Watch Legend of the Seeker Online

Sam Raimi became interested in adapting The Sword of Truth novels to screen after his partners Joshua Donen and Robert Tapert encouraged him to read the books. Raimi considered adapting the first book into a movie or a five-part miniseries but later settled on making a weekly television series after speaking to the books' author Terry Goodkind. A weekly television program would allow them to include most of the stories and important aspects of the series. Goodkind had resisted in selling the rights of his books on multiple occasions before he met Raimi because he was not confident that those producers would maintain the integrity of his stories and characters. Raimi, who had produced Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys with Tapert and Ned Nalle, saw this as an opportunity to return to the first-run syndicated television business. However, the syndicated television business had diminished after the loss of crucial foreign markets; the last syndicated TV series was She Spies, which was canceled in 2004.

ABC Studios agreed to fund the project, making it its first venture into broadcast syndication, and greenlit the production for 22 episodes after it was cleared for broadcast to stations representing 84% of the United States, with Tribune Company being the primary launch group. The show, which is heavily action-oriented and requires visual effects, was given a "network-sized" production budget of US$1.5 million per episode.

Production began in May 2008 in New Zealand, where the entire series will be shot in high definition.

In casting the role of Richard Cypher, Tapert recalled that when he saw Craig Horner on his audition tape, he "absolutely thought he was the guy, instantly". Raimi thought that although Horner is older than the character he plays, he was "very believable" and that "he's got enough good qualities in him, in real life, and he will probably make the audience believe that he's taking that ride towards making a responsible person and that growth of character that's so important for me in the stories of Terry Goodkind." Horner had not heard of the books prior to the audition and was convinced by a friend to read the books and try out for the role.

For the role of Kahlan Amnell, Raimi credits Tapert for finding Bridget Regan, who he saw on one of the audition tapes they received. Raimi thought that she grounded the fantastical situations by being "very human and real", and recalled, "I was moved by her and I believed her and I thought we couldn't ask for anything more." Like Horner, Regan had not read the books prior to the audition.[8] Horner and Regan were brought together for a "chemistry reading" in Los Angeles, upon which the producers concurred that they had found their two lead actors.

The story takes place in the world author Terry Goodkind created in his The Sword of Truth novel series. The three main provinces are Westland, the Midlands and D'Hara. Westland is separated from the Midlands by a magical boundary, which was created to prevent any magic from entering. On the other side of the Midlands is D'Hara, which is ruled by Darken Rahl. The Confessors oversaw the welfare of the people of the Midlands.

The show is syndicated for 22 episodes to ensure at least one full run. The series will run from November 1, 2008 until July 2009. Each episode, whilst themed to the first book of The Sword of Truth series Wizard's First Rule, has close-ended stories. The story begins after the invasion of Darken Rahl's army into the Midlands. Kahlan Amnell (Bridget Regan), a Confessor, ventures into Westland in search of a wizard and the Seeker, who has been prophecized to defeat Rahl. Kahlan finds the wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Bruce Spence) and the Seeker Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), who is forced to accept his destiny. Together, they set off on a journey to seek out Rahl and his minions. Starting with the third episode the series will also feature episodes with storylines, events and characters not encountered in the books

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