The Wheel of Time season 2 will have longer episodes

Seasons of television seem to be shrinking in size. Case in point: The Wheel of Time, based on the massive 14-book epic fantasy series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, had only eight episodes in its first season, despite showrunner Rafe Judkins asking for a full 10. Recent television history is littered with similar examples, from the final season of The Expanse to Raised By Wolves season 2 and more.

Now, Judkins has revealed on Twitter that The Wheel of Time season 2 will have the same number of episodes as season 1. “They are longer than first season, but yes, still only 8,” he said during an impromptu Q&A session with fans.

Episodes of The Wheel of Time season 1 ranged from 54 to 60 minutes, so if season 2’s episodes run longer that means at least some of them will likely be over an hour. This fits with recent trends as well; recent episodes of Stranger Things had notoriously long run times, and The Orville: New Horizons regularly churns out episodes which may as well be short films.

While it would have been nice to get more episodes in The Wheel of Time season 2, hearing that they’re longer is a solid consolation prize. Season 2 will be primarily covering the events of book 2, The Great Hunt, though it will include plenty from the first and third books of the series as well. “We are trying to get a fair amount of what’s done in Books 1-3 (large parts still being held for later) by the end of S2 so that S3 can be a much closer adaptation of [The Shadow Rising],” Judkins told another fan, referring to the fourth Wheel of Time book as the basis for the show’s recently renewed third season.

Hopper is confirmed to be in The Wheel of Time season 2!

There are plenty of other great tidbits in Judkins’ Q&A, but one of the most exciting is that the Wheel of Time showrunner confirmed the inclusion of one of the story’s canine stars. Season 1 introduced the idea that Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) has a particular kinship with wolves, though it excluded many of the details. We already knew that season 2 would be bringing in Elyas Machera, Perrin’s first mentor in the ways of the Wolfbrother. Now we know that another character important to Perrin’s wolf journey will appear: Hopper, the main wolf that Perrin communicates with throughout the series.

When asked if Hopper would appear in season 2, Judkins’ excitement was palpable. “THANK YOU. WHY IS NO ONE EVER GIVING HOPPER THE RESPECT HE DESERVES. OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: HOPPER IS IN S2,” he wrote.

I’ll just speak for myself here and say that Perrin’s Wolfbrother plotline was one of my favorites in the books. It’s exciting to hear that Judkins and his team will be incorporating more of that material in the season ahead.

There’s currently no release date for The Wheel of Time season 2, which is in post-production as of this writing. The Wheel of Time season 1 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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h/t CBR.com