‘The Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series Gets Amazon Premiere Date & First-Look Photo

Denise Petski
·5 min read

Filming wrapped today on Season 1 of Amazon Studios’ The Lord of The Rings TV series, and now we have a premiere date.

The studio has set Friday, September 2, 2022, for the debut of the first season of the yet-to-be-titled series. New episodes will be released weekly, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 territories and countries worldwide. Amazon Studios also released the first series image tied to the wrap of filming in New Zealand.

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It is a shot from the first episode of the series, but the studio is staying mum for now on the character and actor featured in the photo. See it below.

Developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, The Lord of the Rings series is described as an “epic drama” set in the Second Age of Middle-earth — thousands of years before the events of the Lord of the Rings films and the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien on which they were based. The series brings to screens for the very first time J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.

Headlining the ensemble cast are Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.

Payne and McKay serve as showrunners and executive produce with Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado. Wayne Che Yip co-executive produces, Charlotte Brändström directs, and Christopher Newman serves as producer.

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“The journey begins September 2, 2022, with the premiere of our original The Lord of the Rings series on Prime Video,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “I can’t express enough just how excited we all are to take our global audience on a new and epic journey through Middle-earth. Our talented producers, cast, creative and production teams have worked tirelessly in New Zealand to bring this untold and awe-inspiring vision to life.”

A world-renowned literary work and winner of the International Fantasy Award and Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, The Lord of the Rings was named Amazon customers’ favorite book of the millennium in 1999 and Britain’s best-loved novel of all time in BBC’s The Big Read in 2003. The Lord of the Rings books have been translated into about 40 languages and have sold more than 150 million copies.

Development on the series began in 2017. In November of that year, Amazon purchased the television rights to The Lord of the Rings for nearly $250 million. Subsequently, the studio made a five-season production commitment, worth around $1 billion. Given this commitment, the Amazon Original is making history as the most expensive TV series ever mounted.

Production on Season 1 kicked off in Auckland in February 2020 but was put on hold for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As Bilbo says, ‘Now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey.’ Living and breathing Middle-earth these many months has been the adventure of a lifetime. We cannot wait for fans to have the chance to do so as well,” said Payne and McKay.

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