''The Shannara Chronicles'' is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series created by

Alfred Gough Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...

and

Miles Millar Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...

. It is an adaptation of ''The Sword of Shannara'' trilogy of fantasy novels by

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and ha ...

. It follows three heroes as they protect an ancient tree to stop the escape of banished demons. The series was filmed in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

Film Studios and on location elsewhere in New Zealand. The first season of ''The Shannara Chronicles'' premiered on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in the United States on January 5, 2016, and consisted of 10 episodes. MTV originally greenlit a second season in April 2016; however, in May 2017, it was announced that the series would relocate to Spike (now

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

). The second season premiered on October 11, 2017, and concluded November 22, 2017. On January 16, 2018, it was announced that the series had been cancelled after two seasons and that the producers were shopping the series to other networks. The series was later considered officially concluded.

Plot

Season one of ''The Shannara Chronicles'' roughly follows the storylines set out in the novel ''The Elfstones of Shannara'', (the second book of the Shannara trilogy) set in the fictional Four Lands. As the series opens, demons start to return after having been banished from this world to a place known as the Forbidding—locked by an ancient tree called the Ellcrys. The series chronicles the journey of Wil, Amberle, and Eretria who, with the guidance of the last druid Allanon, must go on a quest to protect the Ellcrys from dying and releasing all the banished demons back into the Four Lands.

Cast and characters

Main

Austin Butler Austin Robert Butler (born August 17, 1991) is an American actor. He began his career on television, first in roles on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and later on teen dramas, including recurring parts on The CW's ''Life Unexpected'' (2010� ...

as Wil Ohmsford, a half-human/half-elf who is the last of the bloodline of the ancient Shannara family. He is destined to help save the Four Lands from demons. He possesses three Elfstones, which belonged to his late father, Shea Ohmsford. * Poppy Drayton as Amberle Elessedil, the Elven Princess and the first female to be accepted as one of the Chosen, a group of elves responsible for protecting and caring for the Ellcrys tree. Amberle becomes Wil's lover before she sacrifices herself to save the Ellcrys and everyone else. *

Ivana Baquero Ivana Baquero Macías (born 11 June 1994) is a Spanish actress. At the age of 11, she was chosen to star as Ofelia in ''Pan's Labyrinth'', for which she won critical acclaim and the Goya Award for Best New Actress. In 2015, she was cast as Er ...

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

, a human who was raised by Rovers, a band of thieves. Although at first untrustworthy, she later becomes a stalwart ally of the group. She also has romantic feelings for Wil, and becomes involved with the Princess of Leah, Lyria, in the second season. *

Manu Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in '' The Shannara Chronicles'', Slade Wilson / ...

as Allanon, a human and the last druid who has been alive for more than 300 years through the use of Druid Sleep. He guides and mentors the group on their quest to protect the Ellcrys. In season 2, Bennett also portrays the Warlock Lord. *

Aaron Jakubenko Aaron Jakubenko (born 8 December 1988) is an Australian actor. He is known for playing Yuri in ''Conspiracy 365'' and Augie McTeer in ''Tidelands''. However, after his father and other brother Arion have also died, Ander becomes king of the elves; finally abandoning his irresponsible party boy nature, becoming the responsible ruler his kingdom needs. * Marcus Vanco as Bandon, an Elven boy with the gift of a seer, meaning that he can see possible futures when he touches someone. He follows a dark path in the second season. * Malese Jow as Mareth Ravenlock (season 2), a half-human/half-elf searching for Allanon because she believes to be his daughter. She, too eventually develops romantic feelings towards Wil. *

Vanessa Morgan Vanessa Morgan Mziray (born March 23, 1992), known professionally as Vanessa Morgan, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Beatrix "Bird" Castro in the MTV teen drama series ''Finding Carter'', as Amanda Pierce in the Family teen ...

as Lyria (season 2), a human who is in a romantic relationship with Eretria, and who is revealed to be the Princess of Leah. * Gentry White as Garet Jax (season 2), a bounty hunter looking for Lyria for her mother, the Queen of Leah. Later on he joins Wil's group in saving the Four Lands.

Recurring

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

as Cephelo (season 1), the leader of the Rovers and adoptive father of Eretria. Upon first seeing Wil's Elfstones, Cephelo becomes obsessed with them. Despite his self-serving nature, he later helps Amberle on her quest. *

Daniel MacPherson Daniel Donald MacPherson (born 25 April 1980) is an Australian actor and television presenter, known for his roles as Joel Samuels in ''Neighbours'', PC Cameron Tait in ''The Bill'', Sergeant Samuel Wyatt in Sky and Cinemax's '' Strike Back'', ...

as Arion Elessedil (season 1), oldest living son of King Eventine and heir to the Elven throne. Arion is known to be hot-tempered and often disagrees with his father's commands. *

Jed Brophy Jed Brophy (born 29 October 1963) is an actor from New Zealand. He has appeared in several of Peter Jackson's films, including ''Braindead'', ''Heavenly Creatures'', ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, and ''King Kong''. Brophy also app ...

as the Dagda Mor (season 1), an ancient elvish druid who turned into a demon. His powers increase as the Ellcrys dies, and as such he uses lesser demons as henchmen and proxies. *

Brooke Williams Brooke Williams (born 3 January 1984) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her role as Jennsen Rahl in '' Legend of the Seeker'', Aurelia in '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and Eva in ''The Almighty Johnsons''. Early life and education Wil ...

as Catania, an elf who is Amberle's handmaiden. She later becomes the love interest of Ander. *

Emelia Burns Emelia Jane Burns (born 18 February 1982) is an Australian actress, who has had roles in films and television series. Films Burns appeared in the 2007 action film '' The Condemned'', written and directed by Scott Wiper, as Yasantwa, a convict ...

as Commander Diana Tilton (season 1), the captain of the Black Watch, the elite unit of the Elven military whose sworn duty is to protect the Ellcrys. She is romantically involved with Arion and was previously in love with Ander. *

Mark Mitchinson Mark Mitchinson (born 6 July 1966) is an English-born New Zealand actor. He trained at the Guildhall School of Speech and Drama in London. He won an award for his portrayal of convicted murderer Colin Bouwer in the television drama ''Bloodlines ...

as Flick Ohmsford, Wil's uncle and Shea's brother. He is kidnapped by Bandon during the series' second season. *

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

as Eventine Elessedil (season 1), Amberle's grandfather who has been king of the Elven Kingdom of Arborlon for decades. After the death of his oldest son (Amberle's father), Eventine began grooming his son Arion for the throne. However, in the wake of the demon threat, he decides that the hot-headed Arion is not yet ready to rule. *

Jared Turner Jared Turner (born 12 April 1978) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor, best known for his roles as Ben Maddox in ''Go Girls'' and as Ty Johnson on the television series, ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He is also recognised on New Zealand TV scree ...

(season 1) and Glen Levy (season 2) as Slanter, the Gnome resistance leader who murdered Amberle's father 10 years previously. He reluctantly agrees to help Ander and Tilton find the source of the demons in exchange for his release from prison. Slanter shares his name with a character from ''

The Wishsong of Shannara ''The Wishsong of Shannara'' is an epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the final novel in the Original Shannara Trilogy, with the other two being '' The Sword of Shannara'' and '' The Elfstones of Shannara''. The story revo ...

''. * James Trevena-Brown as Captain Crispin Edensong (season 1), captain of the Home Guard, the personal corps of Elven Hunters beholden to the king or queen of the elves. Charged with protecting Amberle. Captain of the Elven Army. *

Andrew Grainger Andrew Grainger (born 1965) is an English theatre and film actor. A native of the United Kingdom, Grainger moved to Castor Bay, Auckland, New Zealand in 2007, where he is active in both theatre and television productions, but continues to appea ...

as Cogline (season 2), a former druid whose mission is to protect Eretria from any threat; he trains her to defend herself against evil forces. *

Desmond Chiam Desmond Chiam is an Australian actor best known for his role as Wyatt Cole on '' Reef Break,'' General Riga on '' The Shannara Chronicles'' and Dovich on ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.'' Early life and education Chiam was born to parents ...

as General Riga (season 2), the leader of the Crimson, who is dedicated to eradicating the use of magic across the Four Lands. * Erroll Shand as Valcaa (season 2), Riga's right-hand man. *

Kelvin Taylor Kelvin Taylor (born September 28, 1993) is an American football running back for the Massachusetts Pirates of the IFL. He played college football at Florida. Early years Taylor attended Glades Day School in Belle Glade, Florida. As a juni ...

as Crimson 3, General Riga's third in command. *

Caroline Chikezie Caroline Chikezie (born 19 February 1974) is a British Nigerian actress, best known for playing Sasha Williams in '' As If'', and Elaine Hardy in ''Footballers' Wives''. In recent years she has gained popularity as Angela Ochello in the Niger ...

as Queen Tamlin (season 2), the formidable leader of the human Kingdom of Leah, and Lyria's estranged mother.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Production

Conception and development

Sonar Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

and Farah Films acquired the TV rights to the Shannara universe in 2012. In December 2013, it was announced that a series based on the books was being produced for

and had been given a straight-to-series, 10-episode order. On April 20, 2016, MTV greenlit a second season of ''The Shannara Chronicles''. The series is produced by Dan Farah,

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), ''Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998) ...

, Al Gough,

Jonathan Liebesman Jonathan Liebesman (born 15 September 1976) is a South African film director and writer. Personal life Liebesman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He studied filmmaking at the AFDA, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium an ...

, and author

. Brooks has stated in an interview that he is happy with the way his story has been adapted. Much like the

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

of ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, '' A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who i ...

'', the series will not be a direct adaptation following the narrative order of the

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...

, but will feature a mix of the books' stories. The first book of the series to be adapted is ''

The Elfstones of Shannara ''The Elfstones of Shannara'' is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to ''The Sword of Shannara'' and the second book in '' The Original Shannara Trilogy''. It expands upon the history of the Elves, w ...

'', the second book in the trilogy, with some elements of the other

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

being gradually adapted to the show.

Casting

In December 2014, it was announced that

would star as Allanon and in January 2015

, Poppy Drayton,

and

joined the show. Malese Jow,

, Gentry White, Desmond Chiam and

joined the cast as series regulars in season two.

Filming

Filming for the 10-episode first season wrapped in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

at Auckland Film Studios in June 2015, and the first trailer debuted on July 10, 2015. Filming for the second season, which also consists of 10 episodes, began January 31, 2017, in New Zealand.

Music

The opening theme song, "Until We Go Down", from the EP "Up in Flames", is performed by Ruelle. Other songs featured in the show's first season include "

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

" by

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

, "You Are a Memory" by Message to Bears, "

Wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...

" by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

and "Run Boy Run" by Woodkid.

Release

During ''The Shannara Chronicles'' panel at

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

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 Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, follo ...

Broadcast

''The Shannara Chronicles'' premiered on

in the United States on January 5, 2016, with a two-hour series premiere. New episodes were broadcast every Tuesday at 10 pm ET. The third and fourth episodes were released online after the first two episodes aired on January 5, 2016, prior to their original broadcast schedule. The series was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...

in Canada. The two-hour pilot also aired on

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

sister network

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. The series has also been licensed to a number of different countries, including the United Kingdom (airing on

5STAR 5Star (stylized as 5STAR) is a British free-to-air television channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia and a sister channel of Channel 5. It originally launched as the female-orientated Five Life on 15 October 2006, and was relaunch ...

), Australia (

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

) and New Zealand ( Sky TV).

Cancellation

On January 16, 2018, it was announced that the series had been cancelled after two seasons. Producers later announced that the series is being shopped to other networks. The series was later considered officially concluded.

Reception

Critical response

''The Shannara Chronicles'' has received mixed reviews, receiving a 52/100 score on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on 15 reviews and a 54% for season 1 on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''The Shannara Chronicles'' wears its influences heavily on its sleeve and needs to find surer footing before it can tap its true potential, but it still might suffice for viewers in search of a teen-friendly ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

''." The second season received a 100% approval rating based on five reviews. Neil Genzlinger of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "So give this reasonably absorbing series a little credit, even though it often seems to be merely reworking various fantasy formulas. It moves quickly and does a nice job of weaving together two story lines involving an elfin world that is threatened when a giant tree, known as the Ellcrys, begins to die." Maureen Ryan of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Sure, ''Shannara'', which harks back to the golden age of syndicated genre fare, is a standard quest journey in which there are trolls, gnomes, living trees and magic books, and characters say things like, 'If Allanon is here, there are dark days ahead.' But there's conviction in the show's execution."

Ratings

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Accolades

The series was nominated for a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for "Best Fantasy TV Series" for the 2015–2016 season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shannara Chronicles, The 2010s American teen drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2016 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings American fantasy television series Bisexuality-related television series English-language television shows Fiction about interracial romance High fantasy television series Lesbian-related television shows MTV original programming Post-apocalyptic television series Shannara Spike (TV network) original programming Television shows based on American novels Television series set in the 6th millennium Television shows set in San Francisco Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television series created by Alfred Gough Television series created by Miles Millar