The world has changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the press releases from major streaming services. Amazon has announced that its megabudget (estimated $465 million) Lord of the Rings TV series has finally wrapped filming in New Zealand and will finally premiere … next September! Per a release, the yet-to-be-titled series will premiere on Friday, September 2, with new episodes available weekly (they’re finally moving away from that binge-at-once strategy). As for the plot, it’ll take place before the events of J.R.R. Tolkein’s famous trilogy and the films it inspired, by going back in time to the Second Age. “Beginning in a time of relative peace,†Amazon’s release reads, “the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.†The show has an extensive cast that includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani. Its showrunners are J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. If you want to try to make sense of why so many resources are being spent on this project, we recommend listening to Bo Burnham’s Jeff Bezos song.