Streaming’s June Renewal Wave: Bloodaxe, Rivals, and the Shows Getting Early Votes of Confidence

Bloodaxe Gets a Season 2 Before Season 1 Even Drops — Yes, It’s That Good

Prime Video clearly knows what it has. The streamer just handed Bloodaxe, the upcoming Viking drama from Vikings creator Michael Hirst and his son Horatio Hirst, a second season renewal before a single episode has aired. That’s not just confidence — that’s a studio telling you they’ve seen the footage and it delivers.

Hirst, who shaped the original Vikings into one of the most-watched historical dramas of the last decade and executive produced the Netflix sequel Vikings: Valhalla, is returning to the Norse well with a story set in the 10th century. Bloodaxe follows the legendary Erik Bloodaxe, played by newcomer Xavier Molyneux, and his wife Gunnhild — the so-called “Mother of Kings” played by Bridgerton alum Jessica Madsen. The cast also includes Rod Hallett as Athelstan and Levi Miller as Haakon the Good.

“Horatio and I are very excited to announce that Amazon have also already commissioned a second season of our new Norse saga,” Hirst said in a statement to Deadline. “We are so proud of the way Bloodaxe has turned out, in terms of its incredible storylines, its powerful invocation of Viking beliefs, its dramatic recreation of the way that Christianity has started to overcome the pagan world, and the way we use magic realism in an effort to induct the audience into a Viking mind-set.”

The advance renewal puts Bloodaxe in rare company. It’s the streaming equivalent of a blank check — and for viewers still nursing a Game of Thrones-sized hole in their fantasy-drama lineup or mourning the end of House of the Dragon‘s upcoming run, it’s exactly the kind of signal that matters. This show is being built to last.

Rivals Returns for a Third Round of ’80s Excess

Over at Disney+ and Hulu, the shoulder-padded, champagne-soaked world of Rivals is getting another season. The adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles novels has been renewed for a 12-episode third season, Deadline reports. Season 2 part 2 arrives in November, but Disney is already locking in the next chapter — proof that the show’s blend of British aristocracy melodrama and prestige TV polish has found a loyal international audience.

The renewal is part of a broader strategy at Disney to keep its international co-productions flowing. Rivals streams on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ elsewhere, and the series has quietly become one of those “if you know, you know” titles that generates passionate word of mouth without the deafening hype cycle of, say, a Marvel show. If you haven’t checked out what makes the cutthroat world of 1980s British television so addictive, there’s now even more reason to start.

For fans of prestige dramas that mix boardroom scheming with deeply flawed characters, Rivals is filling a lane that shows like Hacks and The Morning Show have carved out — sharp, funny, and unafraid to let its characters be genuinely terrible people.

Netflix Keeps the Comedy Pipeline Flowing

Netflix had a busy week of its own. The Four Seasons, the ensemble comedy that’s become a reliable crowd-pleaser for the streamer, scored an eight-episode third season renewal on June 15. The show continues to quietly build — not a watercooler phenomenon, but one of those titles that consistently lands in the Top 10 and keeps subscribers from hitting cancel.

Meanwhile, Kevin Hart’s Funny AF — the stand-up comedy reality competition that’s essentially Last Comic Standing for the streaming era — is getting a second season. Hart’s Netflix partnership has been one of the streamer’s most consistent performer relationships, and Funny AF gives the platform something it desperately needs right now: unscripted content that doesn’t require a six-month production cycle.

Add in Apple TV+ renewing The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy for a fourth season, and the picture becomes clear. Streamers are increasingly betting on shows they know work rather than gambling on the next big swing. The era of “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” is fading — what we’re seeing now is the “double down on what’s working” era.

Why the Surge Matters

There’s a pattern here that tells you everything about where streaming is in mid-2026. Prime Video is locking in a show from a proven creator before audience data exists. Disney is extending an international hit that flies under the American radar. Netflix is renewing reliable performers and building its unscripted bench. Apple TV+ is sticking with its signature blend of prestige comfort food.

What you’re not seeing: any of these platforms taking wild bets on unproven concepts from unknown creators. The risk appetite has shrunk. Every renewal this month is for a show with either a proven track record, a proven creator, or both.

That’s not necessarily bad news. Shows like The Bear and The Last of Us prove that quality still rises to the top. But it does mean the window for weird, original, hard-to-categorize shows is getting narrower. The platforms have done the math: renewals are cheaper than launches, and loyal audiences are worth more than curious ones.

And there’s a bigger context here that’s impossible to ignore. With the Department of Justice having approved Paramount’s massive $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month, the entire industry is bracing for consolidation. Every streamer is looking at its library and asking the same question: which of these shows will still matter in three years? The answer, increasingly, is the ones that already have an audience locked in. Safe bets aren’t boring in this climate — they’re survival strategy.

For viewers, the takeaway is simple. The shows you’re already watching? They’re more likely than ever to keep going. The new show you’ve been meaning to check out? It might not get the same runway the last generation of hits did.

June’s renewal wave isn’t just a list of greenlights. It’s a statement about what kind of TV the streaming industry wants to make — and what kind it’s quietly leaving behind.

Sources: Deadline, TV Guide