W2554, M2554, M1849, and A50+ excluding sports 3 Source: Numeris (BBM Canada) PPM Data: 12/30/13 – 6/1/14, Ind2+, A2554, W2554, M2554, A1849, W1849, M1849,A1834, and A50+ - 30 - HISTORY is a Shaw Media Network. About Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications and media company. Shaw serves 3.2 million consumers and businesses through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw provides consumers with broadband Internet, WiFi, Digital Phone and Video services. Shaw Business provides businesses with Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, Video and fleet tracking services, and ViaWest provides collocation, cloud and managed services. Shaw Media provides Canadians with engaging programming content through one of Canada’s largest conventional television networks, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks, including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY® and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX – SJR.B, NYSE – SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca. For media inquiries, please contact: Cathy Kurzbock Greg Fast Shaw Media Shaw Media 416-966-7505 416-966-7747 [email protected] [email protected] .

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