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The Wheel of Time — news, coverage & facts — IJR

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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.

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.

Casting

Rosamund Pike was cast as the lead Moiraine in June 2019. Further main cast members were announced in August 2019: Daniel Henney as Lan Mandragoran, Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor, Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al'Meara, Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon, and Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere. Michael McElhatton was announced to be playing Tam al'Thor in early November 2019. Irish actor Daryl McCormack was said to have been cast in an undisclosed role in mid-November 2019, later revealed to be the role of Aram. Several more main cast members were announced in December 2019: Alexandre Willaume as Thom Merrilin, Johann Myers as Padan Fain, Hammed Animashaun as Loial, Alvaro Morte as Logain Ablar, Priyanka Bose as Alanna Mosvani, Taylor Napier as Maksim, and Emmanuel Imani as Ivhon.

In January 2020, Kate Fleetwood posted on her Instagram page that she had been cast to play the role of Liandrin Guirale. In March 2020, Jen Cheon Garcia announced that she had been cast as Leane Sharif. In June 2020, eight additional roles were announced: Lolita Chakrabarti as Marin Al'Vere, Michael Tuahine as Bran Al'Vere, David Sterne as Cenn Buie, Christopher Sciueref as Abell Cauthon, Juliet Howland as Natti Cauthon, Mandi Symonds as Daise Conger, Abdul Salis as Eamon Valda, and Stuart Graham as Geofram Bornhald. In July 2020, Darren Clarke was revealed to be playing the role of Basel Gill. That same month, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Narinder Samra were cast as Illa and Raen, respectively. Sophie Okonedo as Siuan Sanche, Kae Alexander as Min Farshaw, Peter Franzen as Stepin, and Clare Perkins as Kerene Nagashi were all announced in August 2020.

In September 2021, it was announced that Barney Harris would not be returning for the second season and that Dónal Finn would be playing the role of Mat going forward. In October 2021, Ceara Coveney, Natasha O'Keeffe and Meera Syal joined the cast as series regulars for the second season, with Coveney confirmed to be playing the role of Elayne Trakand. In December 2021, three recurring cast members were announced: Guys Roberts as Uno Nomesta, Arnas Fedaravicius as Masema Dagar, and Gregg Chillingirian as Ingtar Shinowa. The role of Ingtar was originally to be played by Amar Chadha-Patel, but due to scheduling conflicts his role was changed to "Lord Yakota". Thomas Chaanhing was confirmed for the role of Lord Agelmar and Sanra Yi Sencindiver was confirmed for the role of Lady Amalisa. In April 2022, it was announced that Ayoola Smart would play the role of Aviendha.

In December 2024, it was reported that Shohreh Aghdashloo would be portraying Elaida a'Roihan in season three. The casting of Olivia Williams as Morgase Trakand, Luke Fetherston as Gawyn Trakand, Callum Kerr as Galad Trakand, and Nuno Lopes as Lord Gaebril was announced later that month.

Filming

Table reads with the cast had begun by early October 2019. Principal photography for the first season started on September 16, 2019. Filming in Prague was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but had resumed by April 2021 and concluded in May 2021. Jordan Studios in Prague, constructed for the production, served as the primary production base. Other filming locations included parts of the Czech Republic; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Segovia, Spain; Slovenia; and the Canary Islands. Judkins has said that shooting in the Canary Islands was intended to be more extensive, but "because of COVID-19 we were not able to do that. It had been scouted, so we sent our drone and visual effects teams to build where we were going to go into a 3D digital world that we could then put our actors into." In a behind-the-scenes video, Ciaran Donnelly, who directed the first-season finale, said that scenes taking place in the Blight were supposed to be shot on Gomera, but COVID restrictions prevented traveling there. He credited production designer Ondrej Nekvasil with designing an artificial forest that could be built in Jordan Studios as a replacement.

Filming in the Czech Republic qualified the production for the Czech Film Fund's incentive program, making available CZK 352 million (US $16.3 million) in incentives. Executive producer Marigo Kehoe said that "For us shooting here in the Czech Republic was the only choice". Filming in Slovenia similarly qualified the production for tax incentives of $314 thousand. Prague's Z Molu Es Kennel provided wolfdogs for the production between October 2019 and February 2020.

Filming for the second season began on July 19, 2021, and filming in Prague was scheduled to conclude by February 2022. Jindřichův Hradec, Calanchi Di Aliano, Ginosa, Letohrádek Hvězda, Barrandov Studios, CLA Studios in Ouarzazate, Morocco, Masseria Lo Spagnulo, Masseria Borzone, and Chateau Karlova Koruna were reported as filming locations, along with Jordan Studios in Prague. More than 500 of the production crew's 600 members are reported to be residents of the Czech Republic.

Filming for the third season began on April 17, 2023, in Czechia and South Africa. Filming concluded on March 22, 2024.

Critical reception

For the first season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% approval rating and an average rating of 7.0/10, based on 94 reviews. The critics' consensus reads, "The Wheel of Time's revolutions can be a bit creaky as it tries to stand out from other fantasy series, but it succeeds admirably in making Robert Jordan's epic approachable for the uninitiated." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 86% and an average rating of 7.45/10, based on 48 reviews. The consensus reads, "The Wheel of Time keeps spinning on a steady track in a rousing second season that deepens its characters." On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 67 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 97% and an average rating of 7.85/10, based on 65 reviews. The consensus reads, "Growing more confident in its execution while putting its best elements front and center, The Wheel of Time's third season is its best yet." On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 77 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph gave the series 4 out of 5, writing: "In its early episodes this big Wheel has enough sweep, mystique and momentum to suggest that it can keep on turning and give Amazon the global hit it dearly craves." Keith Phipps of TV Guide gave the series 4 out of 5, writing: "Most importantly, it works as a piece of storytelling, creating an elaborate fictional universe but also reasons for viewers to care about that universe's fate and intrigue about what happens next." Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave the series 3 out of 5, writing: "It's absolutely fine. It's got brio, it's got style and it's got enough portentous voiceover book-ending events to make everything feel high stakes." John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote that the series had "a certain charm in its depiction of ordinary people living in this beautiful but fraught place", but criticized it for what he described as "an overreliance on special effects and spectacle, to the point where you'd rather get back to the people involved". Preeti Chhibber of Polygon stated, "The Wheel of Time is a very strong start to a much-awaited series and created by someone who has a clear understanding of how adaptations can soar when complementing their source material rather than just copying it." Mini Anthikad Chhibber of The Hindu described watching the first two episodes of the series as "a fun experience", and praised the visuals and action.

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone gave the series 2 out of 5, praising the show's visuals and writing that it "may bring in some fantasy fans starved for any morsel of magic and wonder", but added: "the whole thing is empty, if expensive, calories". Fiona Sturges of the Financial Times gave the series 2 out of 5, writing: "While there is enough violence and faux-mysticism to keep genre fans happy, convincing human interactions are harder to find." Chancellor Agard, writing for Entertainment Weekly, noted a lack of character development despite the series' overall watchability. Variety criticized the series for speeding through too much story. Brian Lowry of CNN described the series as "Amazon's poor-man's version of The Lord of the Rings", and wrote: "the characters simply don't possess enough pop to draw in those who don't come immersed in the mythology, and the special effects are uneven."

Writing about the second season, Helen O'Hara of Empire gave the season 4 out of 5, remarking that "the cast seem more comfortable now and the stakes ever higher in a smart, complicated adaptation that is taking worthwhile risks, while still holding on to what fans love about the books." Carly Lane, writing for Collider, gave the season 4 out of 5 and stated that "The Wheel of Time Season 2 continues to embrace the riches of its source material's lore and worldbuilding, diverting from the books when it makes the most sense to but never sacrificing depth of character and overarching plot." Following the season finale, Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture wrote that "In its second season, the Amazon fantasy series Wheel of Time, based on the unending Robert Jordan novels that start out like a Lord of the Rings rip-off, is a TV series that has figured itself out."

As of July 2025, The Wheel of Time maintained strong audience engagement, with demand measured at approximately 27.8 times that of the average U.S. television series, according to Parrot Analytics.

Cancellation

The Wheel of Time was canceled in May 2025, after three seasons, with Amazon citing high production costs and viewership trends as contributing factors.

A global fan campaign titled #SaveWoT was subsequently launched to advocate for the continuation of the series. The movement included an online petition that garnered over 200,000 signatures, as well as crowdfunding efforts that funded digital billboards in cities including New York, London, and São Paulo. In June 2025, fans also flew an airplane banner over Amazon Studios' headquarters in Culver City. A fan-organized choir performance advocating for the show's renewal also took place outside Culver City Studios and was featured on the front page of the Culver City News.

The campaign received coverage from several media outlets, and some cast members, including Pike, expressed public support for continuing the series. Outlets such as The Express Tribune reported that viewers expressed their disappointment across social media platforms, with some users threatening to cancel their Prime Video subscriptions in protest.

A number of media outlets and fans expressed concern over the timing and handling of the cancellation decision. According to The Verge, the third season of The Wheel of Time received some of the strongest critical reception of the series, yet was not renewed. Screen Rant reported that the cancellation also halted development of a potential prequel film trilogy based on the Age of Legends period, which had previously been discussed by showrunner Judkins.

Judkins stated he had not received a clear explanation for the cancellation and indicated the production team was "sad and uncertain" but hopeful the series "might find another home". Author Brandon Sanderson, who completed the original novels after Robert Jordan's death and served as a consulting producer on the series, said he "heard nothing for two months" prior to learning of the cancellation alongside the public. He described it as "a shame", stating that although he "had [his] problems with the show, it had a fanbase who deserved better than a cancellation after the best season". Sanderson also noted that his involvement was nominal, adding that he "won't miss being largely ignored" by the production team.