EXCLUSIVE: J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producers and showrunners of Amazon Studios/Prime Video’s The Lord Of the Rings: The Rings Of Power, have signed with CAA for representation.
The duo developed The Lord of the Rings prequel series and are spearheading the fantasy drama, whose upcoming second season is in post-production.
The first season of LOTR: The Rings Of Power amassed more than 100 million viewers, setting Prime Video records for most global viewers in its first day (25 million) and for signups worldwide during its launch window. It also garnered six Emmy Award nominations in the crafts categories.
The Rings of Power marked the first TV series endeavor for Payne and McKay who have worked on screenplays for such features as Star Trek Beyond and Jungle Cruise. Their original script Escape made the 2017 Blacklist.
This marks a major representation change for Payne and McKay who were most recently at Verve and also left their longtime management company as they signed with CAA. They continue to be with attorney Barry Littman at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.