| The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | |
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| Genre | |
| Based on | The Lord of the Rings and appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Developed by | J. D. Payne Patrick McKay |
| Showrunners |
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| Theme music composer | Howard Shore |
| Composer | Bear McCreary |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 65–72 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | September 1, 2022 – present |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American fantasy television series developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, the series is set thousands of years before the novel and depicts the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age. It is produced by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema.
Amazon acquired the television rights for The Lord of the Rings from the Tolkien Estate in November 2017, making a five-season production commitment worth at least US$1 billion. This would make it the most expensive television series ever made. Payne and McKay were hired in July 2018 for their first credited roles. They developed the story by bridging Second Age references in the appendices with original material, in consultation with the estate and Tolkien lore experts. Per the requirements of Amazon's deal with the estate, the series is not a continuation of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. Despite this, the producers intended to evoke the films using similar production design, younger versions of film characters, and a main theme by Howard Shore who composed the music for both film trilogies. Bear McCreary composed the series' original score.
A large international cast was hired and filming for the eight-episode first season took place in New Zealand, where the films were produced, from February 2020 to August 2021 (including a production break of several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Amazon moved production for future seasons to the United Kingdom. Filming for the second season took place there from October 2022 to June 2023, finishing amid the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Work on a potential third season has begun.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered on September 1, 2022, with its first two episodes. The rest of the eight-episode first season was released through October. Amazon said the season was the most-watched of any Prime Video original series, and it received generally positive reviews from critics. The second season is scheduled to be released from August to October 2024.