As if it weren’t already enough to spend hundreds of millions on a Lord of the Rings series, Amazon has also decided to green-light a show based on the Wheel of Time books and strike up a big deal with Neil Gaiman. Essentially, they really want the nerds to watch their damn shows, and are following Jeff Bezos’s instructions to find their own Game of Thrones to a T. The Wheel of Time series, based on Robert Jordan’s series of fantasy novels, will be adapted for TV by Rafe Judkins (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Chuck) and will be an hour-long drama. The series is set in a universe where only women can use magic and centers on Moiraine, a member of a shadowy organization with five young men and women, one of whom she believes might be a key part of a dangerous prophecy.
Neil Gaiman’s overall deal with Amazon means that the Sandman and American Gods author will exclusively work on creative TV for the studio. Amazon has already started shooting an adaptation of his and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, with a cast that includes David Tennant, Jon Hamm, Michael Sheen, and Frances McDormand as God. Given Amazon’s interest in continuing to work with Gaiman, that show must be shaping up pretty well, or at least better than whatever’s happening over at Starz with American Gods season two.
