The series bears similarities to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, as they had the same creator and director, Robert Mandell, as well as some writers in common, notably Christopher Rowley.

The series was initially planned to be an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern and came in the wake of Bohbot's earlier take on the Arthurian legends, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice.

The series is set on the legendary island of Avalon, where mystical jewels help their users cast spells, and whose inhabitants include several characters from Arthurian legend, such as Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.

The latest incarnation of the group consists of its leader, the 16-year-old[11] Princess Gwenevere, a distant descendant of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, who was named after her, and her friends Fallon and Tamara.

Princess Gwenevere, the daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the ceremony in which she will receive the Sun Stone, one of the Enchanted Jewels, and meet her magic animal, who will bond with it.

Meanwhile, the sorceress Lady Kale, Queen Anya's power-hungry sister who was banished after being denied the Sun Stone, plans to steal Merlin's Crown Jewels and use their magic to conquer Avalon.

Gwenevere successfully completes her Sun Stone bonding ceremony with Sunstar, a flying unicorn she rescues from Lady Kale's castle.

United by their mutual hatred of Merlin and his followers, the two decide to join forces, and Morgana sends Kale to Avalon in search of the Wizard Jewels in preparation for her return.

The time is about to come for her to receive the special Enchanted Jewel, the Sun Stone, in the traditional Friendship Ring ceremony and join her friends Tamara and Fallon.

[3] The series was produced by much of the team behind the late 1980s science fiction cartoon The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, including the creator, co-writer and main director of both shows, Robert Mandell, after a long development process.

One of the several work-in-progress titles for the show was Enchanted Camelot, which was acquired as such in March 1994 by LIVE Entertainment (along with Skysurfer Strike Force and Highlander: The Animated Series).

[57] In 2008–2009, the series has been available to be watched for free in a streaming media form on the Lycos Cinema service and later Kidlet.tv; while it was titled as Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, it was actually the Starla version.

[66] According to Robert Mandell, the show was originally commissioned by Hasbro through reverse toyetic to accompany their line of toys (albeit only in the form of vague outline and the creators developed the plot and the characters).

[50] Other merchandise included a series of collectible trading cards released by the Upper Deck Company in 1996,[72] a "play-a-sound" children's illustrated sound book by Nancy L. McGill based on the first two episodes and published by Publications International that same year,[73] Panini Group collectible stickers,[74] a makeup kit,[75] Happy Meal and Long John Silver's premium toys, lunchboxes, clothing items, and such.

[77] In 2023, nearly three decades after the end of the television series, licensed Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders comic books (advertised as graphic novels) were announced to be released by the Mad Cave Studios imprint Maverick.

According to the cartoon's executive producer and copyright holder Allen Bohbot from 41 Entertainment, they are going "to reflect a modern take of the Arthurian legends with a more dramatized version [and] will target an older audience," and it "may well serve as a foundation of story and design content for potential new YA animated project.

"[79] The comic series, written by Jordie Bellaire and illustrated by Koi Carreon, began with Volume 1 published on 28 May 2024: "While the girls remain friends, things are not as they once were.

When Merlin begins acting oddly, it's a sign that evil Wild Magic has returned to the kingdom--and so has a foe the Jewel Riders thought they'd once vanquished.

"[80] Volume 2, The Quest for Avalon, was announced to be released on August 19, 2025: "When we last saw Gwen and her friends Fallon and Tamara, they had successfully defeated Lady Kale–or so they thought.

"[81] A crossover with King Arthur & the Knights of Justice is to be released on the Free Comic Book Day in May 2025, to be written by Jordie Bellaire and Joseph Corallo and illustrated by various artists.

First broadcast there in April 1996, it reached the top of the channel France 3's ratings in children's time slots with a 77.6% market share average, proving "that action, knights and fantastic stories work very well with boys, too.

[86] Retrospectively, Rob Bricken of Topless Robot ranked Princess Gwenevere fifth on his 2009 list of "most ridiculous" adaptations of Arthurian legend, commenting that shows like that "were clearly made to take advantage of a small, low-aiming school of girl-oriented action cartoons, but it ultimately lost out to a slightly more tolerable Japanese import.

"[9] In The Middle Ages in Popular Culture: Medievalism and Genre, Clare Bradford and Rebecca Hutton described it as "a disappointing production that is markedly sexist and racist with only tenuous links to the Arthuriad.

"[88] Kathleen Richter of Ms. called the show "so sexist and racist" for how it has "the powerful female figure demonized as evil and the main character blonde and blue-eyed.

"[89] On the other hand, Samantha Kelly of the Manchester Metro News called it as "a real gem" of a fairy tale style good-versus-evil story for young girls, who in her opinion would strongly identify with its beautiful royal heroine on her quest against the menace of Lady Kale, praising the show as "full of action and fantasy" and featuring "excellent" character animation.

[90] Bustle's Lucia Peters wrote, "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders followed a pretty classic 'special kid and special friends have awesome powers and must defeat the forces of darkness' format.

[92] In King Arthur in America, authors Alan and Barbara Lupack that the show, "with its strong female heroine, is interesting in part because it is designed primarily for girls.

"[2] According to Billboard, the plot of this "popular" series, "specifically targeting young girls", features "life lessons to be learned along the way, and the program in general promotes brains over brawn.

"[95] Syfy's Brittany Vincent wrote about how this "pleasant and kitschy relic of the past" had been a "perfect fodder for young girls like me looking for strong women and heroes to imitate.

In 2001, author Rachel Roberts began writing her contemporary fantasy book series Avalon: Web of Magic inspired by and loosely based on the show.