Two years ago, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners made a bold claim.
Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne were speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on the set of season 2 and responding to some of the criticisms fans had about their Prime Video show’s debut season. McKay pledged that their second round tackling J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy world would be “bigger and better” on “every level … by an order of magnitude.”
On Thursday, fans will begin to find out if they pulled this off, when Prime Video unveils the first three episodes of the show’s eight-episode new season, which follows the dark lord Sauron (Charlie Vickers) as he schemes to consolidate his power against Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and other leaders in Middle Earth. In advance of the premiere, I spoke to McKay and Payne about how they went about elevating season 2 (based on the episodes I’ve seen, the duo have, most assuredly, leveled up the show).
“Anytime you’re going to be doing something the second time, you have all the benefit of everything that you learned,” Payne said. “Having done it the first time, frankly, is a huge help. The second season, we know our actors a lot better. We know their voices. We know how they live in these characters. So I think we knew where the bullseye was in terms of how to write to each of their strengths. Another part is you had to set up an entire world in season 1. You have to introduce audiences to the Second Age. You have to meet all these different characters in a half dozen worlds. It’s a lot to onboard. Now we’re really able to just hit the ground running by virtue of the fact that this is the next chapter, the board is set, and the pieces are in motion. We can start with a bang. Sauron is making moves and he never slows down — neither does the show.”
Which isn’t to say there are not any quiet moments in the second season. The showrunners point out that they’ve just been able to infuse the new episodes with an increased sense of momentum.
Added McKay: “Just as a viewer, there are many shows I love that in their first season that were still honing the tone and rhythm and the characters and their voices — even on The Sopranos, which is probably the best television drama of the last 25 years. That’s part of starting off a big ambitious show. Part of the first season is trying to find your lane. And I think season 2, as J.D. said, we really know where this show wants to live. And I think us making that claim to you [two years ago] was not to be boastful, but to say, ‘That’s the bar.’ That’s where it needs to be. We’re enormously proud of season 1 and success and the huge audience and all those things, but if we’re not leveling up every time, we’re not clearing our own bar.”
The showrunners also noted that the show benefited from elevating Charlotte Brändström to a producing director for the new season. The Swedish-French director helmed two episodes during the show’s first season, including episode 6, which many considered the debut season’s best hour. This time, Brändström directed half the season, including the premiere and finale, and helped influence the remaining episodes as well.
“We previously worked with Charlotte Brändström and her director of photography, Alex Disenhof on episodes 6 and 7 — which are our favorite episodes from season 1,” McKay said. “We really found the tone of the show in those episodes — they’re more grounded, they’re grittier, they’re more dramatic, they’re very emotional. I think they helped us cinematically, but also in terms of performance and tone. I think some of the lift that we believe the show has achieved is in great part due to their influence. They are some of our closest collaborators, and I really felt a feel that they helped us up our game and I wanted to make sure we threw credit their way.”
The Rings of Power returns on Amazon’s Prime Video on Aug. 29.
