Another idea I've had for a LotR adjacent TV series was a prequel that covers the events in "The Hunt for the Ring" from Unfinished Tales. The main characters would be Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, the Ringwraiths, and Saruman. Act One begins with Sauron's interrogation of Gollum and follows his attempts to track Gollum to the Ring, foiled by Aragorn's eventual capture and imprisonment of Gollum in Mirkwood. In Act Two, Sauron's spies search for the home of the "halflings" but are thwarted by the Dúnedain and the treachery of Saruman, so Sauron launches a dual assault on Mirkwood and Osgiliath. Denethor, Faramir, and Boromir could feature prominenlty here. In Act Three, the Nazgȗl cross the Anduin, searching for the Ring, the Shire, and the escaped Gollum who is also pursued by Legolas and elves from Mirkwood. Gollum winds up hiding in Moria, and the Nazgȗl, unsuccessful, ride to Isengard to parley with Saruman, where it's revealed that Gandalf only just escaped before Saruman was about to turn him over to them. Gandalf is pursued by orcs and wolves of Saruman who tells the Ringwraiths where the Shire is. Riding north, they encounter the "squint-eyed southerner" who informs them that Baggins can be found in Hobbiton. They cross Sarn Ford resisted by Rangers and enter the Shire. The Witch-king, in an attempt to keep the hobbits from escaping to the east, goes to the Barrow-downs to rouse the Barrow-wights against them. Meanwhile, Boromir has the dream about the Sword that was broken and sets out for Rivendell, and Gandalf tames Shadowfax, heads north, and fights the Nazgȗl at Weathertop.
