Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

In the show's original North American version, the titular character's name, Gwenevere (Gwen) resembles that of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, even though Gwen is rather her distant descendant and just a namesake, while other Arthurian characters include Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.[7][8][9] The series is set on the legendary island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale-style utopia in which mystical jewels help their users cast spells and do it safely. The dangerous raw wild magic coming from another dimension that is also called the Wild Magic is kept in check through the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, each representing an area of the realm. The story takes place a thousand years[10] after the good wizard Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana. The eponymous Jewel Riders are young female champions of goodness and magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, using and mentored by the ageless Merlin and aided by their magic animal friends, have been upholding the just laws of this peaceful land and defending its people for generations. But when a new great menace looms over Avalon, and with their teacher Merlin suddenly gone, the current three new Jewel Riders are tasked with recovering the Crown Jewels controlling the wild magic.

Avalon's fate now rests with the latest incarnation of the Jewel Riders, currently made of the 16-year-old[11] Princess Gwenevere (Gwen) leading her friends Fallon and Tamara of around the same age. Their personal jewels, besides their various unique powers, allow them to "ride" safely through the tunnels of a perilous dimension of the Wild Magic, as well as to communicate with their Special Friends, the magic animals wearing a jewel identical to that of their rider. The girls are often assisted by the Pack, the also teenage but male trio of wolf-riding Knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones. Together, they fight against Lady Kale, the evil former princess of Avalon who uses dark magic and has vowed to command all the magic and rule the kingdom no matter the consequences. An emphasis is set on the "power of friendship", which enables the Jewel Riders to overcome evil[12] and even ultimately befriend some of their would-be enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not over yet, and actually gets even worse with the introduction of an even more dangerous adversary for the Jewel Riders to deal with besides Kale. Instead of the Crown Jewels, Gwen and her friends seek out another cache of magical gems while still struggling to hold off the forces of darkness and contain the growing chaos in the magic.

The story is set up during the two-part pilot episode "Jewel Quest". Princess Gwenevere, the young daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the day when she will meet her own magic animal friend to bond with her Enchanted Jewel so she can become the new leader of the Jewel Riders. She is yet to be given the magic of the royal Sun Stone in a special ceremony, while her best friends Tamara and Fallon already wield the magic of their own Enchanted Jewels, the Heart Stone and the Moon Stone. Meanwhile, the outlaw sorceress Lady Kale, a cruel and power-hungry sister of Queen Anya, plans to steal Merlin's Crown Jewels so she can use their great magic to take over Avalon and reign forever. Many years ago, Lady Kale was denied the Sun Stone and later banished, but now she finds a mysterious jewel of great evil magic that she names the Dark Stone and quickly uses it to overpower her hated enemy Merlin, sending him into the deadly Wild Magic. However, it soon turns out that Merlin did not perish, and he foils her at the last moment by breaking the Crown Jewels setting and sending them back to the lands from where they had come, scattering them wide across the kingdom and beyond. Unfortunately, once the Crown Jewels' bond is broken, magic is no longer stable and flows out of control, causing dangerous outbreaks until the jewels are brought back together. In addition, the Jewel Riders learn that retrieving them all is also the only way they might free Merlin from being lost in the limbo of Wild Magic.

Soon, Gwen successfully completes her Sun Stone bonding ceremony with Sunstar, a flying unicorn whom she rescued from Lady Kale's castle. The primary storyline then tells of the Jewel Riders' adventures in their quest as they search for the hidden Crown Jewels through the wild magic outbreaks. The seven[note 2] Crown Jewels consist of the Jewel of the North Woods (in the episode "Travel Trees Can't Dance"), the Rainbow Jewel found inside the Rainbow Falls (in the episode "Song of the Rainbow"), the Jewel of the Burning Ice found in the Hall of Wizards at the Wizard's Peak in the snow-covered mountains (in the episode "Wizard's Peak"), the Misty Rose Jewel found in the Misty Moors (in the episode "For Whom the Bell Trolls"), the Desert Star Jewel of the Great Desert found in the otherworldly realm of Faeryland (in the episode "The Faery Princess"), the Jewel of the Dreamfields (in the episode "Dreamfields"), and the Jewel of the Jungle found in the hidden lair of the legendary wizard Morgana (in the episode "Revenge of the Dark Stone"). The girls need to find and secure each of these jewels first before Lady Kale can get her hands on it, or to win it back if she does. Using the magic of the Enchanted Jewels and their friendship, the Jewel Riders must prevent Kale from gaining any more power from magic jewels or magic animals, as they cannot let her turn either evil, and reclaim all the Crown Jewels, so they can ultimately defeat the witch and save both Merlin and all of Avalon.

During the two-part dramatic finale of the first season (in the episodes "Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle"), Lady Kale succeeds in seizing control of the Jewel Keep at the Crystal Palace. Becoming seemingly invincible, Kale overthrows Anya, unleashes the dark magic onto Avalon, strips the Jewel Riders of their powers, and prepares to make herself queen for eternity. The witch then seeks out Merlin to finish him off, but he uses his remaining powers to pull her into the Wild Magic and hold her there long enough for the girls to release the hidden great good magic of the Crystal Palace, revealed as the greatest Enchanted Jewel in Avalon. Unaware of this, Kale attempts to absorb the powers of the gathered Crown Jewels but ends up trapped and destroyed by wild magic. The girls and their friends celebrate their victory and discover that the Jewel Riders have tuned the Crown Jewels to their personal jewels, enabling them to channel all the magic of Avalon. In a bittersweet ending, Merlin appears one last time to congratulate his students and tell them he had given up his staff jewel so Kale could be defeated, and without it he will be completely lost to the Wild Magic.

The second season begins with Lady Kale and Merlin seemingly gone forever, and Avalon now at peace yet still not safe. The wild magic outbreaks continue as the Jewel Riders had lost a chance of solving the magic crisis for good. But the Jewel Riders realize that the Crown Jewels have given them a set of new 'Level Two' armor and magic seven times more powerful than before, enabling them to easily deal with the outbreaks. The girls now have at their disposal far greater magic than they ever dreamed possible, however they also find it difficult to use. Meanwhile, deep inside the Wild Magic, Kale's Dark Stone is summoned towards a floating palace, where she re-materializes and meets her accidental rescuer, the legendary evil enchantress Morgana, creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. Morgana had led the other ancient wizards against Merlin a millennium ago but failed and, having lost her jewel, has remained trapped in the Wild Magic ever since. United only by their mutual hatred for Merlin and his followers, the two grudgingly decide to team up as Morgana sends Kale back to Avalon in search of the other Wizard Jewels in preparation for her own return. The Jewel Riders need to master their enhanced jewel powers while they continue their quest to find a way to bring Merlin home, especially since soon they realize that Avalon is in even worse trouble than ever.

Not only is Lady Kale back for vengeance, but now the Jewel Rides face a new and even greater enemy in Morgana. Wizard Jewels are also even harder to obtain than the Crown Jewels were, as they are scattered in dangerous places beyond Avalon, mostly in hidden wizard lairs protected by magic traps. Through most of their adventures, the girls try to find the jewels before they fall into the hands of Morgana, who wants to use their magic to complete her conquest of the kingdom; at the same time, Kale also seeks the Wizard Jewels for herself while supposedly working for Morgana. The seven Wizard Jewels consist of the Unicorn Jewel (in the episode "Vale of the Unicorns"), the Jewel of Arden (in the episode "Prince of the Forest"), the Garden Jewel (in the episode "The Wizard of Gardenia"), the Jewel of the Sea (in the episode "The Jewel of the Sea"), the Time Stone (in the episode "Mystery Island"), and the Fortune Jewel (in the episode "The Fortune Jewel"), not counting the Dark Stone itself. Soon, Tamara gains a magic animal steed for herself, which turns out to be an otherworldly unicorn named Shadowsong (in the titular episode "Shadowsong"). On another occasion (the episode "Prince of the Forest"), Gwenevere and the mysterious werewolf-like young man named Ian meet and rescue each other, as she and him quickly fall in love.

Eventually, the fight to the finish between the forces of light and dark takes place during the series' two-part conclusion (in the episodes "Lady of the Lake" and "The One Jewel", or "Spirit of Avalon" and "The One Jewel" in the Starla version), set in the hidden isle of the Heart of Avalon and then in the Heart of the Wild Magic. There, Gwen is given the magic Staff of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake (the Spirit of Avalon). With it, and Ian's help, Gwen faces off against Kale and is able to rid the world of her evil aunt for the second and last time, after a dramatic confrontation in which Fallon and Tamara have been briefly turned into crystal statues. The final showdown against Morgana then follows as the Jewel Riders and their friends band together to battle her in a test of skills and wits over the collected Wizard Jewels. Morgana almost prevails, but the princess fuses the Dark Stone with the Sun Stone and captures the ultimate One Jewel forged from all the Wizard Jewels, and the restored Merlin then uses it to put an end to Morgana as well as the ancient wizards' ghosts once and for all. The series ends with the Jewel Riders and their friends happily reuniting with Merlin and about to come back home together.

The Jewel Riders consist of the three pretty and brave teenage girls: Gwenevere (Starla in the Starla version), Fallon and Tamara. Each of them has different abilities along with their gemstones of common and unique powers that also allow them to communicate with their magic animals.

• The adventurous and romantic Princess Gwenevere (voiced by Kerry Butler in the first season and Jean Louisa Kelly in the second season) is the current leader of the Jewel Riders, as well the destined future queen of Avalon. Gwen wields the royal Sun Stone controlling the great powers of light and goodness, and rides the unique winged unicorn named Sunstar (voiced by Deborah Allison). She is blonde and blue-eyed like her mother Queen Anya, and wearing mostly shades of pink.
• The tomboyish and practical Fallon (voiced by Deborah Allison) is a fearless and athletic dedicated warrior and scout of the Jewel Riders and bodyguard of Princess Gwenevere. Fallon wields the Moon Stone, the main powers of which relate to movement and illusion, and rides the mighty unicorn princess named Moondance (voiced by Barbara Jean Kearney). She is dark-skinned and dark-haired, and wearing mostly shades of purple.
• The empathetic and spiritual Tamara (voiced by Laura Dean) is the healer and magic musician of the Jewel Riders, wielding the Heart Stone and able to talk with all animals. She is pink-haired with light green eyes and medium light skin, and wearing mostly shades of green. Tamara is in charge of raising three baby magic animals named Cleo, Spike and Sugar who too sometimes accompany the girls on their adventures. During the second season, she pairs with the male "zebracorn" named Shadowsong (voiced by Henry Mandell).

In the absence of the missing Merlin (voiced by Bob Kaliban), the Jewel Riders are being guided and advised by his talking owl familiar named Archimedes or just Archie (voiced by John Beach 'Voiceguy') who becomes their constant companion. The girls are also sometimes assisted by the handsome and strong boys of the Wolf Pack, the Knights of the Crystal Palace. The Pack is led by Gwenevere's aspiring boyfriend Drake (voiced by John Beach), riding the great wolf Thunderbolt (Thunder), supported by Josh (voiced by Bob Kaliban) and Max (voiced by Peter Fernandez) with their respective wolves Stormrunner and Windwalker.

Other recurring good characters include Princess Gwenevere's parents Queen Anya (voiced by Corinne Orr) and King Jared, the sentient and talking Travel Trees, and the genie Guardian (all voiced by Bob Kaliban). A major new character of the second season is Ian (voiced by Bob Kaliban), a hunky man-wolf prince of the Forest of Arden who falls in love with Gwen, and becomes her devoted champion as well as her second romantic interest in addition to Drake.

The series' initial antagonist is Gwenevere's wicked and haughty aunt, Lady Kale (voiced by Corinne Orr, who also voiced Kale's almost-twin blonde sister Anya), using the Dark Stone. Tall, raven-haired and wearing shades of red and purple, she is a beautiful but evil "outlaw princess" who believes herself to be the rightful heir to the throne "stolen" from her by Anya and Merlin. She had once been Merlin's student and would-be Jewel Rider herself, but was denied the Sun Stone and then banished for plotting against him and Anya. In her ruthless ambition to become the absolute ruler of Avalon, Kale is being aided by her own bonded magic animals, the huge and mean dragon Grimm (voiced by Peter Fernandez) and a duo of mischievous dragon-weasel[10] creatures, the brothers Rufus and Twig (voiced by John Beach and Henry Mandell, respectively). She also has human servants such as a gang known as the Outlaws.

The prime villain of the second season is the powerful and mysterious Queen Morgana (voiced by Deborah Allison), a beautiful elflike mistress of the dark magic, with a revived Kale reduced to her very insubordinate and disloyal sidekick. Kale and Morgana fight against the Jewel Riders together, but the two evil witches despise each other and secretly plot to betray one another. A few other ancient wizards also make appearance, notably the now-reformed Derek who this time sides with Merlin against Morgana.

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was produced by the New York-based[14] studios New Frontier Entertainment and Enchanted Camelot Productions for Bohbot Productions (later BKN) in 1995.[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. Despite a similar theme and title, there are no connections with King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, which was Bohbot Entertainment's other Arthurian-inspired cartoon series that was produced in 1992–1993. It was originally supposed to be a cartoon adaptation of the Dragonriders of Pern series of fantasy novels by Anne McCaffrey but eventually went in a different direction.[15] The project was renamed repeatedly in the course of its development, including to Enchanted Jewel Riders sometime in late 1994 or early 1995 and Princess Guinevere & Her Jewel Adventures in March 1995,[16][17] before ultimately becoming Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (which was again retitled as Starla & the Jewel Riders for the export version). 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).[18][19][20] Enchanted Camelot had some major differences in its character design.[21] The August 1994 draft script for the pilot episode of Enchanted Camelot ("Enchanted Quest", which would become "Jewel Quest") has been different in many aspects.[13][note 3]

According to The Buffalo News, "the production team intended for the Jewel Riders to serve as positive role models for girls."[22] Bohbot's press kit for the series described it as "classic story-telling," incorporating "strong themes of friendship, teamwork, responsibility and conflict resolution."[3] Each episode was constructed as an animated minimusical.[1] The animation work on the series was done in Taipei, Taiwan by Hong Ying Animation Company Limited;[23] one of the show's character designers was the future Emmy Award winner[24] Rob Davies. The overall design was done by Jane Abbot, with Billy Zeats and Greg Autore serving as art directors. Enrico Casarosa was one of the storyboard artists.[25] It was the first series scored by Louis Fagenson;[14] though the French version's soundtrack was the work of Julie Zenatti.[26] The show's CGI effects were created by Ian Tetrault in Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe After Effects. The actress for Gwenevere/Starla was changed for the second season because Kerry Butler had to go to Canada for the musical Beauty and the Beast.

The show was not renewed for 1997, but a third season was rumored in 1998.[27][28] The series' art director Greg Autore said about the making of the second season in 1995: "Bohbot wanted European distribution which required 26 [episodes]. So they made the next 13. They would have made more but were waiting to see how it succeeded. When the second set of episodes was turned on, the only two directions to start with were – 1) Search for wild magic jewels since the first set was all found 2) Use Morgana as the ultimate villainess instead of Lady Kale. Fortunately, director Robert Mandell was open to many of my suggestions. That second season had many episodes that grew from my concepts and a very rough storyline suggestion. Since the second season were not yet written and were rushed into production, this was where I had the most fun. Instead of just translating the characters and creating new fashions, I was free to create many new powers and adventures for the show. While I had input on many of the first episodes, I was now creating the basic storylines for entire episodes. Robert always had Morgana in the back of his head as a villainess he wanted to do. Now we could break out and expand the world of Avalon in different ways."[29][30]

The series was first broadcast in the United States in 1995–1996 on Bohbot Entertainment's "Amazin'! Adventures" block, had U.S. coverage of 80% and aired on 106 stations.[31][32] Internationally, it has been shown in more than 130 countries in the Starla version.[33][note 4] It was acquired by Fox Kids Europe in 2000 (Fox Kids UK had aired it in 1996 before the rest of Fox Kids Europe in 2000).[47]

There have been four VHS releases in America by Family Home Entertainment in January 1996[48] covering only part of the first season and consisting of Jewel Quest (episodes "Jewel Quest Part 1" and "Jewel Quest Part 2"), Wizard's Peak ("Wizard's Peak" and "Travel Trees Can't Dance") and For Whom the Bell Trolls ("For Whom the Bell Trolls" and "The Faery Princess"),[49] followed by Full Circle ("Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle") in July 1996.[50] Leading up to the release date, Hasbro and Toys 'R' Us offered an episode from the program on video for free with the pre-order purchase of a related toy.[48] The UK (Carlton Video 1997), Serbian (Vidcom 1996, "Prizor" dub) and French (Warner Home Video 2000) VHS releases include some episodes from the second season.

In 2005, the rights for the DVD retail in the United States and Canada were given to Digiview Entertainment,[51] which has reserved the right to release the show on DVD. They announced plans to release the first two volumes in 2006 and subsequent volumes over the course of the next year. However, the only DVD released by Digiview was Wizard's Peak, containing the first five episodes of the show and available in Wal-Mart stores. Though it says "Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders" on the cover, the show on the DVD is the international version (Starla & the Jewel Riders); in the case of both the cover and the show itself, the Starla-style title fonts (similar to the title fonts in Gargoyles) are used in the logo,[52] and the disc appears to be region-free. The complete first season was released on DVD in France in 2008 dubbed into French.[53] The series was also released on DVD in Serbia in 2007 and 2008 with a Serbian dub.[54] Pidax Film released the German dub together with the English original on DVD in 2021.[55]

In 2008–2009, the series was 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. In 2009, the show was also made freely available for users of the Internet service SyncTV (available online from the browser for the American users and downloadable for watching for the others).[56] In 2011, the Starla version became available for streaming through Netflix for the users in the United States,[57] expanded to the entire first season in 2012.[58] The first two episodes ("Jewel Quest") have been put on YouTube by 41 Entertainment, a new company founded by the producer Allan J. Bohbot. In 2018, most of the episodes have been released in high quality and wide aspect ratio through the subscription service Watch It Kid!.[59] It has been since also made available on other streaming platforms, including Apple TV,[60] Amazon Prime Video,[61] Tubi,[62] and PeacockTV.[63]

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).[64][65] However, according to Variety, Bohbot "took the Princess Gwenevere concept to Hasbro Toys, which after extensive market research, put itself enthusiastically behind the project, collaborating in equal partnership with Bohbot on the development of the property."[66] A national "Watch and Win" contest in February 1996 offered viewers the opportunity to win Princess Gwenevere videos and toys if they mailed in the correct code words from the show.[48] The Hasbro/Kenner[31] toy line had two series of action figures for girls ages 4 and up. The first series contains Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Sun Power Gwenevere, Tamara, Fallon, Drake, Lady Kale, Sunstar, and Moondance; and the second series contains Deluxe Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Deluxe Tamara, and Deluxe Fallon.[67] According to Time to Play, the action figures' sales "bombed".[68] In the fall of 1996, Hasbro planned to reintroduce revamped versions of the figures as well as new characters from the animated series. The toys had a television advertising campaign featuring a 30-second commercial.[48]

Other merchandise included a series of collectible trading cards released by the Upper Deck Company in 1996,[69] 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,[70] Panini Group collectible stickers,[71] a makeup kit,[72] Happy Meal and Long John Silver's premium toys, lunchboxes, clothing items, and such. There were unrealized plans to produce a video game adaptation[73] and the series' theme song was included on Mastermix's TV SETS CD 14.[74]

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was reported to be "struggling with a 0.6 national Nielsen rating among girls 2–11" in 1995. Bohbot hoped heavy promotion of the merchandise products would raise awareness of the show.[75] Nevertheless, it was the most popular of the first-run cartoon series in the 1995 edition of Bohbot's "Amazin' Adventures II" weekend syndicated package.[3] Daily Herald reported it was "the number one syndicated television show in the U.S. among girls 6 to 11" in 1996.[76] It was reported that Starla became "a huge hit" when it was shown in France. 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."[35]

The reception by writers has been mixed. According to Video Librarian, "a cross between She-Ra: Princess of Power and the saccharine My Little Pony, the Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders series is standard Saturday morning cartoon fodder."[77] Scott Moore of The Buffalo News compared the "underwhelming" Princess Gwenevere to the "overhyped" Sailor Moon.[78] 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."[79] Bert Olton opined in Arthurian Legends on Film and Television that "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders combines all the worst elements of minimalist cartooning, modern commercialism and vacuous storytelling with a tiny portion of Arthurian legend."[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."[80] Similarly, 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."[81]

On the other hand, France's Fun Radio included it among the 14 "probably the best" cartoons of the 1990s.[82] Alan and Barbara Lupack opined in King Arthur in America that the show, "with its strong female heroine, is interesting in part because it is designed primarily for girls."[32] In Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children, Barbara Lupack added that it successfully "translated the Arthurian story into an idiom easily accessible to preteen female viewers and (...) appealed to its young audience."[83] 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. The fact that it met at the intersection of horses, sparkly things, and girl power, though, means that it holds a special place in many '90s kids' hearts."[84] Some noted the show for its positive values. According to Billboard, "there are life lessons to be learned along the way, and the program in general promotes brains over brawn".[85] Similarly, Keith Busby wrote in Arthurian Literature that "the series appeals to young girls and teaches them the values of friendship".[2] Marshal Honorof of Tom's Guide described it as similar to the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon in being "a traditional swords-and-sorcery adventure with stand-alone episodes and an emphasis on making kids laugh rather than bogging them down with the dour intrigue or blood-soaked combat of most medieval fantasy stories."[86] In 2018, Syfy's Brittany Vincent wrote that the show had been a "perfect fodder for young girls like me looking for strong women and heroes to imitate" and called it "a pleasant and kitschy relic of the past."[87]

In 2001, author Rachel Roberts began writing her contemporary fantasy book series Avalon: Web of Magic loosely based on the show[73][89][90] and borrowing various concepts and names (including even some of the episode titles), as well as lyrics from some of the songs used in Jewel Riders. As of 2012, the series consists of 12 novels, as well as the three-volume graphic novel adaptation, titled Avalon: The Warlock Diaries.[91] A film adaptation of Avalon: Web of Magic was announced in 2012,[89] but was never released. An Avalon animated series project was revealed in 2017.[92]

In 2023, nearly three decades after the end of the television series, licensed Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders graphics 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."[93]

The comic series, written by Jordie Bellaire and illustrated by Koi Carreon for a scheduled release starting in May 2024, is to be a direct sequel to the animated series, beginning some time after the end of the second season: "While the girls remain friends, things are not as they once were. Gwenevere - once the leader of the Jewel Riders - has had to take a step back from her true passion, being a Jewel Rider and protecting Avalon from evil, in order to step into a new role as the future queen. Fallon, holder of the Moon Stone now leads the Pack--an elite group of Avalon's protectors, a role once held by Gwen's fiance. Tamara trains under Merlin to better harness the power of her Heart Stone, but wonders where she--and her powers--truly belong. 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. With her kingdom, friends, and magic on the line, Gwenevere must choose between the life she loves and knows as a Jewel Rider and her newfound duties."[94]

• Enchanted Jewel Riders Show Bible.
• Full Production Credits at NYTimes.com.
• (in Catalan) Jewel Riders at Super3 channel's website.
• Kevin J. Harty, King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema, 1999, p. 224.