The historical drama series "The Last Kingdom" has officially started production and there are new additions to the family. Richard Rankin joins the cast, while Netflix gets onboard as a co-producer.

New Cast Member

"Outlander" actor Richard Rankin is one of the newest members of the cast, joining Thure Lindhardt, Millie Brady and Peter McDonald, Digital Spy reported. There are no further details yet as to which character Rankin is going to play. Alexander Dreymon is reprising his role as the main character, Uhtred, a warrior who continue to fight for his birthright. Other returning stars from the first season include David Dawson, Emily Cox, Ian Hart, and Tobias Santelmann.

Netflix Joins As Co-Producer

Netflix joins the fantasy epic series as a co-production partner. It will release the "The Last Kingdom" Season 2 in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Japan, Spain and Portugal, according to Deadline. Streaming of the "The Last Kingdom" Season 1 via Netflix will be available later this year.

"The Last Kingdom" is based on the best-selling series "The Saxon Stories" by Bernard Cornwell. The story picks up in the year 878 and Uhtred has given his sword to King Alfred. He continues his journey to reclaim his native land as well as to avenge the death of Earl Ragnar.

"The Last Kingdom" is set to premiere on BBC Two in 2017 and on Netflix in the U.S. The series is produced by Carnival Films, with Nigel Marchant and Gareth Neame as executive producers alongside Stephen Butchard, Elizabeth Kilgarriff and Dominic Barlow. The first season had an average of 2.7 million viewers. It also received a Best Drama Series nomination from the Royal Television Society.