History Channel's Vikings--a historical drama inspired by the sagas of legendary hero Viking Ragnar Lothbrok--will be making a bit of history of its own, ending the series first on Amazon Prime Video before Season 6's final 10 episodes debut on its home-base cable network. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon will get first crack at the full final season, releasing first on December 30. The History Channel will then air the last episodes sometime in 2021.

　　Due to the vagaries and particulars of streaming rights negotiations, Amazon and Hulu have had Vikings' first five seasons--but yielded the first half of Season 6 to History Channel. The upcoming December 30 date will allow Prime Video to stream the second half of Season 6 first.

　　"Our monumental Vikings saga is coming to its conclusion, but not before you've had the chance to watch some of my all-time favorite episodes," said Vikings creator Michael Hirst. "Prime Video will uniquely expose the series finale to a streaming audience first. Prepare to be astonished, and for many surprises along the way. And if you have tears to shed, then also be prepared to shed them."

　　The announcement is not a total shock, as Vikings has straddled and made a number of arrangements between streaming services and History Channel. For example, while the original show started on History Channel, Netflix is getting its spin-off, Vikings: Valhalla. But Hirst also clearly still likes to keep his bread buttered on as many sides as possible--he's also developing a Bubonic Plague miniseries for History Channel as well.

　　David Wolinsky on Google+