Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' team includes 'Breaking Bad' and HBO alumni

Amazon hasn't officially revealed the cast of its much-hyped Lord of the Rings series, but it's more than willing to talk about the creative team. The internet pioneer has unveiled the producers and writers behind the Tolkien-based show, and many of them are responsible for beloved shows -- even if you're not particularly familiar with the names involved. Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay are just part of the picture.

Many of those involved have worked on major HBO shows, including executive producers Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly and Jason Cahill (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos respectively) as well as consulting producer Bryan Cogman (also Game of Thrones). Producer Gennifer Hutchison hails from Breaking Bad, while Stranger Things' Justin Doble is also executive producing.

Others have worked on everything from Hannibal (Helen Shang) to Toy Story 4 (Stephany Folsom). Amazon had already tapped Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's JA Bayona to both executive produce as well as direct the first two episodes.

There's no guarantee this team will produce a bona fide hit -- just ask any sports team that loaded its roster with mega stars who couldn't work well together. This does show that Amazon is determined to produce a show more on par wih the LOTR movies, though, and it's willing to recruit top talent to make that happen.