HISTORY'S HIT DRAMA SERIES "VIKINGS" RETURNS FOR SEASON FOUR ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18 AT 10 PM ET/PT

Network Increases Original 16 Episode Order with Additional Four Episodes

New York, NY - December 17, 2015 - HISTORY's hit drama series "Vikings" returns for a gripping fourth season led by Travis Fimmel, star of the upcoming film Warcraft, on Thursday, February 18 at 10 p.m. ET. The network has added four episodes to its initial 16 episode order. Beginning February 18, a new episode will air every Thursday for ten weeks with the remaining episodes to air later in the year.

Season three culminated with the extraordinary battle in Paris, where Ragnar (Fimmel) seized victory from the jaws of defeat - but still returns to Kattegat dangerously ill. Thoughts of his death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king, including his wife Queen Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) and his oldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig). Meanwhile, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) continues power struggles with her calculating, former second in command, Kalf (Ben Robson); Rollo (Clive Standen) betrays his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia and Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) is seized for his brutal actions to the Christian priest Athelstan.

Joining the stellar cast this season is Peter Franzén (The Gunman) as "King Harold Finehair," a complex character who seeks to be King of Norway and a potential threat to Ragnar; Jasper Pääkkönen (Jet Trash) as "Halfdan The Black," King Harold's violent younger brother; and Dianne Doan ("Descendants") as "Yidu," a completely different character within the world of the Vikings who fascinates Ragnar.

"Vikings" is the critically acclaimed series from creator and sole writer Michael Hirst (Academy Award(R) winning film Elizabeth and the Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominated series "The Tudors") and is a family saga that tells the remarkable tales of the lives and epic adventures of the raiders and explorers of the Dark Ages.

Hirst serves as executive producer along with Morgan O'Sullivan of World 2000 (The Count of Monte Cristo; "The Tudors"), Sheila Hockin ("The Tudors," "The Borgias"), John Weber of Take 5 Productions ("The Tudors," "The Borgias"), Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer and James Flynn ("The Tudors," "The Borgias"). Jana Bennett and Arturo Interian are the executives in charge of production for HISTORY.

VIKINGS is an international Irish/Canadian co-production 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 worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. 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 96 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), Ax Men(TM), Counting Cars(TM), Pawn Stars(R) and Swamp People(R) as well as HISTORY(R)'s first scripted series Vikings, and epic miniseries and special programming such as The Bible, The Men Who Built America and the Emmy(R) Award-winning Hatfields & McCoys, Gettysburg, Vietnam in HD, America The Story of Us(R) and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY(R) website is the leading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States Library of Congress selected HISTORY(R)'s Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial. www.history.com.