Destiny Calling

SHOWRUNNER RAFE JUDKINS DIVES DEEP INTO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF ROBERT JORDAN’S THE WHEEL OF TIME

- BRYAN CAIRNS

THE WHEEL OF TIME SEEMS poised to become the latest fantasy addiction. The Amazon show, based on author Robert Jordan’s bestselling 14-book series, ticks all the right boxes when it comes to the genre. Spellcasters. A Chosen One prophecy. Ancient evils. A quest. Reluctant heroes. Showrunner Rafe Judkins promises that the TV series delivers all of that… and much more.

“The thing that fantasy and television series share is this investment that the audience has in these characters and what happens next,” Judkins (Agents Of SHIELD, Hemlock Grove) tells SFX. “I don’t think you read 14 books of something just because you want to see big battles or magic or creatures. You read them because you want to see what happens to these people that you have fallen in love with.

“I had read the books years and years ago, but I remember those characters,” he continues. “I remember the choices they made. You’ll find consistently with people who’ve read all the books in The Wheel Of Time that they have an emotional connection to the series and the characters. That’s fertile ground for making a television show, when you have characters that resonate with people emotionally like that.”

WORLD BUILDING