I still have to see the last 3 episodes of season 1. It's not the same as the books, but still awesome to watch and I like the actors.

I'm glad I stopped by this board. I assumed it was cancelled after 1 season, but I didn't know that Spike picked it up for season 2. I was interested, but I tend to avoid series that only have one season. I'll give it a watch.

They finished filming season 2. Expected air date is in October, 2017.

The first season was based on the 2nd book of the "The Sword of Shannara Trilogy": "The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)".

The second season will be loosely (?) based on the 3rd book: "The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)".

Most of the actors are returning. It will be interesting to see if it will be as good or better than the first season.

Why did they skip the first book?

it was pushed back so much, I thought it wouls be january but not, then I heard about march ... not, then I hear of the summer ... not ... now october?

@MirrorMask said:

Why did they skip the first book?

"The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)" is considered by many the best of the three books and contained all the right elements (e.g. story, scenery, characters, action) for a good and easy film adaptation, attractive for the (MTV and CW) viewers (demographics). It has romance (love triangle), strong attractive female characters and there is an emphasis on the individuals and their relationships.

"The Swords of Shannara (1977)" is an adventure story with men fighting, but no females of significance and even less talk about love. Not a winner with the intended audience.

Here is an article (March 19, 2015) about that: Terry Brooks on Why The Shannara Chronicles Will Start With Elfstones

@wonder2wonder said:

@MirrorMask said:

Why did they skip the first book?

"The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)" is considered by many the best of the three books and contained all the right elements (e.g. story, scenery, characters, action) for a good and easy film adaptation, attractive for the (MTV and CW) viewers (demographics). It has romance (love triangle), strong attractive female characters and there is an emphasis on the individuals and their relationships.

"The Swords of Shannara (1977)" is an adventure story with men fighting, but no females of significance and even less talk about love. Not a winner with the intended audience.

Here is an article (March 19, 2015) about that: Terry Brooks on Why The Shannara Chronicles Will Start With Elfstones

Thanks!

@wonder2wonder said:

@MirrorMask said:

Why did they skip the first book?

"The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)" is considered by many the best of the three books and contained all the right elements (e.g. story, scenery, characters, action) for a good and easy film adaptation, attractive for the (MTV and CW) viewers (demographics). It has romance (love triangle), strong attractive female characters and there is an emphasis on the individuals and their relationships.

"The Swords of Shannara (1977)" is an adventure story with men fighting, but no females of significance and even less talk about love. Not a winner with the intended audience.

Here is an article (March 19, 2015) about that: Terry Brooks on Why The Shannara Chronicles Will Start With Elfstones

So since they skipped the first book and created one season each for the second and third books, I am guessing maybe we won't get a third season? But maybe we will. There are lots of shows which begin by following the books which inspired them but later spin off into novel directions. If the show got a big enough following I imagine we could see more. The second season ended in a way that would make it easy to continue the story, or it seemed that way to me.

Anyway, I hope the show continues for at least a couple more seasons. I wasn't sure I would like the show but it surprised me.