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. Safan
    Oct 13, 2020
    10
    What about season 3??? Season 1 and 2 its amazing. Im waiting for season 3 please accept my request..
  2. Pr0sper0
    Sep 22, 2018
    10
    Amaizing, for those who like sci-fi, like me, it was really really good. I hope we have the season 3 soon.
  3. andresmontoya
    Jun 26, 2018
    9
    The Shanna Chronicles is a show everyone would loved to watch! The acting is so good, the way they set the creatures like trolls and gnomes, that was a good job, so original and full of creativity. Ivana Baquero makes the show go like a shooting star, she's so good on being Eretria
  4. orabbi
    Feb 3, 2018
    0
    Why Terry? Why???????????????? Feels like Jersey Shore meets Shannara. The only thing this series makes me want to do is go back and read the book again and hopefully forget that I ever saw this.
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. deaconfrost31
    Oct 28, 2017
    10
    I really do enjoy this show. I started reading the books at a young age and was fascinated by the story telling. Terry Brooks continues his legacy as one of the greatest fantasy/science fiction writers of all time. While the show does not follow the books verbatim it does stay true to the narrative in my opinion and I really hope that it is allowed to continue for multiple seasons.
  8. gamerzx
    Oct 26, 2017
    8
    Good solid fantasy series. There are not many as good as this. The sets the costumes the backstory are all memorable. Could it be better , yes. Overall it was well worth watching. I caught the series online so I didn't have to suffer through the painful cut to commercials that must have been on MTV.

    The show itself seems to move along a little fast. It is covering Terry Brooks novels    Good solid fantasy series. There are not many as good as this. The sets the costumes the backstory are all memorable. Could it be better , yes. Overall it was well worth watching. I caught the series online so I didn't have to suffer through the painful cut to commercials that must have been on MTV.

    The show itself seems to move along a little fast. It is covering Terry Brooks novels which are thousands of pages. I think that for a TV series this set the standard. The Villains so far have been dark and twisted. The special effects for the villains are flat out the best that isn't Peter Jackson or HBO. The acting is made for the older teenager young adult audience of MTV. That is forgivable for such the large number of episodes that have been produced so far.

    Overall I enjoyed every episode. The few flaws in the series are easily forgotten when the characters enter a crafted set. The Villain in the first series was intense. I have seen the first 2 episodes of this season and I like what is happening. The switcheroos where one character has a knife to another then it reverses are overdone. The sets are superb and the costumes and characters stand out in a fantasy series. It is not as good as Spartacus, but it is great to see the actor that played Croesus show the same intensity with his character in Shannara.

    A little more cinematic maturity would add to the quality. Seeing this effort I have to feel fortunate that Terry Brooks and other writers literature can be brought to life. Fortunate if other good authors in this genre receive the same quality if brought to TV or Cinema.    … Expand
  9. Spydar71
    Sep 15, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the novels and I really wanted to like this show. I thought the overall ending was weak compared to the novels and it is such a shame. The sacrifice made by her at the end to become the Elcrys was so powerful in the book and this series just shat all over it. The characters are pretty flat and one tone. Wil showed no character growth at all. And considering the ordeal he went through, there should have been more.
    I'm sorry that this great story was not given the proper treatment it deserved. As a tween/YA series I'm sure its good for the young ones with all the "sexy sexy" and easy, digestible (baby food imo) plot lines for the masses who have probably never read the books or have read much at all. To any of you that actually rated it in the green, I highly recommend that you read the books. This series is about as true to its source material as "Queen of the Damned" by Anne Rice was. Truly a travesty in my eyes. I will not return for season 2 unless I have absolutely nothing else to watch and then I would re-watch something else. Horrible, SAD. So SAD. I hope "Wheel of Time" gets better treatment than this.    … Expand
  10. WereSuricat
    Aug 31, 2017
    2
    I tried to love this series... just love the books. But the producer make a show for the teen , the very young teen. Bad choice, like the seeker of truth (very bad). Waste of time, Read the book and wait for the Wheel of time ..... hopely this one will be great... Hope so.. But for shannara its a waste of time if your older then 14 years .... sad ... very sad .. ;(
  11. hgjccghk
    May 8, 2017
    10
    Amazing show amazing characters. awesome mythology and world creatively setup by the writers and directed wonderfully :D would recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy adventure and maybe a bit of romance!
  12. opindude
    Feb 27, 2017
    7
    The Shannara chronicles is a fun, fast-paced and visually pleasing ride, based on Terry Brook’s series of fantasy books. Drawing its ideas from various concepts – fantasy, RPG games, post-apocalyptic, steampunk – it is a must-watch for fantasy fans. Evidently aimed toward teenage audiences, however older suckers for fantasy stories like myself are easily drawn in. Although it lacks theThe Shannara chronicles is a fun, fast-paced and visually pleasing ride, based on Terry Brook’s series of fantasy books. Drawing its ideas from various concepts – fantasy, RPG games, post-apocalyptic, steampunk – it is a must-watch for fantasy fans. Evidently aimed toward teenage audiences, however older suckers for fantasy stories like myself are easily drawn in. Although it lacks the subtleties, depth and mesmerising dialogues of other fantasy stories like lord of the rings or game of thrones, it can certainly pass as an instant classic, due to its action-packed, true-to-the-source material and stunning presentation. It has a lot of production value, even if the acting is not top-notch but aims high. The only exceptions to this are Manu Bennett as the druid and John Rhys-Davies as the elf king who gave a solid, convincing performance throughout.
    The first 3 episodes were excellent but the rest faltered. 10 episodes provide for plenty of room for side stories, encounters and intrigue, but it feels that characters aren’t fully explored and the main protagonists remain shallow throughout the season. The love triangle between the main characters- a half-elf boy, an elf and human girls- is conceptually interesting but ultimately portrayed in a two-dimensional manner. Also, even though the tension towards the final showdown in the last episode was built well enough through season, it eventually failed to deliver and felt rushed.
    Overall, even for its shortcomings, the Shannara chronicles is highly recommended (for fans of the genre) and I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for season 2.    … Expand
  13. 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
  14. xEnergizerbunny
    Sep 6, 2016
    0
    Everyone I know or know of was a huge fan of this show including me.Until they read what happens in the book the fact that Wil and The Rover get married and have kids and not the princess basically turned all heads away.What was a show everyone at school talked about went to a "You still watch that" type of show.I mean this isn't your classic happy ending and crowds may want thingsEveryone I know or know of was a huge fan of this show including me.Until they read what happens in the book the fact that Wil and The Rover get married and have kids and not the princess basically turned all heads away.What was a show everyone at school talked about went to a "You still watch that" type of show.I mean this isn't your classic happy ending and crowds may want things different and spicey but not a show you watch and just feel disappointed completely.If they made it clear that Will and the princess would be together instead of the rover I feel it would bring some fans back but at this stage you have to get rid of the rover or this show is Ganna go down hill fast....… Expand
  15. 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
  16. yesterdayatnoon
    Aug 21, 2016
    2
    The directing in this show would sink it even if it had no other problems. The story is told, and the scenes are directed, in a fairly jumpy way without serving suspense or mystery. The characters are pretty stock archetypes. The "romance" is laughable. It looks good at parts, till someone opens their mouth. Occasionally sets look unfinished and they borrow imagery from Elder ScrollsThe directing in this show would sink it even if it had no other problems. The story is told, and the scenes are directed, in a fairly jumpy way without serving suspense or mystery. The characters are pretty stock archetypes. The "romance" is laughable. It looks good at parts, till someone opens their mouth. Occasionally sets look unfinished and they borrow imagery from Elder Scrolls Oblivion for some of their structures. But I'm still watching it with my wife, making fun of it and pointing out new problems and guessing the plot. It gets a 2 since we have managed to enjoy ourselves while watching.… Expand
  17. HippoJnr
    Aug 17, 2016
    0
    I suppose if you've never read the series of books you might find the show mildly amusing. However, if you're a true fan of the novels you will be highly disappointed. In fact, I couldn't bring myself to finish watching the first episode. Yes, the new earth is something that was created after we blew ourselves to pieces, however, no where does it say in the books that there are rotting carI suppose if you've never read the series of books you might find the show mildly amusing. However, if you're a true fan of the novels you will be highly disappointed. In fact, I couldn't bring myself to finish watching the first episode. Yes, the new earth is something that was created after we blew ourselves to pieces, however, no where does it say in the books that there are rotting car parts everywhere, (only once in my recollection do they visit the old cities of stone.) This was an adaptation of the Elfstones of Shannara, Amberle was a frightened young woman, scared of the elcrys and the message it gave her, running away shamed her royal family and caused a rift between the two kings sons. I realize this is the age of the empowered woman, however not every story has to portray as such, it's the journey to ascend over top your fears that's the real triumph of this novel. I give this show a zero simply for the fact that MTV has cheapened the synopsis of the book/s and gave it a thrown together format. I'm surprised that Terry Brooks agreed to such a fiasco as this. As I said, you may disagree but that probably means you didn't read the book/s.… Expand
  18. Will-T
    Aug 3, 2016
    2
    I've never read the books, and I still think this show is terrible. I found none of the characters likeable in anyway. The main character Wil is just too... perfect (reminds me of the blonde lead from Eragon). OK, so his mom dies and he heeds the call of adventure... but he's a naive half-elf. So he gets robbed, but instead of learning a lesson or gaining any character development, theI've never read the books, and I still think this show is terrible. I found none of the characters likeable in anyway. The main character Wil is just too... perfect (reminds me of the blonde lead from Eragon). OK, so his mom dies and he heeds the call of adventure... but he's a naive half-elf. So he gets robbed, but instead of learning a lesson or gaining any character development, the robber ends up falling in love with him. And then he meets a Princess, who falls in love with hims. And my feelings for the two female leads can be summed up in Episode 7, when they are trapped in an underground room and they more or less say 'don't worry, Wil will come to the rescue'. Seriously? After building up the kickass girls thing in the first episode ('Girls can compete blah blah') and having a sassy human thief who also kicks ass; but then you still need to have them rescued (mostly) by the bland blond idiot with his three magic pebbles.

    OK, so the CGI scenery isn't bad, but it's mostly used as establishing shots, where as everything else is just, forest or throne room or desert. The fighting choreography is awful and as are some of the magic effects. I've never seen a showdown between a (supposedly) badass knight guy and some hulking demon look so... dull. It was just swing, swing, stab in back. No tension, no 'is he going to defeat him'. And in all honesty no emotional pay off that a character sacrificed himself so the two idiot leads could walk to the end of the tunnel and wait for him to be killed.

    John Rhys-Davies as an Elf King is just so funny that it keeps dragging me out of the story (he played the Elf hating Dwarf Gimli from LoTR in case you didn't notice).

    The plot is kind of haphazard and doesn't fit together smoothly. There is no sense of scale on the journey and it devalues tension if the possibility of someone coming to help is only a scene change away.

    Manu Bennett as Allanon actually feels like his character walked in from some good High Fantasy Film somewhere. His character actually seems to keep an emotional tone that fits consistently and is probably the one thing about this show I like.

    All in all the Shannara Chronicles is a show that feels more like its capitalizing on the resurgence of the genres popularity. The blandness of the main characters (and their oh so perfect hair and clothes) would make this show all right for teenagers (12-15) but otherwise anyone looking for some good Fantasy fun, best move on elsewhere.    … Expand
  19. Iheartnapalm
    Jul 24, 2016
    0
    Oh god. So bad. It's insanely cheesy and over-dramatic, and not in a likable way. Almost every character is annoying, save for the lead girl and the script is just awful.
  20. 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.
  21. 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
  22. adamgo10
    Jul 17, 2016
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not terrible. I just have one question, and maybe this was actually in the book and the series completely failed to address it... Why did any of this need to take place? Amberle is the seed. She was in the tree in the first couple episodes. Game over. But instead, the tree sent her to San Francisco (the whole season) to tell her to go back into the tree where she started. Nothing changed. The didn't bring anything back. It was all unnecessary. Right??? Should be called: Pointless Journey or Wasted Road Trip.… Expand
  23. babylvsurgirl
    Jul 17, 2016
    10
    I really loved season one of this show. I've not read the books but now I really want to. I've always been a big fan of fantasy in general and this show brought fantasy into the world of humans in a way I've never seen done before. I don't know if they're going to get to make a season two but I really hope so!
  24. 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
  25. Sir_racha
    Jul 11, 2016
    1
    I don't even know where to start. The original story was so butchered that I had to force myself to continue past the first episode. In the books Allanon didn't fight with a sword, The reaper was a silent deadly demon, the Dagda mor was never a druid, so on and so forth. the character Bandon didn't even exist in the books. Also Allanon couldn't read minds, on of the usual hurdles wasI don't even know where to start. The original story was so butchered that I had to force myself to continue past the first episode. In the books Allanon didn't fight with a sword, The reaper was a silent deadly demon, the Dagda mor was never a druid, so on and so forth. the character Bandon didn't even exist in the books. Also Allanon couldn't read minds, on of the usual hurdles was convincing reluctant family members of the Ohmsfords to tell him where the protagonists could be found. I wish I could articulate my irritation with this series a little better, but this is the only review I've ever written. If your a long time fan of the books, and over the age of 16, I would certainly not recommend it. Save yourself the unpleasant experience of seeing once interesting characters turned into eye candy for teenagers.… Expand
  26. jpbenning
    Jul 4, 2016
    10
    I loved this series, its not perfect but its a great start and I hope they continue to improve upon everything with every episode. Too many shows are cancelled far too often without giving them enough time and exposure. I was happy to hear they ordered a second series :-)
  27. Roxylauren94
    May 17, 2016
    10
    The shannara chronicles is a great show and would love to see what happens next in a second season! I have heard that it is similar to game of thrones and plan on watching it also!
  28. HAD
    Apr 20, 2016
    10
    This is most definitely my new favorite show. It has action, romance, fantasy, a post apocalyptic world where faeries and other creatures of lore have taken over the earth, and the writing and cast are all beautiful. It is like a cross between game of thrones and the Lord of the Rings. It's simply amazing! I so hope they do a second season . I copied this review because guy who write thisThis is most definitely my new favorite show. It has action, romance, fantasy, a post apocalyptic world where faeries and other creatures of lore have taken over the earth, and the writing and cast are all beautiful. It is like a cross between game of thrones and the Lord of the Rings. It's simply amazing! I so hope they do a second season . I copied this review because guy who write this said all i needed to say about show !… Expand
  29. sdc90291
    Apr 19, 2016
    1
    Having grown up reading the Shannara books, I so wanted to love the series. Even after it moved away from the books (almost immediately), I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and enjoy it. Sadly, it just wasn't possible. The sets/cinematography are overall pretty good but the acting is terrible, the story is convoluted and trite. Everyone's pretty but it's all so disjointed, fakeHaving grown up reading the Shannara books, I so wanted to love the series. Even after it moved away from the books (almost immediately), I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and enjoy it. Sadly, it just wasn't possible. The sets/cinematography are overall pretty good but the acting is terrible, the story is convoluted and trite. Everyone's pretty but it's all so disjointed, fake and really painful to watch. I'm giving it a 1 simply for the special effects but really, if I could give it a negative score, I'd do it in a heartbeat...… Expand
  30. samsun27596
    Apr 18, 2016
    10
    This show is AMAZING! I seriously can't understand people who don't like it! it has action, romance and magic! i have fallen in love with the show, the characters, the plot and the 'everything' about this show. you must go and watch it, it is not a waste of time.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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