The story takes place in the world created by author Terry Goodkind in his fantasy novel series, The Sword of Truth.

Kahlan finds the wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, and the Seeker, a young man named Richard Cypher, who is forced to accept a destiny he never knew about.

It tells the story of how Richard, Kahlan, and Zeddicus discover that their quest during the first season caused them to unintentionally help the Keeper of the Underworld create tears in the veil which separates the land of the dead from the world of the living.

The series premiered on November 1, 2008 in the United States and was broadcast weekly on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the local television station.

Goodkind had resisted selling the rights of his books on multiple occasions before he met Raimi because he was not confident that other producers would maintain the integrity of his stories and characters.

[6] Raimi, who had produced Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess with Tapert and Ned Nalle, saw this as an opportunity to return to the first-run syndicated television business.

[6] Executive producers Raimi and Tapert intended Legend of the Seeker to be "just about telling the stories of these characters and the sacrifices they make for each other.

[12] Tapert and Raimi maintain that while the writers have had to create events that are not portrayed in the books, they have remained faithful to the characters, themes and overarching story of the books: ...I think the most important thing, at least for me, is that we remain true to the heart and soul of the characters, what they represent, what they stand for, the good things that they're fighting for, what are their weaknesses and how to overcome them, what the villain represents to the hero, the love story.

Sam Raimi and his team want to keep the TV series true to my vision, so rest assured that I am going to be intimately involved in the writing of each of the episodes."

"[13] However, after production started, Goodkind released another press statement in response to questions posed to him by fans: "I want you all to understand that ABC studios chose not to consult me on actors, scripts, or any other aspect of the show," he stated.

He continued, "For my part, I trust in Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert to at some point be able to exert their immense creative talent and do a great job at bringing to life the characters we all love."

When casting the role of Richard Cypher, Tapert recalled that when he saw Craig Horner's audition tape, he "absolutely thought he was the guy, instantly".

[14] For the role of Kahlan Amnell, Raimi credits Tapert for finding Bridget Regan, whom he saw on one of the audition tapes they received.

[15] Horner and Regan were brought together for a "chemistry reading" in Los Angeles, upon which the producers concurred that they had found their two lead actors.

After an apparent deal with Syfy fell through,[18] Ausiello Files reported on April 26 that Legend of the Seeker had been cancelled and would not return for a third season.

The series premiere, which consisted of the first two episodes, received generally mixed reviews from critics, earning a 53 out of 100 average rating as calculated by Metacritic.

[28] It was criticized for not being as "fun" as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess (also produced by Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi),[29] and not having enough excitement.

[30] Another complaint about the show's premiere was its lack of distinguishing features and that it was "too derivative of other works" like Star Wars and The Matrix, with the "300-style" slow-motion action sequences often cited as an example.

[29][31][32] Brian Lowry from Variety called the show "a hodgepodge of better sci-fi/fantasy fare",[31] while Ray Richmond from The Hollywood Reporter described it as "[b]ig on style but more challenged in terms of substance" with "too little provocative/evocative interaction aside from the ultra-violent kind".

"[34] Legend of the Seeker was praised for its high production value and the use of New Zealand exteriors,[31][32][33] with Robert Lloyd from Los Angeles Times commenting that the show is basically "good-looking fun".