The LORD OF THE RINGS: The RINGS of POWER (Episodes 1 & 2) The POPCORN JUNKIES REVIEW *** SPOILERS

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American fantasy television series based on the novel The Lord of the Rings and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien. Developed by showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Prime Video, the series is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, and in consultation with the Tolkien Estate. Amazon bought the television rights for The Lord of the Rings for US$250 million 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. The series is primarily based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, which include discussion of the Second Age, and Tolkien's grandson Simon Tolkien consulted on the development of the series. Per the requirements of Amazon's deal with the Tolkien Estate, it is not a continuation of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies. Despite this, the production intended to evoke the films using similar production design, younger versions of characters from the films, and a main theme by Howard Shore who composed the music for both trilogies. Bear McCreary composed the series' 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. There was a production break of several months during that time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon moved production for future seasons to the United Kingdom, where filming for the second season is expected to begin in October 2022.   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 is running until October 14. It has received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for its plot, cinematography, visuals and musical score, but some criticism for its pacing.