The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

What’s it about?

Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the series follows an ensemble of characters, including elves, dwarves, mankind and harfoots, who all live during the Second Age of Middle Earth. Meant to be a time of peace, the characters are met with the re-emergence of evil as the Dark Lord Sauron rises to power and the rings of power are forged.

The facts

• Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay
• English language
• The Rings of Power are mentioned in the appendices of Lord of the Rings but characters and some storylines are brand new to the Tolkien world.

Why did it get this rating?

This show was self-rated by Amazon Prime. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Horror

The series includes a range of monster-like creatures which could scare children.

A group of elves fight a Snow Troll on their pursuit of evil. The first two episodes briefly refer to and show orcs and the Dark Lord Sauron, and it is likely that the rest of the series will show these monster-like characters in more detail. Some scenes include moments of suspense.

Violence

Violence is shown during a battle, which includes sword fights, archery and hand-to-hand combat against scary-looking creatures, such as orcs and dragons. The war against evil is said to have lasted centuries and a pile of elven helmets implies how many died during the different battles.

A woman and son are forced to fight an orc who tunnels up into their home. She stabs the orc, the son hangs it by the neck, and then finally the woman decapitates it off screen.

This type of violence and scary images are likely to be shown throughout the rest of the season.

Further information

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is not Peter Jackson’s Tolkien – The Spinoff
• Is The Rings of Power suitable for children? Age rating revealed
• Horror films, scary sounds and pesky sleepovers