History Channel is throwing its hat into the scripted television ring, Entertainment Weekly reported.

The network announced it will begin production on Vikings, a period series that will air in 2013. The show, brought to the network from MGM, will be executive produced by Michael Hirst, the man behind Showtime’s The Tudors and Camelot.

“People think they know about the Vikings – we see references to them all the time in our popular culture from TV commercials to football teams – but the reality is so much more fascinating and complex, more vivid, visceral and powerful than popular legend,” said History president Nancy Dubuc in a statement. “We will explore the mysteries of the Vikings – the adventures they took and the people who led them.”

Vikings will chronicle the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrock, an actual Norse hero from the Viking Age, as he rises to head of the Viking tribes. It will be filmed in Ireland.