Netflix has The Witcher. Max has House of the Dragon. In the popular genre of high fantasy, Amazon Prime needed a series that added them to the conversation. Ambitious and high-concept, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time fantasy novels were a perfect choice for adaptation. Clocking in at 15 books, there is no shortage of content for the series to pluck from. And season 1 of the Amazon series does just that.
With such political complexities permeating the fight against the Dark One’s (Fares Fares) hold on the fantastical universe — not to mention an overwhelming number of characters — changes were made. The Wheel of Time adaptation makes major departures from the books to make the series more palatable for viewers. But that hasn’t stopped intrigue and passion for the project. After The Wheel of Time season 2 trailer was released, fans are clamoring for more details about the trials and tribulations featured in the show.
Release date and schedule
Last we left Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), the high-stakes battle to rid the world of darkness seemed to be looking up. Despite all odds, it seems as though she and the Dragon Reborn, Rand (Josha Stradowski), were successful in defeating the Dark One. Or were they? Just as it takes thousands of years to officially destroy Sauron, the Dark One isn’t so easily beaten. Season 2 will follow the story of The Wheel of Time as Rand continues to learn the ways of the One Power. As luck would have it, fans don’t have to wait too much longer to see where this leads.
The Wheel of Time season 2 will premiere on Amazon, starting September 1. As typical with the streamer, the platform has a slightly different business model from the likes of Netflix. Reacting against the all-encompassing binge culture, Amazon will drop the first three episodes at once on the initial premiere date. Following that, each episode will be released weekly until the finale on October 6. Particularly for a fantasy show as nuanced as The Wheel of Time, this model can only help. After whetting the appetite of fans on the premiere date, releasing episodes weekly allows viewers to absorb the content and feel anticipation for the upcoming episodes.
For those unfamiliar with the source material, this also allows excitement and hypothesizing that is only possible when viewers aren’t watching content all in one day. Watching Rand’s journey as the reincarnated hero with a troubling destiny will hit even harder when experiencing the story one episode at a time, as the heyday of cable truly intended. Catch the first 3 episodes of The Wheel of Time when it airs on Amazon Prime, on September 1.