The Shannara Chronicles is an American fantasy drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of the Shannara series of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks, with the first season being primarily an adaptation of the second novel in the original trilogy, The Elfstones of Shannara.
About[]
The Shannara Chronicles is filmed at the Auckland Film Studios and on location elsewhere in New Zealand. Filming for the first season wrapped in New Zealand in June 2015, and the first trailer debuted on July 10, 2015. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar developed the series, based on the Shannara novels.
The series premiered on MTV in the United States on January 5, 2016. The first season consisted of ten episodes, and renewal of the series for a second season was announced on April 20, 2016.
In May 2017, it was announced that show would be moving from MTV to Spike TV as part of an overall restructuring plan at Viacom that aims to scale back the amount of scripted content on MTV while rebranding and mainstreaming Spike TV under the new name Paramount Network, beginning in January 2018. Season 2 premiered in the US on Spike TV on October 11, 2017.
Development[]
Sonar Entertainment acquired TV rights to the Shannara universe in 2012. In December 2013, it was announced that a series based on The Elfstones of Shannara was being produced for MTV. During the Shannara Chronicles panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2015, a teaser trailer was revealed, giving audiences a first look at the sets and characters. A television version of the trailer was shown during the 2015 MTV Music Awards.
Adaptation[]
The Shannara Chronicles adapted The Elfstones of Shannara for its first season. Elfstones was selected over the first novel, The Sword of Shannara, because it had a more widely-appealing plot and because it featured well-developed female characters which Sword had notably lacked.
Terry Brooks has endorsed the show and stated in interviews that he is happy with the way Elfstones was adapted. Brooks was very involved in the writing process, though he hopes to decrease his involvement for future seasons. While the series has remained adequately faithful to the books, several key adaptational changes were made, including the creation of a handful of new characters and a post-apocalyptic feel that is more reminiscent of the later novels than the first ones.
Main Cast[]
Season 1[]
- Austin Butler as Wil Ohmsford
- Poppy Drayton as Amberle Elessedil
- Ivana Baquero as Eretria
- Manu Bennett as Allanon
- Aaron Jakubenko as Ander Elessedil
- Marcus Vanco as Bandon
Season 2[]
- Austin Butler as Wil Ohmsford
- Manu Bennett as Allanon
- Aaron Jakubenko as Ander Elessedil
- Marcus Vanco as Bandon
- Vanessa Morgan as Lyria
- Malese Jow as Mareth
- Gentry White as Garet
- Caroline Chikezie as Tamlin
- Desmond Chiam as General Riga
Episodes[]
- Main article: Season 1 Episodes
Season 1[]
Ep. # | Episode Title | US Airdate | UK Airdate |
1 | "Chosen" (Part One) | January 5, 2016 | February 25, 2016 |
2 | "Chosen" (Part Two) | January 5, 2016 | March 3, 2016 |
3 | "Fury" | January 12, 2016 | March 10, 2016 |
4 | "Changeling" | January 19, 2016 | March 17, 2016 |
5 | "Reaper" | January 26, 2016 | March 24, 2016 |
6 | "Pykon" | February 2, 2016 | March 31, 2016 |
7 | "Breakline" | February 9, 2016 | April 7, 2016 |
8 | "Utopia" | February 16, 2016 | April 14, 2016 |
9 | "Safehold" | February 23, 2016 | April 21, 2016 |
10 | "Ellcrys" | March 1, 2016 | April 28, 2016 |
- Main article: Season 2 Episodes
Season 2[]
Ep. # | Episode Title | US Airdate | UK Airdate |
1 | "Druid" | October 11, 2017 | October 19, 2017 |
2 | "Wraith" | October 18, 2017 | October 26, 2017 |
3 | "Graymark" | October 25, 2017 | November 2, 2017 |
4 | "Dweller" | November 1, 2017 | November 9, 2017 |
5 | "Paranor" | November 8, 2017 | November 16, 2017 |
6 | "Crimson" | November 8, 2017 | November 23, 2017 |
7 | "Warlock" | November 15, 2017 | November 30, 2017 |
8 | "Amberle" | November 15, 2017 | TBA |
9 | "Wilderun" | November 22, 2017 | TBA |
10 | "Blood" | November 22, 2017 | TBA |
Posters[]
Featured Videos[]