'Rings of Power' EPs on Pacing of Season 1 and Reinventing Familiar Characters (Exclusive)

CORRIE fans were left reeling last night as they witnessed Stephen Reid brutally murdering Leo in shock scenes. Structural engineer Leo (Joe Frost) - was hurled over a balcony into a bin by bankrupt businessman Stephen in Monday night's episode of the ITV soap. But fans were left appalled by the horrific turn of events as Cobbles newcomer Stephen officially made his first kill.

A new garden in Coylton will ‘bring a disjointed community back together’ according to the group behind the project.

Labour has surged to its largest lead over the Conservative Party in more than decades, according to the latest opinion poll. Sir Keir Starmer will be buoyed by promising polling for Labour as he accuses the Tories of losing control of the economy and vows to get the UK "out of this endless cycle of crisis".

Rangers hero Brian Laudrup insists Rangers must put on an impressive display when they face Hearts to silence the critics after a sluggish start to the season.

John Travolta has taken to Instagram to wish his former Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John a "happy birthday", seven weeks after her death from breast cancer.MORE: John Travolta shares pride for daughter Ella as she makes her catwalk debutThe actor took to his Instagram Stories and alongside a still from their popular 1978 film, he simply wrote: "Happy Birthday my Olivia."WATCH: John Travolta shares heartwarming message in candid postOn what would have been Olivia's 74th birthday, her husband, John Easterling, 70, also shared a moving tribute.MORE: John Travolta pours his heart out about his family in emotional tributeREAD: John Travolta mourns loss of Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John following her deathTaking to his and her Instagram, John shared a beautiful photo of the pair looking happy whilst on holiday. "A birthday memory to @therealonj - swipe right to read: Happy Birthday Honey - I Love You! - Amazon John," he captioned the post.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras have performed an Unholy miracle with the UK's Official Number 1 Trending Song. 

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The cast of the Amazon Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” released a pointed statement on Wednesday condemning “the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis.” The message comes after months of epithets and smears surrounding the decision by executive producers and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to populate J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth — including humans, elves, dwarfs and harfoots (e.g., earlier versions of hobbits) — with actors of color. “Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural,” reads the statement. “A world in which free peoples from, different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. ‘Rings of Power’ reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white.”

Elon Musk has heavily criticised Amazon‘s Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power following the release of its first two episodes.READ MORE: The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power review: epic fantasy franchise returns to rule them allThe Tesla CEO recently took to Twitter to deliver his damming verdict, writing: “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”In a follow-up tweet, he added: “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.”Set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, the J.D.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has become the biggest opening premiere in Amazon Prime Video’s history.Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday (September 2), Amazon shared that the show had earned 25million viewers in the first 24 hours after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide”.Speaking about the milestone, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has become one of the most successful shows in Amazon Prime Video's history.  The epic fantasy series boasted an audience of over 25 million viewers during its first day of release, according to Deadline.The media outlet also reported that the show's debut has since become the biggest premiere ever for any Amazon Prime Video program. Doing well: Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has become one of the most successful shows in Amazon Prime Video's historyAmazon Studios' head, Jennifer Salke, gave a statement to express her enthusiasm about the show's success. She stated: 'It is somehow fitting that Tolkien's stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.' The entertainment industry figure then showed her gratitude for several figures associated with the program's production. 'I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has become Amazon Prime Video's most-watched premiere ever. The fantasy television series' debut drew a global audience of more than 25 million viewers, the largest in the streaming platform's 15-year history, according to a report by Deadline on Saturday. "Rings of Power", which is based on J.R.R.Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings" novels, premiered Thursday in 250 countries and territories.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the biggest thing Amazon Prime Video has ever done, and it looks like the TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has delivered big time.

SPOILER ALERT: This podcast contains details of the first two episodes of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuted Thursday night. For more on the epic series, watch Deadline’s Inside The Ring: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power after-show that launches Saturday. 

Could this be Sauron?

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power descended on London last night (August 30) for the new series’ red carpet world premiere.At London’s historic Leicester Square, nearly 2,000 people – comprising cast, crew, fans and more – attended the Odean Luxe and Cineworld. Among them were all 22 of the series’ cast regulars, including Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows), Ema Horvath (Eärien), Lloyd Owen (Elendil) and Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor).Also in attendance were showrunners J.D.

Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power global premiere last night, joking about his notes to showrunners and son’s “Don’t f*ck it up” advice as the battle of the tentpole prequels between Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s House of the Dragon hots up.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It’s almost time to travel back to Middle-Earth. Amazon Prime Video’s hotly anticipated new Lord of the Rings series, “The Rings of Power,” arrives on the streamer on Sept. 2. The fantasy series is one of Amazon Studios’ most ambitious projects to date, already breaking records ahead of its release. Not only is it reported to be the most expensive television series ever made (Amazon apparently shelled out close to $715 million for all eight episodes), but the show’s first trailer racked up an unmatched 257 million views when it first debuted at this year’s Super Bowl, more than any Super Bowl trailer in history. Considering the hype, millions can be expected to tune into the new Tolkein adaptation when it finally hits the streamer this week. The first two episodes of “Rings of Power” will arrive on Amazon Prime on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET and will continue to release on a weekly basis until its finale on Oct. 14. The show is available to stream exclusively on Prime Video, meaning you’ll have to sign up for an Amazon Prime account in order to access the episodes. While a subscription costs $14.99/month, you can also sign up for a 30-day free trial to watch the entire “Lord of the Rings” show for free.

Variety interviewed 18 out of the 23 series regulars that star on “The Rings of Power” in order to give readers a primer on both the actors themselves, as well as the characters they will be playing on the series from showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has been a long time coming. “I read ‘The Hobbit’ when I was about 11 years old, and by the time my son got to about that age, we started reading it together as a bedtime story,” Owen, 56 (“You, Me, and the Apocalypse”) told The Post. “Tolkien’s imagination had such a powerful effect on me when I was younger, and I doubled down on reading it with my son. So, it’s been joyous to re-read everything, and then to read everything I didn’t know was out there, properly – ‘The Silmarillion’ and all of Tolkien’s writings.“It’s been a wonderful journey of discovery and it’s very exciting to be part of it.” “The Rings of Power,” premiering Sept. 1, is set around a thousand years before the events of Peter Jackson’s “Rings” movies.