‘The Shannara Chronicles’ Moves From MTV to Spike for Season 2
Viacom network loses another scripted series amid restructuring
Reid Nakamura | May 11, 2017 @ 9:00 AM
Last Updated: May 11, 2017 @ 9:13 AM
MTV
“The Shannara Chronicles” will have a new home when it returns for Season 2.
The fantasy TV series will move from MTV to Spike for its sophomore season, scheduled to premiere in the fall. The 10-episode season doesn’t currently have a premiere date, though Spike plans to re-air Season 1 beginning June 29, following the premiere of the Stephen King adaptation “The Mist.”
The move leaves MTV with one fewer scripted series amid the ongoing Viacom restructuring. The final season of “Teen Wolf” is set to premiere this summer, and an abbreviated third season of “Scream,” which will be rebooted with a new cast and location, is currently scheduled for the fall.
Paramount Network — which will become the new name for Spike in a rebranding scheduled for January — looks to be the new priority for Viacom’s scripted efforts. The company recently relocated “American Woman” and “Heathers” to Paramount, both of which had previously been in development at TV Land.
Austin Butler, Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett, Aaron Jakubenko and Marcus Vanco star, with new cast members Vanessa Morgan, Malese Jow, Gentry White, Caroline Chikezie, and Desmond Chiam joining for Season 2.
According to the official description, “Season 2 takes place one year after the events of last season. The Four Lands are in chaos. The re-emergence of magic has the populace terrified, and an organization called The Crimson is hunting down magic users, using fear and intimidation to sow discord among the races. Wil, scarred by the loss of Amberle and his separation from Eretria, has turned his back on his magical destiny to become a healer. But when a mysterious woman named Mareth saves Wil from a Crimson attack, he is forced to rejoin the fight.”
Created by Al Gough and Miles Millar and based on the fantasy book series by Terry Brooks, “The Shannara Chronicles” is executive produced by Gough & Millar, Brooks, Jon Favreau, Jonathan Liebesman, and Dan Farah. The series is produced and distributed worldwide by Sonar Entertainment in association with Millar/Gough Ink and Farah Films.
Evolution of MTV: From Buggles to 'Teen Wolf' (Photos)
August 1, 1981 – MTV takes off
MTV officially premiered in 1981 with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" played over footage of the launch of the Columbia space shuttle, followed by the debut of the network's now-iconic logo.
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1981 – "Video Killed the Radio Star"
MTV's kicked off it's 24-hour rotation of music videos with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," sending the format mainstream for the first time.
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1982 – "I want my MTV!"
MTV enlisted famous musicians -- including Pat Benatar, David Bowie, The Police, Kiss, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Lionel Richie and Mick Jagger -- in 1982 for a legendary marketing campaign calling on viewers to ask their cable companies to carry the network.
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1983 – Michael Jackson breaks the color barrier
In its earliest days, MTV focused mainly on rock music by white artists, leading to cries of racial discrimination. The network finally reversed course in 1983 when it was pressured into airing Michael Jackson's video for "Billie Jean," followed closely by "Beat It" and the hugely popular "Thriller."
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September 14, 1984 – The first VMAs
MTV debuted the original Video Music Awards in 1984, with Madonna doing a live performance of her single "Like a Virgin," and The Cars' "You Might Think" walking away with the moonman for Video of the Year.
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May 1992 – "The Real World"
MTV stopped being polite and started getting real in 1992 with the premiere of "The Real World," basically inventing the modern reality TV genre in the process and setting the stage for hundreds of imitators in years to come.
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September 1998 – "Total Request Live"
As MTV continued to shift away to other kinds of programming in the late '90s, the Carson Daly-hosted "TRL" became the network's main outlet for music videos, featuring a countdown of the most-requested videos of the day.
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October 2000 – "Jackass"
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March 2002 – "The Osbournes"
The most-watched MTV series when it premiered, "The Osbournes" documented the domestic life of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, making it one of the first entrants in the now-common "celebreality" genre.
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September 2004 – "Laguna Beach"
A year after the premiere of Fox's "The OC," MTV debuted the reality series "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," the world's first introduction to the life of Lauren "L.C." Conrad. The even more popular spinoff "The Hills" followed in 2006, blurring the line between scripted and unscripted television.
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November 2008 – "TRL" comes to an end
The series finale of "TRL" marked the end of an era for MTV, with the music-centric program taking its final bow at a time when "The Hills" was hitting its peak, and "Jersey Shore" and "16 and Pregnant" -- a show which would eventually birth three editions of spin-off "Teen Mom" -- were less than a year away.
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December 2009 – "Jersey Shore"
Snooki, JWoww and The Situation became household names when the "Real World"-inspired series "Jersey Shore" hit the network and became one of the most popular shows on cable TV at the time.
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2010 – A push for scripted series
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January 2016 – "The Shannara Chronicles"
For years the network struggled to find a show that could match the success of "Teen Wolf," so in 2016 MTV bet big on "The Shannara Chronicles," an expensive adaptation of the series of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks.
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July 2016 – The end in sight for "Teen Wolf"
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September 15, 2016 – "Wonderland"
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1 of 16
Viacom’s music-centric network has taken many forms since “I want my MTV!”
August 1, 1981 – MTV takes off
MTV officially premiered in 1981 with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" played over footage of the launch of the Columbia space shuttle, followed by the debut of the network's now-iconic logo.