Amazon is doubling down on The Wheel of Time.
The streamer has renewed the fantasy series for a second season ahead of the launch of the show. It comes as production has wrapped on season one in the Czech Republic.
It is the latest market in a long road for the adaptation of Robert Jordan’s books, which has been in development in one form or another for 20 years and that Amazon ordered to series in October 2018. Like many series, production of the drama was also hit by the pandemic.
The Wheel of Time, set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists, but only women can use it, is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television and comes from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Chuck writer Rafe Judkins, who is showrunner and exec producer.
It stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the ‘Aes Sedai’ as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity.
Joshua Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Zoe Robins, Barney Harris, Madeleine Madden, Daniel Henney, Michael McElhatton, Alvaro Morte, Hammed Animashaun, Alexandrew Willaume, Johann Myers, Jennifer Cheon Garcia, Maria Dolye Kennedy, Daryl McCormack, Narinder Samra, Priyanka Bose, Emmaniel Imani, Taylor Napier, Kate Fleetwood, Christopher Sciueref, Juliet Howland, Mandi Symonds, Lolita Chakrabarti, Michael Tuahine, David Sterne, Abdul Salis, Stuart Graham, Kae Alexander, Sophie Okonedo, Clare Perkins, Peter Franzen, Pasha Bocarie, Jennifer K Preston and Darren Clarke also feature.
Cancellations/Renewals Scorecard: TV Shows Ended Or Continuing In 2020-21 Season
Larry Mondragon and Rick Selvage of Red Eagle Entertainment, Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures, Darren Lemke, Marigo Kehoe and Uta Briesewitz will also serve as executive producers, with Briesewitz set to direct the first two episodes. Rosamund Pike will serve as producer and Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson as consulting producers.
“The belief Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television have shown in The Wheel of Time has been incredible to see throughout the entire process of making this show. Getting a second season order before the first season has even premiered is such a vote of confidence in the work we are doing and the property itself, and we couldn’t be happier to be able to continue to live and work in the world Robert Jordan created,” said Rafe Judkins. “This property is one I’ve loved since I was a teenager, and seeing it brought to life with the resources to make it truly worthy of what’s on the page is something I can’t wait for the other fans of the books to see. And Season 2 just keeps expanding the world we built in Season 1.”
Co-Head of Television at Amazon Studios Vernon Sanders added, “The Wheel of Time is a beloved series of fantasy novels from Robert Jordan, renowned for the rich world and diverse characters he created. The approach Rafe and his team have taken with this project is a testament to Amazon Studios commitment to deliver something special for the devoted fans around the world. In partnership with the team at Sony Pictures Television, we wanted our Prime Video customers to be delighted that a second season is already in the works so that they would know that the journey would continue.”
“From the moment we pitched the Amazon Studios team, we realized they shared the same excitement as we did about this brilliant project based on Robert Jordan’s series of best-selling novels and that we were all creating a very special and extraordinary spectacle,” said Jeff Frost, President of Sony Pictures Television. “Receiving a second season pickup right after wrapping Season one, exemplifies their dedication to and belief in this series. We can’t wait for audiences globally to experience the magic that Rafe, our other talented producers, Rosamund and the rest of the cast and crew have created.”