How to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – release date and where to stream in the UK

Travel back to JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth in the much-anticipated prequel to the high-fantasy trilogy

We’ll see the forging of the rings and the ascension of Sauron (The Independent)

Tolkienites, it’s almost time to take a trip back to Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the most expensive show in TV history, will soon debut on Amazon Prime Video, and fans of the high-fantasy trilogy won’t want to miss it.

Set thousands of years before Frodo Baggins went on a quest to destroy the One Ring and save Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, the prequel will see the forging of the Rings of Power, the ascension of the dark lord Sauron and the final alliance between humans and elves in the Second Age.

First announced back in 2017, the show features an ensemble cast, including Morfydd Clark as a younger version of the legendary elf Galadriel; Robert Aramayo, who you may remember as young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, will play Elrond; Nazanin Boniadi as new character Bronwyn, who hails from the Southlands, and Lenny Henry, who plays Harfoot Sadoc Burrows. 

Despite not yet having aired a single episode, Amazon Prime Video has already greenlit a second season, with showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay having planned at least five seasons of the fantasy epic.

As with HBO’s House of the Dragon, which is only available to watch on Sky and Now TV, and will no doubt be in direct competition with Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, you won’t be able to binge watch The Lord of the Rings prequel, with Amazon dropping one episode every Friday. Ah, just like the good old days.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ release date

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be released on Friday 2 September, with the first two episodes dropping at 2am BST. After that, Amazon Prime Video will swap to a schedule of one episode per week, and will air the final episode on Friday 14 October. That means there are only eight episodes in the first season of the show.  

Where can you watch ‘The Rings of Power’ in the UK?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be airing exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, so you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member if you want to stream the show next Friday.

If you aren’t currently signed up to Amazon Prime, you can register for a free trial and access the streaming service’s entire catalogue for 30 days. Amazon Prime, which gives you access to Prime Video, costs £8.99 a month, or £95 a year.

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