SALT LAKE CITY — Prepare to spin “The Wheel of Time.”
What happened: Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television ordered Robert Jordan’s best-selling fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” to be made into a television show for Amazon Prime, according to Variety.
- Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, announced the decision on Tuesday.
- “‘The Wheel of Time’ is endlessly fascinating and resonates hugely with fans as one of the best-selling global book franchises, and we were drawn to its timely narrative featuring powerful women at the core,” Salke said. “We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with devotees who’ve found the book series transformative and welcome new ones by bringing it to life on Prime Video for viewers worldwide.”
- Salke first hinted at the series back in June, when she told Deadline that she was reading scripts for the show.
- The show will be an hourlong drama.
What the show is about: “The Wheel of Time” series will follow the character Moiraine, who works for an all-women organization called “Aes Sedai,” as she searches for five young men and women across a world in which only women can use magic.
- Moiraine focuses on those five people “because she believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, who prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it,” Amazon said in a statement.
- The series will use European and Asian culture influences, including Buddhism and Hinduism.
Amazon understands adapting the 14-book epic might be a troubling task.
- “Developing and producing Robert Jordan’s beloved 14-books series for TV is a big undertaking, and we don’t take it lightly,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, head of event series for Amazon Originals. “We believe that Rafe’s personal connection to the material and soulful writing will resonate with the book’s passionate fans.”
“Chuck” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” writer Rafe Judkins will serve as the showrunner. Robert Jordan’s widow, Harriet McDougal, will be a consulting producer.
- “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to produce 'The Wheel of Time' with our friends at Amazon,” said Sony Pictures Television Co-President Chris Parnell. “In Rafe Judkins, we’ve found a brilliant visionary that is a true fan of the books and ready to bring Robert Jordan’s world to life.”
There’s a Utah connection: Though Jordan died before completing the series, Utah author Brandon Sanderson took on the project and completed it. He talked about the series in an interview with the Deseret News last year.