Some shows are lucky to score a flashing greenlight for a second series after the first proves itself in the harsh crucible of public opinion and ratings scrutiny. But with a scale as big and weighty as Amazon's planned Lord Of The Rings adaptation, such things apparently aren't a consideration. The show has been renewed for season 2 before the initial episodes have even been shot.
When the company agreed a massive deal to tell stories set in the Second Age JRR Tolkien's world, long before the time of Peter Jackson's movies, part of that arrangement was a multi-season order, but Amazon still needed to greenlight Season 2, which it just did. JD Payne and Patrick McKay are running the show and mapping out the initial season with their writing team, while Juan Antonio Bayona is directing the first two episodes of season 1 to set the tone of the series. After those episodes are shot, everyone will go on hiatus for around four months so the writers can focus on figuring out the second run, which in a roundabout way should mean a shorter gap between seasons when the show is actually on Amazon's servers. It also gives the creative team the chance to potentially film some of season 2 while the first is in production or even go the back-to-back approach.
Will Poulter, Markella Kavenagh and Joseph Mawle are amongst the cast that has been reported but not yet confirmed by Amazon. We also don't yet know when the show will actually arrive.