'Wheel of Time' Season 2 Episode Count Revealed in WGA Filing

One mystery about The Wheel of Time Season 2 was solved with a simple administrative filing last week. The show premiered with eight episodes in Season 1, and many fans were holding out hope that Season 2 would go longer. However, according to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) directory, we now know for sure that Season 2 will have eight episodes.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 has now been entered on the WGA directory website, giving us a look at who wrote the final script for each episode. Showrunner Rafe Judkins is only credited for the teleplay on the season finale – and even then he shared the credit with Timothy Earle. Otherwise, staff writers have credits for each episode including Amanda Kate Shuman, Katherine B. McKenna, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Rammy Park and Justine Juel Gillmer. The new season premieres on Friday, Sept. 1 on Prime Video.

The Wheel of Time is one of the biggest powerhouse shows of the current fantasy streaming boom, but it has a long way to go before reaching Tarmon Gai'don. The episode count has been a point of criticism in some circles – while many fandoms gripe about the decreasing episode counts of their favorite series these days, The Wheel of Time has taken it particularly hard due to the length and scope of its source material. With 14 novels to translate to the screen, more episodes definitely would have been a boon.

The series is also looking to make up some lost ground after Season 1 filming was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. That impacted the visual spectacle, while star Barney Harris did not return to the studio to film the last two episodes. Harris left the show and his character was written out of those episodes, causing some ripple effects with the story to come which will take it even further from the story of the books.

Season 2 will have its own challenges – particularly the Hollywood labor strikes which prevent some cast and crew members from giving interviews and promoting the show at all. This will obviously take a toll on the advertising but it may also leave us with some big mysteries as well. Writers and actors will not be there to break down the show's new changes from the source material – whether that's defending their creative decisions or simply helping to speculate about where they will lead.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 premieres on Friday, Sept. 1 on Prime Video. The original novels are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.