'The Last Kingdom' Needs To Join Netflix

The Last Kingdom's first season is built for marathon watching: It's a pulpy fantasy series with lots of interlocking plotlines. In fact, even longtime fans would benefit from the ability to rewatch the series and catch any moments they may have missed (or just want to relive). But, will The Last Kingdom be available on Netflix? No word from BBC America or Netflix yet on that, but the streaming giant and the network have a great relationship, and many of their other BBC series are already available on Netflix. Actually, even if The Last Kingdom is for some reason ineligible for Netflix streaming, some other BBC America series — like Orphan Black — are available on Amazon Prime or Hulu Plus.

So there's a good chance, almost a guarantee, that The Last Kingdom will be available on some streaming service near you in the next year — there's always a sizable gap between the season finale and a Netflix debut. But, in the meantime, there are plenty of other BBC & BBC America series to catch up on with that Netflix subscription while waiting to find out if The Last Kingdom will be joining the ranks in the new year.

1. Luther

You looking for a brooding hero and scheming villains? Luther may take place in modern London, but its sense of justice is practically medieval. Netflix away.

2. Broadchurch

Again, a story about contemporary detectives might not seem to have much in common with The Last Kingdom, but Broadchurch's cliffside town is a location right out of a fantasy drama. Second season was just added to Netflix!

3. Sherlock

Based on the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle just like The Last Kingdom is based on The Saxon Series, Sherlock Holmes' obsessive nature is just as calculating as Uhtred's is. But, instead of attempting to hold on to a kingdom, Sherlock is trying to maintain his intellectual superiority as he solves difficult cases.

4. House Of Cards

Yep, you read that right: House of Cards began as a three-part BBC miniseries back in 1990, which was adapted into the Kevin Spacey/Robin Wright series, and if you're missing The Last Kingdom's endless political machinations, you'll find Francis Urqhart (rather than Underwood) a delightful antihero.

5. Peaky Blinders

Credited as a Netflix original but actually a BBC series, Peaky Blinders is about the conflict between several sadistic gangs. The whole cast is doing some ambitious accent work, Cillian Murphy plays a psychopath who would be at home in the bloodbath of the 1800s.

6. Honorable Mention: Ripper Street

Technically, Ripper Street, like Orphan Black, is on Amazon Prime streaming, not Netflix. But, this series, which is about Victorian crime, takes the British setting and does something thematically different (but even more grisly, despite centuries of medical invention separating the two series) with it. And, a bonus connection: Matthew MacFayden plays the leading role, and he had a dramatic death on The Last Kingdom.

Watch these six shows while you wait for Season 2 of The Last Kingdom!

Images: Kata Vermes/BBC America; Giphy (6)