Overview
- Sat.1 is airing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring tonight, Monday, December 8, 2025, starting at 20:15.
- The showing marks the trilogy’s reported return to free-to-air television 24 years after the first film’s 2001 theatrical debut.
- FOCUS online recounts that Jackson and Fran Walsh pursued Tolkien’s rights after exploring modern CGI ideas as early as 1995.
- The project shifted from a Miramax-backed two-film concept to a New Line trilogy following negotiations and a 35-minute test presentation.
- A halted 1997 King Kong remake steered Jackson back to Middle‑earth, where the story begins with Frodo’s quest and the forming of the Fellowship.