How Vikings' Creator Tried To Avoid Comparisons To Shows Like Game Of Thrones
The success of a show like "Game of Thrones" is as much a blessing as it is a curse. The series broke incredible ground before its less-than-satisfying final season — but even its controversies and failures seemed to stem viral discourse. It was the world's watercooler show for nearly a decade, and it absolutely changed the face of television. Unfortunately, it also altered the way that we at home watch television now — especially if said television dwells in the niche of high fantasy or historical fiction.
The "gritty" left-of-center shows that followed "Game of Thrones" have also, inevitably, been subjected to the "Game of Thrones" effect. We see two characters plotting their political moves and immediately draw comparisons to the schemes and trysts in King's Landing. A group of characters are brutally wiped off the board after doing too much, too soon? The writers must have taken a page from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, right? And the same thing goes for slimy characters making slimy deals with our morally-upstanding heroes. It all leads back to "Game of Thrones," even if the series couldn't be more different, and it's left a lot of writers — like "Vikings" creator Michael Hirst — working overtime to set their shows apart.
'I didn't want to be affected by it'
"Vikings" premiered roughly two years after the first season of "Game of Thrones." It took a little while for the show to move from a hidden gem on the History Channel to a global phenomenon, but once it gained its following, the "Game of Thrones" comparisons weren't far behind. The cast and crew of the former have been pretty outspoken about the relevance of said comparisons, but that hasn't stopped the "Which show is better?" discourse, even now that "Vikings" and "Game of Thrones" have both ended (and spawned their respective spin-offs). Hirst himself seemed to know that the conversation was, sadly, inevitable. He recently spoke to Collider in 2021 about the interesting precautions he takes with his own work:
"I have tried deliberately to avoid watching too much drama on TV, because I don't want to be affected by it. I never watched 'Game of Thrones' for example, because I never wanted anyone to say, 'You borrowed that from "Game of Thrones." or 'That's like "Game of Thrones." So I didn't want to be effected by it. Not that it was similar, because it was a fantasy show. But still, you know what I mean? These things can come into your head when you don't expect them to come into your head."
'There are little hints here or there'
So if Hirst prefers to stay untainted by current television, where does he get his inspiration? Well, since most of his work revolves around real-life figures — like "The Tudors" or the "Elizabeth" duology starring Cate Blanchett — a history book is always a nice place to start. Classic cinema is always a go-to as well:
"I have strange, eclectic viewing paths that I still kind of watch old films. During the first lockdown it was great, because we bought a big screen and I screened most of my favorite films as a kid, 'Chinatown' or whatever. In the show I reference actually quite a lot of the movies I like, so there are little hints here or there of movies."
Hirst will also "smuggle" in references from other avenues too. "I allude to some of my favorite poets often," he explained, "or a line by John Lennon or something." Was it enough to free "Vikings" from the shadow of "Game of Thrones"? Not exactly — but real ones know he did the work to set the show apart.