The Shannara Chronicles

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Season 1
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 319 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 195 out of 319
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 319
  3. Negative: 75 out of 319
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  1. AffableParadox
    Jan 14, 2016
    6
    Well, I suppose I probably had higher hopes than logic should have allowed. I mean, it is a show on MTV. Now, there is nothing wrong with MTV. One of my guilty pleasures is the Teen Wolf program...young, beautiful people saving the world...one supernatural catastrophe at a time. More fluff than real drama, the show belongs on MTV or the CW network. It is certainly not a show thatWell, I suppose I probably had higher hopes than logic should have allowed. I mean, it is a show on MTV. Now, there is nothing wrong with MTV. One of my guilty pleasures is the Teen Wolf program...young, beautiful people saving the world...one supernatural catastrophe at a time. More fluff than real drama, the show belongs on MTV or the CW network. It is certainly not a show that would be considered for A&E or the like. Shanarra is like that.

    Shannara takes a classic dystopian-future/fantasy novel and waters it down with rushed story-telling and actors and actresses that look like they stepped out of a Forever 21 ad. Every stereotype from modern teen dystopian fiction is present.

    That being said, the production value is amazing! The CG is top notch for television. The main actor (Austin Butler) is not horrible. The casting of Manu Bennett as Allanon is surprisingly good. The actresses are expectedly plucky and do well at fulfilling their roles as modern teen-woman tropes.

    It's like cotton candy...lots of fluff...not a lot of substance...somewhat fun while it lasts...but you might regret it if you consider it too much later.    … Expand
  2. cindyp1976
    Apr 3, 2016
    6
    I just love fantasy shows and this was pretty good for what it is you have magic & monsters what else do you need. I haven't read the books so some of the reviewers could be right about the show not being very good compared to the books. it was made for pre-teen or teen viewers so you really can't expect much
  3. ScienceAdvisor
    Feb 1, 2016
    4
    My Pretties: Pretty people, pretty pixels, pretty much nothing else
    Baddsies: Badly written, badly directed, badly acted

    Perhaps in an alternate universe, this would have been done with a proper budget and a showrunner that knew what they were doing. Then again, it could have been on NBC, so it can always be worse.
  4. ChrisRuch
    Feb 11, 2016
    4
    I have not read the books, but my wife has read the entire series at least twice. She's constantly frustrated by the numerous inconsistencies/changes in the show vs the books. The sexuality (and sexual tension) is forced, ham-fisted and often unnecessary - a cheap attempt at drawing/keeping an audience - and likely a juvenile "me too" attempt at mimicking HBO's Game of Thrones (but withI have not read the books, but my wife has read the entire series at least twice. She's constantly frustrated by the numerous inconsistencies/changes in the show vs the books. The sexuality (and sexual tension) is forced, ham-fisted and often unnecessary - a cheap attempt at drawing/keeping an audience - and likely a juvenile "me too" attempt at mimicking HBO's Game of Thrones (but with closer to a PG-13 rating). The writing/acting/action/sets/effects are decent considering the series likely has a fairly low budget. About 60% of the show is watchable (and sometimes enjoyable/interesting) and the remaining 40% is ridiculous, awkward, rushed, unnecessary, underdeveloped & overkill. Take lessons from Lost & Walking Dead for character development, pacing and even relational/sexual interactions - those shows are much more subtle/realistic and they cause you to care about what happens to the main characters (rather than be annoyed by them).… Expand
  5. jolsen26
    Jan 12, 2016
    4
    First, if you haven't read the books I would recommend them. Much better than the show.

    Pros: The scenery is actually really cool. They did a good job with the post-human world (I don't know how to explain this without spoilers. There are still humans, but the age of skyscrapers and technological wonders is a thing of the past). They also did a good job with the monsters and effects. I    First, if you haven't read the books I would recommend them. Much better than the show.

    Pros: The scenery is actually really cool. They did a good job with the post-human world (I don't know how to explain this without spoilers. There are still humans, but the age of skyscrapers and technological wonders is a thing of the past). They also did a good job with the monsters and effects. I also don't mind Allanon (played by Manu Bennett), he's pretty good and doesn't overplay his role.

    Cons: Well, the show is mostly brought down by the acting. Amberle (Poppy Drayton) is a complete disaster. In fact, if they had cast someone else (almost literally anyone else) I probably could have given the show a 6 or 7. Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler) is pretty bad too. The direction is so heavily tilted toward a YA type of show like Twilight or the Mortal Instruments. The clumsy and heavy handed attempts to insert sexual tension and love interests is just sad. Overall, the show does a good job with keeping to the story line, but some deviations like the moronic race at the beginning had no place in the show or books.

    What's said is that this could have been really great if it was done by Starz or Showtime with some decent actors as a way to compete with HBO's Game of Thrones. Unfortunately Brooks fans get this MTV teen drama.    … Expand
  6. BigDegs29
    Mar 5, 2016
    6
    Keep in mind I've only watched the first two episodes. Normally I wouldn't review something so soon, but in this case I feel like I have an accurate idea of how things are.

    I had low expectations for this show, simply because MTV was running things. In that regard, it quite surprised me that it actually has some good moments. But it has definitely been MTV-ified! Many of the    Keep in mind I've only watched the first two episodes. Normally I wouldn't review something so soon, but in this case I feel like I have an accurate idea of how things are.

    I had low expectations for this show, simply because MTV was running things. In that regard, it quite surprised me that it actually has some good moments. But it has definitely been MTV-ified! Many of the characters act like hopeless, love-struck teenagers with half a brain cell in their heads. The dialogue can go from serious conversation to idiotic teasing/flirting in jarring ways. And the number of teen pregnancy jokes just in the first episode had me cringing! So out of place. Hell, even Allanon the druid has a soppy love story! WTF?

    The degree of acting capability is all over the place. The choice of Manu Bennett for Allanon seems out of place at first, but I ended up liking it. He's a decent actor. Always good to see John Rhys-Davies too! However, many other casting choices seem based more on getting hot young bodies rather than skilled actors. Of the main trio, only Ivana Baquero (Eretria) seemingly has some decent acting capabilities. I found both Austin Butler and Poppy Drayton (Wil and Amberle) severely lacking in that they overact quite often and that breaks the realism (doubly important in a fantasy!).

    It's simply too much of a teen drama for my liking. If that's what they wanted, why buy-out a book license and butcher the source material? If it wasn't for that, I'd probably bump it up to a 7/10.

    There are good aspects to the show. I find a lot of the concepts interesting and the directing seems capable, if not great. The scenery is spectacular...I imagine they filmed in New Zealand. Special effects are surprisingly well done for a low budget tv adaptation.

    But god damn! The cheesy dialogue and abundant hormones in this series is going to kill it if it doesn't change! It feels kind of like Legend of the Seeker, which was also based off a book series by a Terry (Goodkind). That show was less of a teen drama, but became far too repetitive and wasn't up to modern tv standards. Shannara better improve in season 2 if it wants to stick around. There is interesting content there...they just need to make better use of it and treat the content more seriously and less as a backdrop for grabbing the attention of horny teenagers.    … Expand
  7. EludiumQ36
    Jan 6, 2016
    5
    Agree with "Doxide" in large part, but let me add that while the production values are sick the fact that almost everyone is a clean, fresh faced 25yo Disney-channel alum with 21st century coifs/makeup is what's depressing. This series could've been SOOOOO much better with actors that had real gravitas. Instead, at its start, this series only rises to guilty pleasure which means I'm on theAgree with "Doxide" in large part, but let me add that while the production values are sick the fact that almost everyone is a clean, fresh faced 25yo Disney-channel alum with 21st century coifs/makeup is what's depressing. This series could've been SOOOOO much better with actors that had real gravitas. Instead, at its start, this series only rises to guilty pleasure which means I'm on the FF button more than Play.… Expand
  8. luni
    Feb 21, 2016
    6
    In short, this show is missing serious budget and for a while I just couldn't get past that. In all honesty I was expecting just that when I heard one of my favorite books as a kid was being turned to a series. A regurgitated maze runners/ divergent/ hunger games feel but with a smaller budget. After all, 'cute' teenagers in the midst of dystopian worlds are ragging up the big bucksIn short, this show is missing serious budget and for a while I just couldn't get past that. In all honesty I was expecting just that when I heard one of my favorite books as a kid was being turned to a series. A regurgitated maze runners/ divergent/ hunger games feel but with a smaller budget. After all, 'cute' teenagers in the midst of dystopian worlds are ragging up the big bucks now-a-days. The only thing that could save this show from being a total disaster that wont survive more than a season is an end to this predictable 'chosen' course. A bigger battle, more build up, and more characters! Maybe more focus on the demons and the gnomes, letting the world itself come to life! For one the characters needed a lot more individual build before going on this journey! They are still in every way undeveloped! We need to see them mature into 3d personalities capable of very complex emotions and torn by possibilities. Wil needs to harvest his craft, also he needs a stronger reason to be in this fight! And the girls are too predictable! Also tip. triangles no longer work, they are in every way a death sentence!
    For now, I'll keep watching, hanging on and waiting as I do hope things turn around... And I say this because of my love for fantasy, no to mention my long lost desire of an epic series about the children of lluvatar!    … Expand
  9. kevwallace365
    Jan 17, 2016
    4
    While the CGI & cinematography are stunning this is turgid fare from Millar and Gough. While I must admit that I found Brook's books to be two dimensional at best, even they are done an injustice by MTV's adaptation of his work. The problem is not the story per se, neither is it the visuals the problem is the approach. The same breathless acting "style" and constantly over the top levelWhile the CGI & cinematography are stunning this is turgid fare from Millar and Gough. While I must admit that I found Brook's books to be two dimensional at best, even they are done an injustice by MTV's adaptation of his work. The problem is not the story per se, neither is it the visuals the problem is the approach. The same breathless acting "style" and constantly over the top level of dramatic conflict that dominates YA TV series like the OC, Gossip Girl & Pretty Little Liars overshadows everything in this series. This in all fairness should not be unexpected given that it is a MTV production and aimed at exactly the same market as the OC and 90210. In other words MTV want it this way!

    From the first scene the boxes get ticked one by one. Female heroine to rival Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (because that was a hit) - check. Over-protective boyfriend that she needs to dump to have her own life (a generic constant of teen drama ) - check. A gormless reluctant protagonist - because wanting to do good is always a bad sign - check. A spunky Tom Boy character to offset the Princess - check.

    The Shannara Chronicles is a very uneasy mix of the film & TV adaptations of The Hunger Game & Game of Thrones with Gossip Girl and the Star Wars Prequel trilogy. It lacks nuance, it lacks variation in tempo & it lacks actual suspense. What it has is stunning CGI, dialogue so turgid it could coagulate blood, & a melange of Brook's material that manages (however unbelievably) to make its characters even less three dimensional.

    The show has the same potential that Smallville had in its final 3 seasons to become something great, but given Gough & Millar's refusal of that potential with Smallville I have little hope The Shannara Chronicles will realize its own. Mediocrity abounds in this genre, especially on TV but since the high points of Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies and Game of Thrones on TV, the standards for Fantasy on screen have changed. The Shannara Chronicles is unfortunately a throw back to an era when the mere mention of elves or trolls was good enough, when acting could be as wooden as a 4x2 and narratives little more than a walk-through of a Dungeon's and Dragons game.    … Expand
  10. marshlung
    Mar 30, 2016
    5
    *** This review may contain spoilers ***

    Summary: This was a series that had lots of potential with a great world to work in, but devolved into a teen drama with bad writing and terrible pacing. I was really looking forward to this. Really. And to be fair, the series did have its moments. The basic story was there, although there was a fair bit of license taken. But that's TV and I    *** This review may contain spoilers ***

    Summary: This was a series that had lots of potential with a great world to work in, but devolved into a teen drama with bad writing and terrible pacing.

    I was really looking forward to this. Really. And to be fair, the series did have its moments. The basic story was there, although there was a fair bit of license taken. But that's TV and I can deal with that. I think the general premise of a earth that had been blasted and then reformed was done pretty well, with the ruins of civilization sprinkled around.

    But, the setting couldn't save this show from being a cliché ridden mess of bad dialogue, uneven pacing and ridiculous leaps. From the first episode, Allanon sounded like all his lines had been cribbed together from a cheat sheet of lines you have to say as the wizard in a fantasy series. The trio of main characters have no chemistry to speak of. Its like watching neighbors in Rivendell. Character deaths don't seem to have any lasting impact on any of their friends. The acting and dialogue that wasn't cliché lord of the rings, lurched all the way to the other side of the spectrum, bringing way too much twilight teen drama to a series that didn't need it.

    As for pacing, I know that in the books some of these locations are fairly close together, but people seem to cross there and back again in no time flat. And at some points we are in the middle of a super tense crisis, but we still have time for some more teen drama in the middle of it. For example: the world is about to end, we need to get to where we are going as quickly as possible. But first, time for a quick shag...? really?    … Expand
  11. vintagerose
    Jul 15, 2016
    6
    I LOVE the premise of the show, blending fantasy with the post-apocalyptic genre. Unfortunately, this creative premise which could provide a rich, interesting world, is wasted on generic, bland characters. You have your Elf princess, your tomboy rogue, your handsome reluctant hero, your wizened wizard, your dark evil overlord, and so on. Not a single one of these characters feels real orI LOVE the premise of the show, blending fantasy with the post-apocalyptic genre. Unfortunately, this creative premise which could provide a rich, interesting world, is wasted on generic, bland characters. You have your Elf princess, your tomboy rogue, your handsome reluctant hero, your wizened wizard, your dark evil overlord, and so on. Not a single one of these characters feels real or fresh. Every actor is so generically good-looking that I kept thinking I'd seen them somewhere else, looked them up on IMDB, and found I hadn't seen any of them (with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, who is frankly wasted on these terrible scripts). Manu Bennett also provides a standout performance, and is definitely the MVP of the series.
    They try to set up their two female leads as "strong, independent woman" characters, but fail pretty spectacularly, as they both immediately fall for the male lead and are rescued by him on a pretty consistent basis. They do OCCASIONALLY rescue him as well, but it's a paltry compensation for the forced love triangle. The romance is not organic. We are merely supposed to be engaged in it because they are attractive people. As for back story? Everyone's an orphan! Hooray!
    The supporting characters are also woefully underdeveloped. Princess Amberle has two uncles who love the same woman. This could be interesting, but the show doesn't get past basically just stating that they both love her. There is no tension between the brothers over this, no indication why she left the one to marry the other. Then there is the Elf King, played by Rhys-Davies. His sons feel like they can't measure up to his expectations, but this isn't shown very well, just explained with clunky dialogue. Their deceased older brother, Amberle's father, is supposed to be this larger-than-life perfect son whose death has cast a shadow on the entire family, but that's not done well, either. It's disappointing because there's a lot of potential with this family dynamic that is simply wasted.
    As for the aforementioned less-than-compelling romance... It really takes me out of the story when something urgent is supposedly happening and the characters stop to talk about their feelings and kiss (or have sex). Sorry, but when it's a matter of life and death only psychopaths would stop to have sex. It completely kills the urgency. The "romance" is rarely shown through looks or body language; the characters literally tell rather than show the romance. Even the love triangle fails to live up to its potential. Where's the conflict? The jealousy? The two women don't look jealous of each other. They don't look like seeing their love with someone else leaves them aching inside. They just... take turns, and it feels almost polite. That doesn't make any sense and it kills any potential conflict and drama that could have made the show more interesting.
    To sum up, the best words to describe this show are "disappointing waste of potential."    … Expand
  12. Rtheom
    Sep 25, 2016
    5
    If you're looking for some light, dopey, fantasy fun, you could do worse, but this show won't be remembered much past the year. Despite using the Shannara setting, it's pretty generic and you can tell that they pretty much ran out of time by the end of the season. The last few episodes feel like they should have been 2 or 3 times longer. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting much from thisIf you're looking for some light, dopey, fantasy fun, you could do worse, but this show won't be remembered much past the year. Despite using the Shannara setting, it's pretty generic and you can tell that they pretty much ran out of time by the end of the season. The last few episodes feel like they should have been 2 or 3 times longer. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting much from this one anyway, nor should you really, just by looking at the cover.… Expand
  13. Kilrymont
    Sep 4, 2016
    4
    Parallels with LOTR - it'd be stupid to avoid those, and there's plenty of them. The generality of this follows the pattern common in US TV shows where there's no more than an outline of story to get things kicked off, then after that it's see-how-it-goes with an eye on the ratings constantly driving the thing along.

    Which means it plays down to the lowest and easiest sort of appeal.    Parallels with LOTR - it'd be stupid to avoid those, and there's plenty of them. The generality of this follows the pattern common in US TV shows where there's no more than an outline of story to get things kicked off, then after that it's see-how-it-goes with an eye on the ratings constantly driving the thing along.

    Which means it plays down to the lowest and easiest sort of appeal. Get young good looking core character members, add some tolerable magic and monsters and you have a bigger-budget version of Buffy et al.

    Production standards - for a TV show - are surprisingly high, although not uniformly so. The actors do occasionally act rather than just recite their lines and switch between two or three standard facial expressions - but not by much. And as in so many other shows, the weakness is in the writing. Silly script, stupid non-scenes that don't add a single bit of value or progress to the plot, but have the purpose of dragging out the story line to fill the program time slot. This is so noticeable in American shows I don't know how come so few reviewers mention it - since it's staring them in the face time after time. The home market is deeply, deeply uncritical of quality-shortfalls as long as basic elelments are present - like girls in tight leggings and muscular torso'd young heroes who manage to get their shirts off now and again.

    And so it is with Chronicles O Shannara. A series of books I'm glad I avoided in earlier years now I've a wisp of a notion how they're set and paced. Or perhaps that latter point's unfair to the books since the TV people have paced this thiing's progress to suit their time frame and needs of their inevitalbe sponsors.

    The same hackneyed old plot stunts are hauled out, dusted down and replayed with such intellectual laziness that I wonder that Tolkein's estate doesn't sue this show's producers. The monster chasing them with fire & smoke issuing from its vitals is so obvious a pastiche of Tolkein's Balrog that it's utter impertinence to have tried to get away with it.

    Unwilling participants - another key point to LOTR and its character set, none of whom wanted to be there in any way - more or less like the three participants here. With a smear of lesbianism tossed in to keep the seekers after salaciousness content.

    I'd guess that the story line being dragged out interminably will be the death of C.ofShanarra, although it's possible they might actually take the chance to give it some brand-ID of its own rather than the deep levels of plagiarism I've seen in the episodes so far. And if they'd keep the 21st Century idioms out of the script it'd be so far the better. But I doubt the producers have the imagination to see that far beyond trying to appeal to the uneducated mass of mindless US youth which is no doubt their target audience. Since they're the ones with plenty of disposable income living as they do, largely wiht Ma and Pa.

    It's not that it has no merit. It's just that it's so blasted second-hand and absolutely unoriginal that it's an annoyance that can't be overlooked. Tidy up the script writing and show the leads how to act more convincingly, thiis could mature into something worth watching. But I doubt it.    … Expand
  14. BrooksFan
    Jul 17, 2016
    6
    As my screen name suggests, I was in my childhood an Avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, and read pretty much all of Terry Brooks work. There are spoilers in here so if you haven't watched them or read the books, you've been warned.
    I remember as an 11 year old boy, seeing the cover of "Elfstones of Shannara", the second book, in an mall bookstore, and being intrigued. After reading "Sword",    As my screen name suggests, I was in my childhood an Avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, and read pretty much all of Terry Brooks work. There are spoilers in here so if you haven't watched them or read the books, you've been warned.
    I remember as an 11 year old boy, seeing the cover of "Elfstones of Shannara", the second book, in an mall bookstore, and being intrigued. After reading "Sword", I read "Elfstones" and then "Wishsong" I skimmed through "Scions" but just couldn't make it. I feel that the Shannara books are probably Brooks least original work. Based loosely on Earth, thousands of years after an Apocalyptic end to known civilization, It is my understanding that Elves had once again revealed themselves on Earth, and that mutations and the like had spawned monsters, gnomes, trolls, etc. Magic has returned to the world after lying dormant during the reign of humankind and technology. Other than that, the novels are a bit of a knock-off of Tolkien's world, (which of course was it's own knock-off of the Fairy books and other things, including possibly WW2) with lots of teen angst and a considerable amount of moping about by Will, and Shea, while explosions spout forth from the Elfstones sporadically, in times of great need, and Allanon rides through the world like a darker version of Gandalf, always doing good, but always hiding a terrible secret. So, While at first I felt much like the others who wrote negative reviews of this series, when I think back on what the books actually were, they are really a perfect fit for this sort of mediocre quality fantasy. Will, in the books, is portrayed as sort of a small guy, and they have a giant hunk playing half-elf, but I think that works better for TV. I imagine that this character originally represented the author, much like Bilbo Baggins represented Tolkien in the Hobbit, and that certainly won't do for the small screen or MTV. The Elves are multi-cultural instead of Nordic, the gnomes are terribly ugly, Humans, for the most part, hardly come into the story and as many have stated the Rovers are portrayed as pretty fricking vicious. I do think the other casting is pretty great. Amberle is beautiful (Poppy Drayton) and does a fine job as Amberle, and Ivana Baquero is startlingly close to what I imagined Eretria would look like, hips, eyes, hair, attitude and all. Of course MTV HAD to try to get Amberle and Eretria to kiss. Really? Allanon (Manu Bennet), while different from my imaginings of him, is a pretty good fit for Allanon, I think. Allanon would definitely not be caught wearing a smile, and neither would Manu's portrayal. I was also glad to see John Rhys-Davies for a few moments, and even though he was about as far away from the Elf King as I can imagine, he always does a good job.
    While the story is barely a mix of the Elfstones and a couple other books, I think the general plot line is about right. The Elfstones explode from time to time with blue light, Amberle turns into a tree and Eretria makes it. But there were some changes that were made that I thought would have been great in the story, Like when Eretria brashly declares that Will is "For her", early on, and then I believe those are the last words in the second book. Pretty great ending. While the books may have been somewhat weak, they weren't all bad, and as a teen/pre-teen. I didn't know any better. The stories along with others inspired me to try write some stories of my own. So from a subjective view, I think these Chronicles do a pretty fair job of revealing the world of Shannara, and are well homed on MTV. Not quite good enough to make a movie from. Like a teenagers life, there is plenty of infinite, angst filled drama sprinkled throughout with the occasional burst of magic. There are SO MANY books about this world, wow! plenty of fodder for season after season!
    I predict it will do well, and I will probably ashamedly binge-watch the second season, pointing out flaws and picking at it, but staying for the occasional cool action shots of characters like Allanon, Will, Amberle, and the Elfstones of Shannara.    … Expand
  15. Gibby123
    Jul 20, 2016
    6
    This was a pretty good show. The first episode was amazing, and I am considering reading the books based on what I have seen in the rest of the show. However, the script seems flat, and some scenes can be very boring. The first few episodes are great, but it goes downhill from there.
  16. ganglio
    Nov 18, 2017
    5
    I don't want to give this show a too negative review as I like to see more high budget fantasy TV shows like game of thrones. Shannara gets respect in terms of production value, filming in New Zealand and somehow always ending in a cliffhanger that makes you want to see more.

    I started the books series some years ago, but stopped as it was too much cliché for my taste. The TV show    I don't want to give this show a too negative review as I like to see more high budget fantasy TV shows like game of thrones. Shannara gets respect in terms of production value, filming in New Zealand and somehow always ending in a cliffhanger that makes you want to see more.

    I started the books series some years ago, but stopped as it was too much cliché for my taste. The TV show obviously suffers from the same. Examples:
    - Go into a creepy dungeon and split up when a crossroads come to "cover more ground"
    - Main dialogue of Will: "stay close" or "stay away because I can't protect you"
    - Evil characters who are evil because they just love being evil

    The main actor has no real personality and, in season 1, a bad need for a shave. You don't know why he is special, how his magic works. All actors stay flat clichés, which is probably more due to the writing of the show and not so much due to acting. It is clearly a show oriented towards teenies but with quite some violence. In the absence of any alternative good fantasy tv shows, I probably continue to watch it as a guilty pleasure.    … Expand
  17. Leah14
    Nov 2, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was hopeful that this series would go along the lines of the books. I pretty much bought and read all the books in High School, and to this day still have them. The show at first was fantastic until I realized how MTV's version has deviated so much from the original story in the books. I don't know why Terry Brooks would agree to these changes made in the name of political correctness. Eritrea was not a lesbian in the books, however the enmity between Eritrea and Amberle is similar as it was in the books because they both fell in love with Will. There are literally dozens of tv series in which their actors portray the LBGT community. Why couldn't MTV stick to the original story on one show? I wonder what they will do to the other female characters later in the series such as Wren. The original story is fantastic, but in the name of "pc", a great story is being changed. BTW, i don't have anything against the LBGT community, but imo MTV should have kept the series to the original story.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Most Discussed TV Season of 2016
18
#18 Most Shared TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. Colorado Springs Gazette
    Reviewed by: Terry Terrones
    Apr 6, 2016
    91
    First rate production value, interesting characters and an intriguing story make for a world well worth escaping to.
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  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Adam Chitwood
    Jan 21, 2016
    80
    Some of the romantic elements are a cheesy, and the exposition is really clunky at times, but for the most part the show is continually compelling and complex.
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  3. The Wrap
    Reviewed by: Ned Ehrbar
    Jan 5, 2016
    50
    Fantasy fare like this generally has a pretty low bar to clear and a pretty forgiving target audience, but the heavy-handed jargon, pointy elf ears and brooding self-seriousness of The Shannara Chronicles might be too much for even those fans. It doesn’t help that the characters seem to be allowed to switch from talking dour fantasy-novel heroes to bored millennials whenever the mood strikes them.
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