With shooting just begun on the second season of historical drama The Last Kingdom, Netflix has joined the series as co-producer and will air it next year in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Japan, Spain and Portugal. BBC America, which broadcast the first season Stateside in 2015, is no longer involved. Netflix will add S1 to the U.S. library this year. From Downton Abbey producer Carnival Films, the fantasy epic goes out in the UK on BBC Two.

Based on bestselling book series, The Saxon Stories, by Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom is adapted by Stephen Butchard. The first eight-part season averaged 2.7M viewers on BBC Two and picked up a Best Drama Series nomination from the Royal Television Society.

The stories focus on Uhtred (American Horror Story‘s Alexander Dreymon), a warrior and outsider on a fierce mission to reclaim his birthright; while re-telling the history of King Alfred the Great and his desire to unite the many separate kingdoms into what would become England.

Season 2 picks up in the year 878 as the wild lands of the north have fallen into chaos and rebellion. Uhtred continues the fight for his native land of Northumbria. Having given his sword to King Alfred, despite his upbringing by the invading pagan Danes, he embarks on a voyage to reclaim his own fate and avenge Earl Ragnar’s death, recapturing his ancestral lands of Bebbanburg.

Returning cast also includes David Dawson (Peaky Blinders), Emily Cox (Homeland), Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire) and Tobias Santelmann (Marcella). New cast includes Thure Lindhardt (The Bridge), Millie Brady (Legend) and Peter McDonald (Thirteen).

Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant are exec producers for Carnival Films with Butchard. Elizabeth Kilgarriff is exec producer for the BBC.