Season #: 2, 1
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 319 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 75 out of 319
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User Reviews

  1. Mar 3, 2016
    10
    This is such a great show. MTV have really picked up their games when it comes to their TV shows. Both Teen wolf and The Shannara Chronicles are written and produced in a way that leaves you wanting more. there is never an episode that isn't produced to the best. This is one show that should not be missed. Absolute legends
  2. Mar 2, 2016
    10
    MTV had done a great job because Is a nice show well for me was great , interesting and i will suggest everyone to watch it and i hope we will get a season 2
  3. 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 :-)
  4. Apr 15, 2016
    7
    A bit glam for fantasy but the soap opera looking cast has grown on me and is surprisingly likable.

    Fantasy? Sold! It is a bit of fantasy soap opera though and could be better.
  5. Apr 12, 2016
    10
    I've only seen the long pilot episode so far, but the graphics and scenery were absolutely incredible! I saw several people say the actors were bad, but I haven't seen that so far. I love fantasy shows, movies, and books, so I'm truly hoping this show makes it for the long run. It's good to see that they haven't had strong sex bullcrap. (Which is why I don't watch GOT) So far I think it'sI've only seen the long pilot episode so far, but the graphics and scenery were absolutely incredible! I saw several people say the actors were bad, but I haven't seen that so far. I love fantasy shows, movies, and books, so I'm truly hoping this show makes it for the long run. It's good to see that they haven't had strong sex bullcrap. (Which is why I don't watch GOT) So far I think it's great! Can't wait for the DVD release! Expand
  6. 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
  7. 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!
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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.
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  11. Feb 21, 2016
    0
    As a fan of both the original books and the entire sword and sorcery genre, I really wanted to like this series. My wife gave it up after episode 1, but I forced myself to stand fast and continue on.

    Unfortunately, this show barely follows the actual book series, and it is blatantly written to appeal to only very young and shallow teenagers. This is nothing more than a cheap CW
    As a fan of both the original books and the entire sword and sorcery genre, I really wanted to like this series. My wife gave it up after episode 1, but I forced myself to stand fast and continue on.

    Unfortunately, this show barely follows the actual book series, and it is blatantly written to appeal to only very young and shallow teenagers.

    This is nothing more than a cheap CW cookie-cutter show. Get hot young actors/actresses, make them really attracted to one another, but make up some stupid reason that the two are kept apart and in a constant state of sexual tensions.

    The show seems to lack any sort of real story to stand on, which is particularly baffling given that they have an actual written story to follow. The show seems to have stolen the name of the Shannara Chronicles just for name recognition.

    One of the early episodes introduced a zippo lighter in a groan-inducing moment, but I was willing to chalk this up to lazy writing for a simple ending to a scene.

    It was when the gang ran into an entire village of what are essentially the amish and it was populated by nothing more than a bunch of twenty-somethings who looked like they found a secret stash of American Eagle apparel, who then promptly threw a switch to their generator and kicked off a barn-yard rave, complete with loud music and lighting.

    To top it all off, they introduced guns into the series, and of course the cute little bandit girl is a dead-on marksman, even though she's never even heard of a gun before. And of course at the end of this episode, there's a shootout in which hand-held crossbows are treated like semi-automatic weapons and the revolvers never need to be reloaded.

    Unless you're a very young girl with fanciful delusions of love, I would highly recommend skipping this farce. Just watch any show on the CW and you'll understand the entire premise of the character relationship of this poorly written farce.
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  12. Jan 15, 2016
    7
    I began watching Shannara Chronicles because we are still a few months out from Game of Thrones. That, and Manu Bennet. Pretty standard and generic story so far. The characters have yet to "wow" me, except Manu Bennet's Alanan, who's pretty sick. His sword is pretty freaking sick too. The special effects are ok. The Elven Princess is very attractive and decent enough. I'm having aI began watching Shannara Chronicles because we are still a few months out from Game of Thrones. That, and Manu Bennet. Pretty standard and generic story so far. The characters have yet to "wow" me, except Manu Bennet's Alanan, who's pretty sick. His sword is pretty freaking sick too. The special effects are ok. The Elven Princess is very attractive and decent enough. I'm having a hard time liking the protagonist Will and rover girl. Will is insecure, frightened, and waaaay too cliche. The rover girl isn't believable, even when the show is throwing character growth/development at me. It is unnatural.

    Let's get back to Alanan's sword. This thing is just a handle, until the Druid wants it to be a sword. Then it turns into a sword by an impossible series of intertwined blade mechanisms (most likely magic). It is just, so cool. Also, how he scabbards it doesn't make sense but it looks sick, and what's the most important thing about a fantasy series? Looking Cool. Much like an MMORPG.

    I give it a 7 because while lacking in several areas, I will continue to watch it because they are trying very hard to bring about a Fantasy book series to Network Television. It would be a 5, but I swear to God that f**king sword is all I can think about right now. It's like the lightsaber of a fantasy story.

    Also: No bows? Where all my archers at?
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  13. Feb 6, 2016
    10
    Since I haven't read the book yet I don't have much to compare here but I truly love this series, it's got a lot of depth with it the characters, they add purpose to the show and they all play there parts well I believe they are doing a great job and I just want to watch them for as long as possible. I'm enjoying watching this love triangle and when watching the show I get goosebumpsSince I haven't read the book yet I don't have much to compare here but I truly love this series, it's got a lot of depth with it the characters, they add purpose to the show and they all play there parts well I believe they are doing a great job and I just want to watch them for as long as possible. I'm enjoying watching this love triangle and when watching the show I get goosebumps thinking about what is next. They really put you on the edge with all the characters and drama it's make me feel so happy when watching this cause I'm so entertained and wanting to know what's gonna happen next. Great show. Great actors. I will have to read the books to get a full opinion though, but for now I'm loving this series and this is a well deserved rating of 10 from me. Expand
  14. Mar 12, 2016
    10
    As a person who's never read the books, I really like this series. The first episode was really well done, almost to a movie quality and it doesn't really run out of steam. It's a good antidote to the miserable slap that seems to be all the rage.. So watch The Shannara Chronicles when you need to unwind, it's guilty pleasure territory.
  15. Mar 3, 2016
    10
    To me This Was A great show i love the way they had set that the elves, demons, druids etc were all set in the future instead of the past like many other shows, films were set just shows that the producers had a different tactic in gaining their audience showing a desolate human world overrun by many types of mystical creatures as well as humans alongside them to me this was a great showTo me This Was A great show i love the way they had set that the elves, demons, druids etc were all set in the future instead of the past like many other shows, films were set just shows that the producers had a different tactic in gaining their audience showing a desolate human world overrun by many types of mystical creatures as well as humans alongside them to me this was a great show and would like to see it go on for as long as it can oh and i love violence and the killing of demons Expand
  16. Mar 5, 2016
    10
    Although the series my not strictly follow the book's, it stays close enough to be true. All in all I love the show and as a long time fan of Terry Brooks works, I have yet to be remotely disappointed in the show. Anyone that doesn't realize that these books are fairly huge, and that certain dramatic elements must be used in a show meant to capture the story without reading you the book isAlthough the series my not strictly follow the book's, it stays close enough to be true. All in all I love the show and as a long time fan of Terry Brooks works, I have yet to be remotely disappointed in the show. Anyone that doesn't realize that these books are fairly huge, and that certain dramatic elements must be used in a show meant to capture the story without reading you the book is silly. I think it should be expected when converting to television. Expand
  17. Mar 10, 2016
    10
    There's nothing more that I could've asked for out of The Shannara Chronicles. This is a beautiful looking show with a great story that can be enjoyed by everyone. If you're looking for that big fantasy/sci-fi series to get into to this is it.
  18. Mar 12, 2016
    10
    This series although not completely following the book allows us to live in the world visually , it makes up for its lost little moments from the book. It really adss suspense, and through the combination of great effects, costume design and charachter development it allows us to be attatched to the charachters we live through thier actions. Maybe its not hbo fashion and a little pg butThis series although not completely following the book allows us to live in the world visually , it makes up for its lost little moments from the book. It really adss suspense, and through the combination of great effects, costume design and charachter development it allows us to be attatched to the charachters we live through thier actions. Maybe its not hbo fashion and a little pg but its a great show. I hope there are more seasons. Expand
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. Feb 4, 2016
    0
    Make no mistake, this is strictly a YA series, and it isn't a good one. It's a disastrous attempt to meld some pop culture and swords and sorcery, building on source material that wasn't great to begin with. The result is elves in jeans played by incredibly terrible actors. It's phones in, phony, cheap, lazy and terrible. If you're 14, have never read anything more complicated than a comicMake no mistake, this is strictly a YA series, and it isn't a good one. It's a disastrous attempt to meld some pop culture and swords and sorcery, building on source material that wasn't great to begin with. The result is elves in jeans played by incredibly terrible actors. It's phones in, phony, cheap, lazy and terrible. If you're 14, have never read anything more complicated than a comic book and stoned, then this is your show. It's just bad television. Expand
  22. 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.
  23. Feb 3, 2016
    3
    I've changed my score from a 6 to a 3, because even though the second episode picked up a bit and felt more interesting, it goes so far downhill after that.

    The action scenes are vicious and well made, and the art department did a wonderful job, from the costumes to the set design. However, except for those two points I can't say anything redeeming about The Shannara Chronicles at all.
    I've changed my score from a 6 to a 3, because even though the second episode picked up a bit and felt more interesting, it goes so far downhill after that.

    The action scenes are vicious and well made, and the art department did a wonderful job, from the costumes to the set design. However, except for those two points I can't say anything redeeming about The Shannara Chronicles at all.

    The script is fairly bad, even though I get why it was modernised slightly (it's post apocalyptic after all). The acting is mostly pretty mediocre, and at times fairly bad. But those two things are the tip of this great iceberg of awfulness. The story changes are 80% pointless, stupid, and added in to cater towards teens with poor attention span, and for absolutely zero other reason. Some of the story choices, such as everyone sleeping together (including the demons!), or making the Reaper into a big dumb slow hulk are downright idiotic. They've abandoned the heart of the show to make way for cliched corny tripe, and some of the absolute best scenes and plot lines from the book have been completely butchered, or in some places taken out entirely (and I'm not talking about small plot lines). The characters all act like horny bros and clubber teens, which feels so far out of place. Moreover, some of the decisions the characters make during the first 5 episodes are so head-numbingly unrealistic and idiotic that it makes me wince.

    But worst of all is the choppy and poorly paced directing. Sure, some of the scenery shots are very nice, but the actual plot directing is abysmal. Seriously, one of the worst directed things I've ever seen. It just jumps from half-baked scene to scene without allowing the audience a chance to feel immersed or even interested. I bet somewhere in the world Mulder and Scully are investigating a coffin that's spontaneously spinning around, and in 10 or 20 years it will hold Terry Brooks. Poor guy.

    Steer clear of this vacuous eye-candy unless you're 15 years old and kinda liked Eragon.
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  24. Jan 5, 2016
    10
    The perfect guilty pleasure show! Yes it has gorgeous young actors spouting groan-worthy lines. Yes it has cheesy romantic sub plots and teen angst. But none of that matters if you're in the mood for some fun casual entertainment.

    The fantasy world is beautiful to look at. You'll be scratching your head, wondering how MTV bankrolled the effects department. The story moves at a good
    The perfect guilty pleasure show! Yes it has gorgeous young actors spouting groan-worthy lines. Yes it has cheesy romantic sub plots and teen angst. But none of that matters if you're in the mood for some fun casual entertainment.

    The fantasy world is beautiful to look at. You'll be scratching your head, wondering how MTV bankrolled the effects department. The story moves at a good pace and is fairly intriguing. And plus: MANU FREAKING BENNETT. This guy is an awesome actor. He was great in Spartacus, great in Arrow, and he's even better here as the druid Allanon.

    The only serious negative about this show is the character of Wil. I don't know if it's the kid's acting, or if it's the lines that were written for him, but watching him on screen is like nails on a chalkboard. He's clumsy, stupid, sarcastic (not in a good way-in an obnoxious way), and his acting range is comprised of two or three "deer in the headlights" looks.

    But other than that one gripe, I was pleasantly surprised by Shannara. It was basically fun eye-candy and it left me wanting more. I will definitely be watching the rest of the season.
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  25. Jan 10, 2016
    8
    The story itself is interesting and most of the actors do a great job, but there is a little cheesiness here and there but from a strong performance from the druid and will the show manages to be good instead of teen wolf gone fantasy
  26. Jan 15, 2016
    10
    Love it,like lord of the rings!One of my favorite shows right now! so much fun! A must watch!!Like d&d for tv!!Can't believe its on Mtv of all places, but a excellent show! Give a try and keep a open mind and you might be surpriseed like me
  27. Feb 7, 2016
    0
    Can i score -10? Thats how bad it was, teenager movie with horrible acting and all polished fake sets, cheap clothing. Filled with models. Im helping humanity by writing this review, please dont watch, unless you have time to waste. Its perfect for my 12 year or niece, this is more like a Disney series
  28. Feb 10, 2016
    2
    I don't mind the acting BUT will someone please pay a-freaking-tention!!! Where the hell did he get a zippo!! Its been 3,000 years since they were made, not to mention the lighter fluid. Plus the guy was a brief character to begin with. And Rovers were gypsies in ALL of the books NOT cutthroat bandits. Paranor is ON a plateau in the middle of a dark FOREST! NOT a cave in the freakingI don't mind the acting BUT will someone please pay a-freaking-tention!!! Where the hell did he get a zippo!! Its been 3,000 years since they were made, not to mention the lighter fluid. Plus the guy was a brief character to begin with. And Rovers were gypsies in ALL of the books NOT cutthroat bandits. Paranor is ON a plateau in the middle of a dark FOREST! NOT a cave in the freaking dessert. There are only a few things I like so far about this series but I'm getting disappointed more every week. And by the way, Slanter the Gnome doesn't even appear until NEXT book with Jair who is WIL'S SON! Something better start going right soon............... Expand
  29. Mar 18, 2016
    2
    Well.... here goes.

    I read The Sword of Shannara some 20 years ago around the age of 14. Loved it, but didn't end up re-reading it until recently. At about the halfway mark I heard of this series, and sought it out to watch it with low expectations due to the MTV tag. Now I have watched it, and trying to get back to the second half of the book is quite difficult - especially because
    Well.... here goes.

    I read The Sword of Shannara some 20 years ago around the age of 14. Loved it, but didn't end up re-reading it until recently. At about the halfway mark I heard of this series, and sought it out to watch it with low expectations due to the MTV tag.

    Now I have watched it, and trying to get back to the second half of the book is quite difficult - especially because the show's portrayal of Allanon is SO different to how I pictured him in my mind. But that is quite subjective, so I can't hold it against the show. I hate to bring up "I read the book and this isn't as good", but there it is.

    More objectively - as t's been said in many reviews this is a teen angst tale of nonsense, and it's a shame that Terry Brooks is tied so closely to it yet couldn't influence it to be... good. The characters are whiny, weak, and unbelievable on the whole. I was expecting the cast to glance at the camera throughout, checking they were doing alright. Even those few who have proven themselves in big-name big-screen films struggle to excite here.

    The script contains every cliche you can think of - "Do you ever wish I was dead instead of my brother? I do, every day." Hackneyed scriptwriting of the worst degree all through. There is nothing original about this story whatsoever, and the setting of the four lands is wasted.

    The production values vary from terrible to alright. The CGI effects can be quite nice looking, but at other times (especially blood - why after all these years can they still not make blood look real??) they break the viewer's involvement in events. There is a sheen over everything, leading to a feeling of polish that doesn't fit well with the genre. A pervading hard-lighting effect attempts to hide the clearly man-made nature of the sets and cheap clothes, adding to this feeling of excessive polish and taking away from believability of the setting. Several times (especially in expositional shots involving demons dotted through the episodes) there is a distinctly 90s feel in the direction, with warping effects on the camera making it seem 20 years older than it is.

    Clearly I am not the target market for this show (odd - being a fan of the books, you'd think I'd be exactly the target audience), but I hope they scrap the whole thing and do no renew it for a second season. They need to get the message that it is possible to make something far better.
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  30. 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
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 15
  2. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. 91
    First rate production value, interesting characters and an intriguing story make for a world well worth escaping to.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.