‘Bridgerton’ fame Jessica Madsen locked as female lead for new viking series ‘Bloodaxe’

Shedding her Bridgerton ‘mean girl’ persona Cressida Cowper, Jessica Madsen will now reportedly join Prime Video’s new Viking drama series Bloodaxe as the formidable Gunnhild, also known as the ‘Mother of Kings,’ wife of the Viking raider Erik Bloodaxe. She joins the previously cast Xavier Molyneux as the series’ main lead.

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As per the official logline, the series chronicles, “the rise of one of history’s most famous Viking warriors, Erik Bloodaxe, and his formidable wife, Gunnhild, Mother of Kings. As they fight for the throne of Norway, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties, and bloody betrayals. With war looming and chaos consuming the kingdom, drawing in the ruthless kings of other Scandinavian countries and even a powerful English ruler, the stage is set for a thundering new Viking saga.”

While Bloodaxe shares some history with both Vikings (which aired on the History Channel from 2013 to 2020), as well as the Netflix sequel, Vikings: Valhalla (2022-25), with all three shows being based on real historical figures and produced by MGM Television, the new series is not related to the previous ones. Bloodaxe takes place several decades after Vikings and decades before Valhalla. 

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The show will be backed by MGM Television, a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios. The series is created by Michael Hirst and his son, Horatio Hirst; with the former having previously created the series Vikings and executive produced its sequel Vikings: Valhalla. Horatio Hirst, who had earlier starred in Vikings: Valhalla and Billy the Kid, makes his writing debut with Bloodaxe. They are also the showrunners, writers and executive producers. Other executive producers include Morgan O’Sullivan of O’Sullivan Productions, Steve Stark of Toluca Pictures, John Weber, Arturo Interian, Sheila Hockin and Fred Toye.

Production is expected to begin in Ireland and Iceland, later this summer. While a release date for the show hasn’t been set, it is expected to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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