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Amazon’s massively expensive fantasy streaming series, “The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power” has wrapped up its first season, headed by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

EXCLUSIVE: J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producers and showrunners of Amazon Studios/Prime Video’s The Lord Of the Rings: The Rings Of Power, have signed with CAA for representation.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power season two will finish filming amid the ongoing writers’ strike, despite executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay not being present on set.READ MORE: ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ review: epic fantasy franchise returns to rule them allThe Amazon Prime Video series reportedly has 19 days of filming remaining, but as per the rules laid out by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Payne, McKay and other writer-producers are prohibited from taking part in any writing-based activities during the strike. This includes making decisions on set.In their place, non-writing producers, such as Lindsey Weber, directors Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper, and crew members will be overseeing the production for the UK-based shoot.As reported by Variety, a source close to the production has claimed that there have been multiple units filming on Rings Of Power during the strike, including night shoots.Payne and McKay also planned for the strike in advance with fellow producers, directors and crew members, so that their absence would not impact production.Last month, it was reported that a fire broke out on the set of the show.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer When A.C. Bradley was hired to write on the 2022 Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel,” part of her job entailed going to set every day to help with re-writing scenes on the fly while the show was being filmed. “It was a mixture of everything from wanting to add new characters into the show to needing to change things because of location,” Bradley tells Variety. Just one example: The day the production was set to shoot a chase sequence at Marriott hotel, she helped to add a beat where the chase entered the kitchen because it was nearby. “Why not use what you have?” This kind of scenario is, of course, no longer possible during the ongoing writers strike. “Pens down” means no WGA member can write or change scripts whatsoever, before, during or after production. In many cases, that has meant that showrunners have left their shows entirely, like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay or “Cobra Kai” executive producer Jon Hurwitz. Other writers rooms have shut down in advance of production on their next seasons, like “Abbott Elementary” and “Yellowjackets.”

An array of shows have had to come to a standstill amid the Hollywood writers’ strike, but not “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is the latest marquee TV series to move forward with production amid the ongoing WGA strike, but the Amazon Prime Video show will be doing so without the services of executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. The sweeping fantasy series has 19 days of filming remaining, sources confirm to Variety, but per WGA strike rules, Payne, McKay and any other writer-producers are barred from participating in any writing-based duties during production while the strike continues — including making creative decisions on set. Instead, the show’s non-writing executive producers (like Lindsey Weber), directors (Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper) and crew are overseeing production on the U.K.-based shoot.

The writers strike, so far, has not affected production on Amazon series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and HBO’s House of the Dragon, both of which are currently shooting in the UK.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power have revealed that less than half of the show’s audience watched the series to completion.According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, only 37 per cent of US viewers who started the show went on to watch all eight episodes.The show performed slightly better outside of the US, with 45 per cent of viewers watching the Amazon Prime Video series in its entirety.Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material and developed for TV by J.D.

An electrical fire broke out Monday morning at Bray Studios where Amazon Studios’ The Lord Of the Rings: The Rings of Power is filming its second season. The fire reportedly started in a warehouse on the perimeter of the back lot.

Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, and Tanya Moodie have joined the Season 2 cast of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in recurring roles.

J. Kim Murphy Middle-earth has a few new residents. Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie have joined the cast of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” ahead of the series’ second season, Prime Video announced Monday morning. Hinds, Kinnear and Moodie will feature in recurring roles through the upcoming season, which is currently in production in the United Kingdom. Hinds is an Irish actor, while Kinnear and Moodie are both British. Details regarding their characters remain under wraps. Hinds, Kinnear and Moodie join an already expansive cast on the series, adapted from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. “The Rings of Power” featured 23 series regulars during its first season, playing elves, ents, dwarves, harfoots, orcs and humans.

James Corden has revealed that he auditioned to play hobbit Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings film series from director Peter Jackson.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power started setting records before a frame of it had been released when word came out of New Zealand last year that its eight-episode first season cost a record $465 million to produce (not factoring in tax rebates and start-up costs amortization.)

The upcoming second season of Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is currently in production in the UK, will be directed by Charlotte Brändström, who is coming back after helming two episodes in Season 1, as well as Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper who are new to the franchise. The announcement also indirectly confirmed that Season 2 will consist of the same number of episodes as Season 1, eight.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power has added eight additional recurring cast members for the upcoming second season of the Prime Video series. Oliver Alvin-Wilson (The Bay), Stuart Bowman (The Pact), Gavi Singh Chera (The Undeclared War), William Chubb (Vampire Academy), Kevin Eldon (Game of Thrones), Will Keen (Ridley Road), Selina Lo (Boss Level), and Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) join the series, which is currently in production on Season 2 in the UK.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is rounding out its Season 2 cast with seven actors added in recurring roles. Sam Hazeldine takes on the role of Orc leader Adar in a recasting in the Prime Video series. He replaces Joseph Mawle, who portrayed the character in Season 1. The recasting decision was made months ago, and Mawle did not participate in any of the worldwide promotional events for the series.

As we told you last week, former Warner Bros Global Marketing Chief Sue Kroll was bound to be named Amazon Studios’ new Head of Marketing. On Monday, the company confirmed the news.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 finale, which just dropped on Amazon Prime Video tonight. For even more on the LOTR season closer, check out Deadline’s Inside the Ring, the Rings of Power after show on October 15. Right now, watch past episodes here.

“Lord of the Rings” TV series, he was warned it would be long. And it was.

“The Rings of Power” is planning to close out season 1 of the “Lord of the Rings” prequel series in epic fashion. Ahead of next Friday’s conclusion, Prime Video debuted an epic trailer, promising that “all will be revealed” in the finale. Not only that, but the episode will also feature a new song by Fiona Apple.

is planning to close out season 1 of the prequel series in epic fashion. Ahead of next Friday’s conclusion, Prime Video debuted an epic trailer, promising that “all will be revealed” in the finale.

Since “The Rings of Power” debuted on Prime Video on Sept. 2, fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world have criticized some of the show’s modern adaptations to the Second Age-set universe.

Netflix and HBO reportedly pitched several ideas for Lord Of The Rings TV shows to the Tolkien estate, before Amazon landed the rights with The Rings Of Power.Details have emerged via The Hollywood Reporter, where it’s claimed HBO pitched “essentially remaking” Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The estate, however, was apparently not interested in retreading ground from Middle-Earth’s Third Age.According to the report, Netflix pitched several shows including a Gandalf series and an Aragorn drama.

Jennifer Salke entered the Second Age in London. The head of Amazon Studios spent the 72 hours leading up to the launch of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in a whirlwind, traveling from the series’ global premiere event in London’s Leicester Square to her Manhattan apartment to watch the early returns arrive via reports from Amazon’s formidable consumer research department. The “Rings” team was exhausted, having had no chance to recover from the grueling worldwide promotional campaign for the Amazon Prime Video series that is an enormous bet for the tech giant, being the most expensive television series ever produced. For most of launch day, Sept. 1, Salke and key members of her executive team, many members of the large ensemble cast and executive producers J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay and Lindsey Weber gathered together for hours in virtual “war rooms,” bone tired but energized, to wait for the world’s reaction.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The cast of the Amazon Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” released a pointed statement on Wednesday condemning “the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis.” The message comes after months of epithets and smears surrounding the decision by executive producers and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to populate J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth — including humans, elves, dwarfs and harfoots (e.g., earlier versions of hobbits) — with actors of color. “Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural,” reads the statement. “A world in which free peoples from, different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. ‘Rings of Power’ reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white.”

Elon Musk has heavily criticised Amazon‘s Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power following the release of its first two episodes.READ MORE: The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power review: epic fantasy franchise returns to rule them allThe Tesla CEO recently took to Twitter to deliver his damming verdict, writing: “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”In a follow-up tweet, he added: “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.”Set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, the J.D.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has become the biggest opening premiere in Amazon Prime Video’s history.Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday (September 2), Amazon shared that the show had earned 25million viewers in the first 24 hours after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide”.Speaking about the milestone, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has become Amazon Prime Video's most-watched premiere ever. The fantasy television series' debut drew a global audience of more than 25 million viewers, the largest in the streaming platform's 15-year history, according to a report by Deadline on Saturday. "Rings of Power", which is based on J.R.R.Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings" novels, premiered Thursday in 250 countries and territories.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the biggest thing Amazon Prime Video has ever done, and it looks like the TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has delivered big time.

SPOILER ALERT: This podcast contains details of the first two episodes of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuted Thursday night. For more on the epic series, watch Deadline’s Inside The Ring: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power after-show that launches Saturday. 

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here with your weekly runthrough of the biggest news as prequels launch and Venice gets underway. Do read on.

finally debuted on Prime Video with the first two episodes of season 1. The prequel series -- adapted from the many stories of J.R.R.

“The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.” Based on the appendices of the original trilogy, the series expands upon the original text to answer some of the crucial queries proposed by Tolkein. Questions like: what cost does war have on the young lives supplied to fight it? At what point is the individual greater than the community? How does one preserve their legacy? These eternal haunting questions search for answers amongst the resplendent beauty of New Zealand’s vast terrain, charming new characters and frightening paths to a country divided and at war. The series begins with a black screen and the words, “Nothing is evil in the beginning. And there was a time when the world was so young there had not yet been a sunrise.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power descended on London last night (August 30) for the new series’ red carpet world premiere.At London’s historic Leicester Square, nearly 2,000 people – comprising cast, crew, fans and more – attended the Odean Luxe and Cineworld. Among them were all 22 of the series’ cast regulars, including Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows), Ema Horvath (Eärien), Lloyd Owen (Elendil) and Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor).Also in attendance were showrunners J.D.

Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power global premiere last night, joking about his notes to showrunners and son’s “Don’t f*ck it up” advice as the battle of the tentpole prequels between Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s House of the Dragon hots up.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It’s almost time to travel back to Middle-Earth. Amazon Prime Video’s hotly anticipated new Lord of the Rings series, “The Rings of Power,” arrives on the streamer on Sept. 2. The fantasy series is one of Amazon Studios’ most ambitious projects to date, already breaking records ahead of its release. Not only is it reported to be the most expensive television series ever made (Amazon apparently shelled out close to $715 million for all eight episodes), but the show’s first trailer racked up an unmatched 257 million views when it first debuted at this year’s Super Bowl, more than any Super Bowl trailer in history. Considering the hype, millions can be expected to tune into the new Tolkein adaptation when it finally hits the streamer this week. The first two episodes of “Rings of Power” will arrive on Amazon Prime on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET and will continue to release on a weekly basis until its finale on Oct. 14. The show is available to stream exclusively on Prime Video, meaning you’ll have to sign up for an Amazon Prime account in order to access the episodes. While a subscription costs $14.99/month, you can also sign up for a 30-day free trial to watch the entire “Lord of the Rings” show for free.