If you’re not watching The Winter King on MGM+ yet, now is a good time to start. Is this more historical fiction that is based on a book?
There are a few historical fiction shows airing right now that you’ll want to check out. One of them is The Winter King.
This is a series that’s loosely based on history as well as fantasy. It follows the Arthurian legend with some major twists. This isn’t the Arthur you know from Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. This is more like a version of Arthur that you would see in a Guy Ritchie movie.
We all know that the story of Arthur may or may not be true. We know that someone like him had to have existed, but we don’t know the full truth of the story. Yet, his name has been used throughout history as that of a king who united England once again.
Is The Winter King on MGM+ based on a book?
Before you jump into the series, you’ll want to know if there is any source material. The Winter King is another series adapted from a book.
You’ll want to turn to The Last Kingdom author, Bernard Cornwell. While he is well know for his Sharpe series and the Saxon Chronicles series, he has another series that is set in the past. It’s all about The Warlord Chronicles, which starts with the book The Winter King.
The novel was published in 1995 in the UK, and it’s narrated by Derfel Cadarn, an elderly monk who is the main protagonist in the story. That’s right; unlike The Last Kingdom, the main protagonist isn’t technically the main character of the series. Derfel serves Arthur, a renowned warlord.
Derfel is now at the monastery in Dinnewrac, where Queen Igraine begs him to write down the tales of those he met from the Arthurian legend. Bishop Sansum wouldn’t want this to happen, but he can’t read, so Derfel gets away with it by pretending to write the Christian gospel.
Much of the story is set in the past, but we get the odd thoughts from Derfel’s older self now and then.
The Winter King airs Sundays on MGM+.