Alexander Ludwig and Linus Roache Join Cast of History's Hit Scripted Drama Series "Vikings"

New York, NY, June, 11, 2013 - HISTORY announced today new casting for season two of its hit drama series VIKINGS, including Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) as Bjorn, the intelligent and bold warrior son of Ragnar Lothbrok and Linus Roache (Law & Order) as Ecbert, King of Wessex, a man full of strength, knowledge and undisguised ambition.

Over the nine weeks in season one, VIKINGS became the #1 new cable series of the year, averaging 4.3 million total viewers, 2.0 million Adults 25-54 and 1.8 Adults 18-49.

HISTORY has picked up VIKINGS for a 10-episode second season. Season two will begin production this summer and is slated to return in 2014.

VIKINGS tells the extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors. The drama portrays the world of these Dark Age raiders, traders, explorers - not from an outsider's view, but, through the eyes of Viking society.

Returning cast includes Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok; Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, a fierce shield maiden and Ragnar's wife; George Blagden as Athelstan, a young, innocent Christian Monk; Donal Logue as King Horrik, who desires to make the increasingly famous Earl Ragnar an ally and supporter; Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, beautiful wife of the late Earl Haraldson; Clive Standen as Rollo, Ragnar's impulsive, wild, care-free brother; Gustaf Skarsgard, a ship builder who designs the new generation of Vikings ships and Alyssa Sutherland as Princess Aslaug, Ragnar's new love interest.

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), Michael serves as Executive Producer along with Morgan O'Sullivan of World 2000 (The Count of Monte Cristo; The Tudors), John Weber of Take 5 Productions (The Tudors; The Borgias), Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, James Flynn (The Tudors; The Borgias) and Sheila Hockin (The Tudors; The Borgias). Dirk Hoogstra and Julian P. Hobbs are the Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY.

VIKINGS is an international Irish/Canadian co-production being co-produced by World 2000 and Take 5 Productions. HISTORY broadcasts domestically in the U.S. MGM Television brought the series to the network and brings VIKINGS to the global audience, serving as the international distributor outside of Ireland, Canada and the U.S. VIKINGS is produced in association with Shaw Media, and the series also airs on HISTORY in Canada.

About HISTORY(R)

HISTORY(R), now reaching more than 98 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network's all-original programming slate, including scripted event programming, features a roster of hit series including American Pickers(R), American Restoration(TM), Ax Men(TM), Ice Road Truckers(R), Pawn Stars(R), Swamp People(R) and Top Shot(R) as well as History's first scripted series Vikings, and epic miniseries and special programming such as The Bible and the Emmy(R) Award-winning Hatfields & McCoys, Gettysburg, Vietnam in HD, America The Story of Us and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY website is the leading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States Library of Congress selected HISTORY's Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial. www.history.com.