The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of the Merlin | Dailywire+ TV Series | Now Streaming

The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of the Merlin is a 7-episode series based on the first two novels of Stephen R. Lawhead's Arthurian legend series. The show opens in 4th-century England in the midst of the Roman Empire's long, slow collapse. It combines history with fantasy and Christian supernaturalism to tell the story of how the Island of the Mighty was forged in the early days of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

I watched the first episode last night and came away surprised at the production values this series has. You can tell a lot of time and effort was put into filming this show. Though you can definitely tell this show had a finite post-production budget as some of the visual effects shots look like something out of a 90s made-for-TV movie. Fortunately, the use of CGI has been sparing so far as the production relies heavily on real locales and practical effects.

The acting and directing are both competent, and the writing is solid and faithful to the source material. I give the first episode a solid 7/10 rating. I will watch the second episode tonight and see if the project can maintain momentum.