“The Shannara Chronicles” star Manu Bennett says his MTV series is better for young viewers than most things on TV, thanks to its source material.
“I think we’re now dying at the hands of zombies and bleak stuff that doesn’t really fare well for our young audiences out there,” the actor said at the 2016 Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California. “I’d much rather my kids watch something like this.”
“The Shannara Chronicles,” which premiered Tuesday on MTV, is based on Terry Brooks’ series of novels, the first of which was published in 1977.
Brooks, who serves as executive producer on the series, also appeared on the panel and described himself as a “dyed-in-the-wool book guy” who never anticipated adapting the novels for TV.
“It’s something that I didn’t see coming, but I’m glad it’s here,” he said, admitting it took a while for technology to reach a level where epic fantasy novels could be adapted for the screen.
“I’ve never felt like this was a train about to go off the rails, or that it would turn out to be less successful than I wanted it to be,” he said of the TV series.
Brooks’ readers are also happy with the way the series turned out. The author said the commenters on his fan site were “pretty positive” about the series after some initial concerns that the show would air on MTV.