The Wheel of Time (TV series)

The Wheel of Time is an American fantasy television series developed by Rafe Judkins for Amazon Prime Video. The series is based on the book series of the same name by Robert Jordan. It features an ensemble cast led by Rosamund Pike.

The eight-episode first season premiered on Prime Video in November 2021. In May 2021, before the first season premiered, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered in September 2023. The series was renewed for a third season in July 2022, over a year ahead of the debut of the second season. The third season premiered in March 2025. In May 2025, the series was canceled after three seasons.

The Wheel of Time received generally positive reviews from critics, and has been nominated for a Saturn Award.

Premise

Moiraine Damodred, a member of the Aes Sedai, a powerful organization of women who can channel the One Power, seeks a group of four young people from the secluded village of Emond's Field in the Two Rivers, believing one of them is the reincarnation of the Dragon, an extremely powerful channeller responsible for the Breaking of the World. The Dragon Reborn is prophesied to either save the world from a primordial evil known as the Dark One or break it once more.

Cast and characters

Main

• Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah who is searching for the Dragon Reborn
• Daniel Henney as al'Lan Mandragoran, Moiraine's Warder and companion
• Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al'Meara, the Wisdom, or healer, of Emond's Field
• Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere, the daughter of the mayor of Emond's Field
• Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor, a shepherd from Emond's Field who comes to learn he is the Dragon Reborn
• Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, a blacksmith from Emond's Field
• Barney Harris (season 1) and Dónal Finn (season 2–3) as Mat Cauthon, a gambler from Emond's Field
• Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin Guirale, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, later revealed to be Black Ajah
• Priyanka Bose as Alanna Mosvani, an Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah
• Hammed Animashaun as Loial, an Ogier who meets Rand in Tar Valon
• Sophie Okonedo as Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat, leader of the Aes Sedai
• Kae Alexander as Min Farshaw, a tavern keeper in Fal Dara who can see the Pattern
• Fares Fares as Ishamael (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), also known as Ba'alzamon, "the Betrayer of Hope" and "the Father of Lies", one of the Forsaken and the right hand of the Dark One
• Johann Myers as Padan Fain (season 2–3; recurring season 1), a traveling merchant and Darkfriend
• Álvaro Morte as Logain Ablar (season 2; recurring season 1), a male channeler claiming to be the Dragon Reborn
• Taylor Napier as Maksim (season 2–3; recurring season 1), one of Alanna's Warders
• Emmanuel Imani (season 2; recurring season 1) and Anthony Kaye (guest season 3) as Ihvon, one of Alanna's Warders
• Jennifer Cheon Garcia as Leane Sharif (season 2–3; guest season 1), an Aes Sedai and the Keeper of the Chronicles at the White Tower
• Meera Syal as Verin Mathwin (season 2–3), an Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah who lives away from the White Tower
• Ceara Coveney as Elayne Trakand (season 2–3), the Daughter-Heir of the nation of Andor
• Natasha O'Keeffe as Lanfear (season 2–3), known as "the Daughter of the Night", a Forsaken who adopts the identity of Selene, an innkeeper in Cairhien, and develops a relationship with Rand
• Lindsay Duncan as Anvaere Damodred (season 2), a noblewoman in Cairhien and Moiraine's sister
• Jay Duffy as Dain Bornhald (season 2–3), a Whitecloak captain
• Ayoola Smart as Aviendha (season 2–3), an Aiel Maiden of the Spear who has left the Aiel Waste to search for the Car'a'carn, or prophesied leader of all Aiel clans
• Laia Costa as Moghedien (season 2–3), one of the Forsaken, also known as "the Spider"
• Olivia Williams as Morgase Trakand (season 3), the Queen of Andor and Elayne's mother
• Shohreh Aghdashloo as Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan (season 3), an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah and chief advisor to Queen Morgase
• Isabella Bucceri as Faile Bashere (season 3), a Hunter of the Horn whom Perrin encounters in the Two Rivers.

Supporting

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

The first season is based on The Eye of the World (1990), with elements from The Great Hunt (1990) and The Dragon Reborn (1991).

Season 2 (2023)

The second season is based on elements from both The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn.

Season 3 (2025)

The third season covers events from the fourth and fifth books, The Shadow Rising (1992) and The Fires of Heaven (1993).

Production

Background

In 2000, NBC optioned the screen rights to Robert Jordan's fantasy novel series The Wheel of Time but did not ultimately proceed with the production. In 2004, Jordan sold the film, television, video game, and comic rights to the series to production company Red Eagle Entertainment. In 2015, Red Eagle Entertainment paid air time to cable network FXX to air Winter Dragon, a 22-minute pilot for a potential The Wheel of Time series starring Billy Zane and Max Ryan that allowed Red Eagle to hold on to the rights to the project. Subsequently, the company sued Jordan's widow, Harriet McDougal, for her comments about the pilot; the lawsuit was settled in 2016. In April 2016, McDougal announced that a major studio was undergoing contract negotiations for production on a TV series.

Development

A new adaptation of the series was announced on April 20, 2017, produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins was expected to serve as showrunner for the series and executive produce alongside Rick Selvage, Larry Mondragon, Ted Field, Mike Weber, Lauren Selig and Darren Lemke. McDougal was set to serve as a consulting producer. By October 2018, the series had been in development for a year, and Amazon Studios had agreed to produce it. In January 2019, Judkins announced that two additional writers, Michael and Paul Clarkson, had joined the production's writing team. By April 2019, Kelly Valentine Hendry had been attached as casting director.

In June 2019, it was announced that Rosamund Pike, who portrays Moiraine Damodred, would also serve as a producer. Brandon Sanderson, who had completed the book series following Robert Jordan's death, was also confirmed to be serving as consulting producer along with McDougal. On various occasions, Sanderson wrote about his contributions to the production, which he described as "reading the scripts and offering feedback directly to Rafe, the showrunner". Judkins has said that Maria Simons, a long-time editorial assistant to Robert Jordan and McDougal, also provides feedback on scripts. The lead characters from Emond's Field were written as older than their book counterparts. The production team thought that television shows with seventeen-year-old lead characters could feel like young adult fiction, which was not a genre they felt was suitable for the series.

Uta Briesewitz was confirmed as the director of the first two episodes in February 2019. Salli Richardon-Whitfield was confirmed to be directing episodes five and six in November 2019, and Wayne Yip was confirmed to be directing episodes three and four in December. The director of episodes seven and eight, Ciaran Donnelly, was revealed in February 2020.

On May 20, 2021, Amazon renewed the series for a second season ahead of the series premiere. The script for the second season's first episode was posted in May 2021, six months before the series' premiere. Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, and Sanaa Hamri have been reported to be directing episodes of the second season, with Hamri directing half of the season and serving as an executive producer. The second season combined elements from both The Great Hunt (1990) and The Dragon Reborn (1991), the second and third books in the series.

On July 21, 2022, ahead of the second-season premiere, Amazon renewed the series for a third season. The third season covers the fourth and fifth books, The Shadow Rising (1992) and The Fires of Heaven (1993). On May 23, 2025, Amazon Prime Video canceled the series after three seasons.