The Wheel of Time Season 3: Behind the Scenes Drama (Plus Seasons 1 & 2)

The Wheel of Time Season 3: Behind the Scenes Drama (Plus Seasons 1 & 2) | Prime Video

The Wheel of Time Season 3 is finally here, but bringing Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series to the screen has been anything but easy. From legal battles over the rights to extreme filming conditions in South Africa, the behind-the-scenes journey of Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time adaptation has been filled with challenges. Fans have been eagerly awaiting Season 3, but with so much happening behind closed doors, how has it affected the show? In this video, we take a deep dive into all the controversies, production struggles, and shocking behind-the-scenes stories that have shaped The Wheel of Time from Season 1 to now.

Before Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television took control, The Wheel of Time faced a bizarre and messy legal fight. In 2015, a low-budget pilot titled Winter Dragon aired out of nowhere in the middle of the night on FXX. Starring Billy Zane as Ishamael, the 30-minute adaptation of The Eye of the World’s prologue felt more like a rushed fan film than an official production. But why was it made? It turns out, Red Eagle Entertainment, the company that held the TV rights to The Wheel of Time, was about to lose them unless they aired something before their deadline. The result was a hastily thrown-together episode that outraged fans and even caught Robert Jordan’s widow, Harriet McDougal, off guard. She had no idea Winter Dragon was being made and immediately took legal action to regain control of the rights. After a lengthy battle, the rights finally became available, paving the way for Sony and Amazon to step in and make the adaptation fans had been waiting for.

When Amazon officially greenlit The Wheel of Time series with Rafe Judkins as showrunner, things started looking promising. The casting announcements excited fans, with Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, Daniel Henney as Lan Mandragoran, Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor, Madeleine Madden as Egwene al’Vere, Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, and Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara. Filming for Season 1 began in 2019 in the Czech Republic, featuring beautiful medieval landscapes that felt true to the world of the books. But just as things were gaining momentum, disaster struck.

Like so many other film and television projects, The Wheel of Time was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Production was put on hold indefinitely, leaving fans wondering if the show would even be completed. When filming finally resumed, everything had to be adjusted—scripts were rewritten, schedules were restructured, and some major sequences had to be cut entirely. This led to one of the biggest complaints about The Wheel of Time Season 1: the rushed and uneven finale. Originally, the final battle was supposed to be much larger in scale, but COVID restrictions forced the team to scale back, leaving fans disappointed.

Then came one of the biggest mysteries of the entire production: the sudden departure of Barney Harris, who played Mat Cauthon in Season 1. Harris’s performance was widely praised, capturing Mat’s mischievous yet lovable nature perfectly. However, he was abruptly replaced by Dónal Finn for The Wheel of Time Season 2, and to this day, no official explanation has been given. The studio has remained silent, and Harris himself has never spoken publicly about the situation. Fans have speculated that it could have been due to COVID travel restrictions, personal reasons, or undisclosed behind-the-scenes conflicts, but the real reason remains a mystery.

As The Wheel of Time moved into Season 2, things seemed to stabilize somewhat, but challenges still persisted. Filming continued under strict COVID protocols, which complicated schedules and logistics. Additionally, some fans started questioning certain creative choices, particularly how much the series was deviating from the books. While many viewers loved seeing the world of the Wheel of Time brought to life, others were frustrated by changes to characters and storylines.

But none of these challenges compared to what the cast and crew faced while filming The Wheel of Time Season 3. To bring the massive world of Robert Jordan’s series to life, production moved to South Africa, a location with stunning landscapes perfect for the show’s vast and rugged environments. However, shooting there came with extreme challenges—most notably, the heat. The cast and crew were forced to endure brutal temperatures of up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, causing multiple cases of heat stroke on set. Production had to slow down, filming schedules had to be adjusted, and even with these precautions, working conditions were extremely tough. Some crew members described the heat as nearly unbearable, leading to speculation about whether these extreme filming conditions will impact the final quality of The Wheel of Time Season 3.