Television Series
The Shannara Chronicles
2016–2017
Filmed In
Auckland
Towns & Areas
Auckland's West Coast cliffs · Auckland Domain
The Story
A vibrant, high-fantasy epic based on Terry Brooks' best-selling novels. Set thousands of years after the fall of human civilization, an elf princess, a human-elf hybrid, and a human rover embark on a quest to stop a horde of released demons.
The Stars
Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Ivana Baquero, and Manu Bennett. This cast carried the fantasy series through its two-season run, largely shot around the Auckland region.
Behind the Lens
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The series adapted only a portion of Terry Brooks' much larger book series across its two seasons.
Why NZ?
The show required an epic post-apocalyptic fantasy landscape where nature had reclaimed ancient structures. The production utilized locations across the Auckland region, including the dramatic cliffs of Auckland's West Coast and the sprawling grounds of the historic Auckland Domain. The mix of coastal cliffs and heritage parkland gave the production a genuinely varied visual palette within a compact filming radius.
On Set
Austin Butler, years before his breakout in Elvis, has described feeling like "a fish out of water" arriving on this New Zealand-based fantasy set. Co-star Poppy Drayton liked the country enough to return on her own time after the show wrapped. Veteran John Rhys-Davies, playing a supporting role, also famously played Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Legacy
Based on Terry Brooks' long-running fantasy novel series, the show ran across two seasons and two different networks before concluding.
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