History Renews 'Vikings' for Second Season

History Channel has ordered a second season of Vikings, its first-ever scripted series. The renewal is for 10 episodes.

Airing out of History's highly-rated miniseries The Bible, the series has averaged five million total viewers, 2.2 million adults 25-54 and 1.9 million adults 18-49. The remaining four episodes will not have The Bible as its lead-in.

Paired together, The Bible and Vikings helped History become the top cable network in primetime in March.

"Vikings is a win-win for us. As our first scripted series, Vikings has paid off in a big way with critical acclaim, strong ratings and a passionate, loyal fan base. It came out of the gate strong and has stayed on top, solidifying History as a major player in the scripted genre, just as we are in reality," said Dirk Hoogstra, History's executive VP of development and programming.

Season two will begin production this summer and air sometime in 2014.