Terry Goodkind‘s epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth is slated to become a one-hour, live-action, weekly syndicated series produced by Disney-ABC Domestic Television (DADT). Sam Raimi, who was responsible for the three recent Spider-Man movies, will executive produce.
DADT President Janice Marinelli made the announcement 30 January, saying “We are thrilled to offer a network-quality show to the syndication marketplace… together with the talented team behindi Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.” DADT already produces Lost and Ghost Whisperer, to name just two genre series. “The time is right,” Marinelli continued, “to introduce a captivating new series from this well-established and successful genre that is sure to be an attractive fit for stations across the country.”
ABC Studios President Mark Pedowitz said “We’re very excited to move into the first-run syndication arena, especially with Sam Raimi, a visually dynamic filmmaker who’s mastered the fantasy genre.”
Raimi, too, was lavish with his praise: “Terry Goodkind is a brilliant author and I fell in love with his books, reading them with my family. In discussing these incredible storylines and rich characters with my friends and partners Robert Tapert and Josh Donen, we agreed that Wizard’s First Rule would make an amazing television series—one that could be produced with compelling, self-contained episodes.”
Goodkind’s series has grown to eleven books translated into more than 20 languages since Tor Books published the first book, Wizard’s First Rule, in 1994. The story “follows the extraordinary transformation of woodsman Richard Cypher into a magical leader who joins with a mysterious, beautiful woman to stop a bloodthirsty, sinister tyrant.”
ABC expects to begin production of 22 episodes in May, though there’s no word on what, if any, effect the WGA strike will have on the show.