I’m not sure that we needed a $462 million adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ephemera (that’s just for this first season), but I’m not sure that we didn’t, either. Given that fantasy in television has tended more toward the political machinations and inbreeding Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, it’s refreshing to come across something a bit more old-school. It’s hard to see, from this early vantage point, how the planned five-season arc will play out, but the first chapter managed to introduce both new and familiar characters into a world that feels like Tolkien, but that with its own quirks and rhythms. Mostly, 2022 feels like a good time for stories of Hobbits (or, rather, Harfoots in this earlier period), and it doesn’t hurt that every penny spent looks to have made it to the screen.
Where to stream: Prime Video