The Last Kingdom’s Spiritual Sequel Is This 31-Year-Old British TV Series

Summary

• Sharpe is the spiritual successor to The Last Kingdom, with similar themes, storytelling, and character dynamics.
• Both shows blend historical events with fiction, featuring flawed but honorable protagonists and conniving enemies.
• Uhtred and Sharpe share maverick energy, tragic love lives, loyal followers, and similar personalities in their respective series.

The Last Kingdom exciting story of life in Anglo-Saxon England gives the show a very specific focus and flavor, yet despite its particular setting, the series has a surprising spiritual connection to a seemingly unrelated earlier TV series. Based on Bernard Cornwell’s popular novels, The Last Kingdom depicts key events from a crucial period in English history mostly through the perspective of one man. This approach, coupled with its narrative concerns, characters, and broader style make the show incredibly similar to another work of historical fiction – albeit one centered on a different period.

Running for five seasons and a feature-length movie, first on the BBC and then subsequently on Netflix, The Last Kingdom blended sensational fictional stories with real details from English history. Based on the figure of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the show chronicles many real people, ranging from Alfred the Great, to Aethelstan, Cnut, Aethelflaed, and many more. While their stories broadly stayed true to history, they were also interwoven with more factually questionable details. This attitude to storytelling is seen throughout historical fiction, yet one show, in particular, has the clearest thematic links to The Last Kingdom.

Sharpe Is The Perfect Follow-Up To The Last Kingdom

The Show Is Its Natural Successor

Despite being set in a completely different era, featuring none of the same characters, and telling a totally different story, the 31-year-old British TV series Sharpe is the ultimate spiritual sequel to The Last Kingdom. Ordinarily, official follow-ups would require an explicit connection to a chronological predecessor in order to be worthy of comparison. In Sharpe‘s case, however, the show benefits both from undeniably narrative and thematic connections, but also a shared source that informs the way in which their similar stories are told.

Six seasons of
Sharpe
are available to stream on BritBox.

Just like The Last Kingdom, Sharpe is based on a series of novels by British author Bernard Cornwell. Whereas The Saxon Stories, which provide the basis for The Last Kingdom series, are set in the early Medieval period, Sharpe takes place over a millennium later during the Napoleonic Wars. Unlike The Last Kingdom, which concerns the business of kings, warlords, and those shaping the future destiny of an entire country, Sharpe is more concerned with seismic events seen through the eyes of one relatively insignificant soldier. And yet, despite this, the two novel series – and therefore the TV shows – are almost identical in style and substance.

Sharpe And The Last Kingdom Are Incredibly Similar

Thematically, They Fit Hand In Hand

Although there are over 1,000 years between the two stories, Sharpe and The Last Kingdom have much more in common than just their author. Both shows chronicle key events from their respective periods, fictionalizing certain elements to fit the narrative, but also providing a fairly comprehensive account of the most important moments from their particular timeframe. Whereas The Last Kingdom reveals key details about Alfred’s struggles against the Danes, with major battles like Edington playing a pivotal role, Sharpe follows many of the major events in the Napoleonic Wars – beginning in Spain and going all the way up to Waterloo.

There is also a particular quality to the morality of both series, with flawed but ultimately good protagonists butting heads with enemies who are often more astute at playing the political game.

Each show expertly combines the facts around events like this with fictional characters and details that give Sharpe and The Last Kingdom a gritty and realistic atmosphere. The two shows revel in behind-the-scenes scheming and backstabbing, with the most reprehensible figures often the most conniving and cunning. There is also a particular quality to the morality of both series, with flawed but ultimately good protagonists butting heads with enemies who are often more astute at playing the political game.

Many characters in The Last Kingdom also have their Sharpe counterparts. Alfred, for example, is very similar to the figure of Wellington, whose complex relationship as Sharpe’s benefactor causes him just as much exasperation as Alfred does Uhtred. Uhtred’s compatriots like Finan and Father Pyrlig are analogous to the likes of Patrick Harper and Major Hogan in Sharpe – providing able support to the main protagonist. The shows even have a similar villain, with the Danes and the French both threatening England’s existence. In essence, both series are a successful reflection of Bernard Cornwell’s signature style.

Sharpe And Uhtred Are Identical Leads

The Main Characters Shape The Series’ Stories

Nowhere is the connection between The Last Kingdom and Sharpe more acute than with the series’ two main characters. Although they hail from different social stratas, with Uhtred born to inherit Bebbanburg and Richard Sharpe raised in poverty, the two men have an almost identical outlook and approach to life. Both are deeply flawed with a strong sense of honor. Both are passionate and headstrong – with this attitude getting them both in trouble. The pair are also more than capable of disobeying orders and have a maverick energy that serves them well in battle, if poorly politically.

The pair also have equally unfortunate love lives, with a succession of relationships inevitably ending tragically – often through their own mistakes.

Sharpe and Uhtred’s similarities are also evident from their relationships. Both men cultivate extremely loyal followings, with Sharpe’s Chosen Men following him into battle with just the same determination as Uhtred’s warriors. The pair also have equally unfortunate love lives, with a succession of relationships inevitably ending tragically – often through their own mistakes. Even their most prominent partners are incredibly similar, with Sharpe‘s Teresa and The Last Kingdom‘s Aethelflaed almost identical in personality and lifestyle. These links are more than superficial. They make Sharpe and The Last Kingdom natural companion pieces.

Sharpe and The Last Kingdom’s Differences Compliment Each Other Perfectly

It’s Not A Straightforward Link Between The Two

While any comparison between Sharpe and The Last Kingdom reveals some clear connections, it’s also obvious that there are some important differences. Aside from the major narrative differences in terms of setting and period, there are some crucial structural contrasts. For instance, whereas The Last Kingdom condenses 10 novels into five multi-episode series, Sharpe is arguably a more faithful literary adaptation, adapting each Bernard Cornwell novel over a single, feature-length episode. This creates a very different feel to the series, with each installment almost feeling like a movie.

However, rather than detracting from The Last Kingdom and Sharpe‘s synergy, these differences actually make them even better as a pair. Rather than repeating Sharpe’s tried and tested formula, The Last Kingdom‘s approach makes each individual story feel part of a much wider, overarching narrative. Conversely, Sharpe‘s gradual evolution over distinct significant plotlines makes the main character’s adventures seem all the more momentous. These subtle differences in length and atmosphere mean it’s possible to swap between The Last Kingdom and Sharpe, enjoying broadly similar stories, without ever getting bored.