Advance Review: Shannara Is A Great Fantasy Drama For 2016

While Scott, Stiles and co. have kept young people [and by extension, Tumblr] excited to watch MTV for the past few years, they may have to move over: The new MTV fantasy drama The Shannara Chronicles premieres tonight, and with it, new ‘ships might set sail and a whole new world from the books could be introduced to viewers young and old.

To be fair, my initial interest in Shannara — based on the books by Terry Brooks — came from the notion that many of the folks involved were people I knew and interacted with from Smallville… you know, the now second longest-running WB/CW genre show that gave a generation their hero in Clark Kent. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who developed Smallville for The WB, are among the team to bring Shannara to live action, and familiar Smallville directors and crew are also involved in this New Zealand-shot series.

Like Smallville, Shannara focuses on characters with extraordinary destinies, and it opens with Amberle as played by Poppy Drayton. While Austin Butler’s Wil has his own journey and presence that will certainly mix with Amberle’s quickly, I thought it was wise to start with her journey, showing her drive and enthusiasm to stand out. In many ways, in a world where movie audiences are thrilling to Daisy Ridley’s Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s perfectly timed that a character like this is at the center, and Drayton is among the best in the show.

Actors like John Rhys-Davies also add an air of gravitas to the production; it makes it clear that this is not cheap TV fluff… though, within the show’s opening moments, when the scope and look of the show are seen, that much should be obvious already. Jon Favreau – yes, Iron Man’s Jon Favreau – directed the pilot that has a movie-like quality. Episode 2 looks just as good, and I’m hopeful that the rest of the series keeps it up. The effects used to create creatures and other types of demons is as impressive as the lush landscapes and locations seen on the show.

Another highlight for me in watching the series is the casting of Manu Bennett as the Druid Allanon. While Bennett was a big part of what made Arrow Season 2 the best of the series so far, he seems a lot more comfortable and at ease in this part. Allanon also has a really unique look which can surely be credited to the show’s impressive production design. And on an Arrow note – yes, Wil is a much better role for Austin Butler than “Chase the DJ” had been, though I still miss Sebastian Kydd. I do admit it amused me to see how easily manipulated Wil could get in the show’s premiere.

With shows like Teen Wolf and now Shannara, MTV seems to successfully be doing what The WB did in its heyday — shows that young people flock to that make movie stars out of their casts. In this case, specifically, though, they are bringing a loved book series to life and rather than doing it in movie form, where you have to wait a year or two between installments, they are bringing us a chapter of that movie every week. As I said, I hope Shannara keeps it up, because it should be a fun ride. I may be out of the MTV target demo — after all, I remember a time when MTV showed music videos! — but I’m curious to see more, and any TV or movie media that inspires young people to pick up the book series that inspired the show is a great idea to me. And, hey: Props to MTV for doing a show about elves and magic trees and not just another reality show about pregnant teenagers.

The Shannara Chronicles opens up a new world, and it should be an exciting one to explore. And, hey, Al and Miles… if there’s a Season 2 — no, when there’s a Season 2 — I expect to see some Smallville people.

Shannara premieres TONIGHT (January 5) at 10PM ET on MTV. Did we mention the show has opening titles? You can see those below. All shows should have opening titles like these, yes?