‘LoTR: Rings of Power’: The Show to Maintain No Sex and Nudity Policy

Mystery, fantasy, blood, battle, war, betrayal, gore, monsters, nudity, more blood, cheating. These are most of the things that you find in a fantasy show like Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, True Blood, Spartacus, etc. Dropping this year, Rings of Power is the most anticipated fantasy tv show right now and probably ever.

Yesterday on February 10, 2022, thanks to Vanity Fair, we got to see first look images of the series. Coming with the images is confirmation that showrunners McKay and Payne are not trying to make Game of Thrones 2.0 with this show. This was basically to say that fans should not expect sex or nudity in the series.

Last year, the show started catching some flack when reports broke out that production had hired intimacy coordinators and the actors’ contract included being comfortable with nudity. A petition was organized quickly to urge Amazon not to include gratuitous nudity and sex like Game of Thrones did.

McKay, speaking to Vanity Fair said,

“[The goal was] was to make a show for everyone, for kids who are 11, 12, and 13, even though sometimes they might have to pull the blanket up over their eyes if it’s a little too scary. We talked about the tone in Tolkien’s books. This is material that is sometimes scary — and sometimes very intense, sometimes quite political, sometimes quite sophisticated — but it’s also heartwarming and life-affirming and optimistic. It’s about friendship and it’s about brotherhood and underdogs overcoming great darkness.”

But what does that mean for the show exactly? When making a show, it’s almost impossible to hide naked human body. Once in a while, even network TV slips in a shirtless or pantless character in the show. It’s understandable because network shows are broadcast to the general public and the chances of a random person seeing it is very high so you don’t want to be making people uncomfortable or aroused in the middle of a work shift.

For streaming, however, the rules are a bit different. More times than not, anyone who watches a show has to consciously decide to start it. Every episode begins with a content warning. Many people however are queasy when it comes to seeing such content, whether in real life or on TV. Whether that stems from growing up or it’s because of jealousy for whichever reason, we may never know.

If we compare some major fantasy dramas whether from the past or recently such content come with the territory. It is part of the charm. Vampire fantasy drama True Blood is famed for being entertaining and having a lots of such questionable content. Game of Thrones set the bar high. As recent as last year, The Wheel of Time had a few such scenes. The only problem that comes with such content is that sometimes it can be presented as if it interferes with the quality of storytelling. But if something superficial and basic as that interferes with the story, then it was a dumb story, to begin with.

It’s not a big deal if Rings of Power has a lot of controversial content. It might make or break the show. Neither is it a big deal if it doesn’t. it might break or make the show. As long as the characters are not kids and having controversial scenes, why not?

Rings of Power premieres September 12 on Prime Video with the trailer being released this weekend.