I was worried about The Wheel of Time's premature finish after three seasons came as a shock to Prime Video subscribers who were beginning to enjoy the show, with the third season receiving exceedingly positive reviews. The Rings of Power has followed a similar path on the same service, adapting a beloved epic fantasy author's work and eliciting widely divisive responses after its premiere season.

One of the primary stories surrounding the Lord of the Rings prequel show, since its early announcements, has been its budget. The Rings of Power has the largest budget a television series has ever seen, and that alone comes with enormous pressure to provide a fulfilling product, along with the expectations that Tolkien readers have for his adaptations to live up to. Given that The Wheel of Time was canceled due to financial reasons, questions have begun swirling around The Rings of Power and whether it's met the streaming service's expectations.

The Rings Of Power's Syndication Is Promising For Its Future

Amazon Has Plans For The Rings Of Power

Variety recently reported that The Rings of Power was among multiple Amazon original shows that the company is putting up for syndication. Essentially, this means they'd be renting out the series to a third party, such as another streaming service or a television network, while keeping it in their own library. The obvious threat would be Amazon losing viewership on their own shows to a different platform, but they would only be releasing seasons eighteen months after their premiere. Those looking to watch The Rings of Power upon release would still need to subscribe to Prime.

Amazon renting out its original shows for additional revenue might seem like they're trying to make the most of a bad situation, but in the article, Chris Ottinger, head of worldwide distribution for Amazon MGM Studios, spoke about the high asking price for The Rings of Power. He states, "Season 1 of ‘The Rings of Power ’ was the biggest TV series premiere in the history of Prime Video, and Season Two was the most-watched returning season ever on Prime Video at the time."

The Rings of Power's syndication ensures that the TV show is profitable, in high demand, and part of the company's plans for years to come. The Rings of Power season 3 is already in development, so if the company is trying to market its seasons eighteen months after release, it seems likely they're going to invest in keeping the show going at least a while longer. The show's viewership doesn't necessarily mean it's making back the money they spent, but it's still a premier title for them.

Amazon Has Previously Been Positive On The Rings Of Power's Future

LOTR Is A Long-Term Investment For Amazon

This isn't the first time reports about The Rings of Power have expressed positivity from Amazon. Let's that this is a title they invested a massive amount of resources into from the start, and it's connected to one of the most recognizable media IPs of all time, with an enormously successful film franchise and one of the top-selling book series of all time. Essentially, it would be hard not to make a profit off of it. Back in October 2024, head of Amazon MGM Studios Jennifer Salke said the following:

Obviously [The Rings of Power season 2 had] very different marketing levels and all of that [to Season 1]. But that being said, over 55 million people at this point have engaged since Season 2 launched. And if you look at the long-term trajectory, which is how this company looks at an asset like that, this is a long-term investment in that franchise. […] There’s well over 150 million viewers watching and engaging with the show. So I feel really good. I think we all do.

[Regarding if there will be any change to Amazon's 50-episode commitment] I don’t think so. [That] commitment is never the thing that’s driving what we’re doing. We’ll continue to make the show as long as we see global customers loving it and watching it to the point where — it is a business. Obviously, we need a large amount of people showing up. And there are a large amount of people, so there’s no debate about whether or not the show will continue.

Amazon Prime is behind Netflix as one of the most-subscribed-to streaming platforms on the market, so their originals are bound to perform well, especially when connected to familiar IP. Regardless, as Salke says, The Lord of the Rings is a long-term investment, and even then, there were tens of millions of unique viewers watching the show. Still, it's worth noting that the viewership numbers presented by Amazon are rather vague, and it's impossible for anyone on the outside to speculate on the potential revenue based on these statistics.

How Popular Is The Rings Of Power Compared To Wheel Of Time?

Rings Of Power Is The More Popular Title

Analyzing streaming service data is, as mentioned, very tricky. There are so many factors that aren't exactly available to the public, and many of the recorded numbers aren't precise. Parrot Analytics conducted a study on the two shows, which claimed that The Rings of Power only narrowly beat The Wheel of Time in revenue. That said, the extra year The Wheel of Time had before Rings of Power's release could be a factor, as the Lord of the Rings spin-off has outpaced it otherwise.

In of the two shows, The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power are likely around a similar level of popularity, which makes the former's cancellation more curious. In of the franchises at large, The Lord of the Rings is a far more recognizable brand, which comes with inherent value. This could explain Amazon prioritizing one over the other, as the Tolkien adaptation arguably has larger potential for spin-offs and other multimedia projects that could benefit from The Rings of Power running until completion.

The Rings Of Power Deserves To See Through Its 5-Season Plan

Audiences Deserve To See The Second Age Play Out In Full

I understand that Tolkien fans have an understandably wide range of views on The Rings of Power, but while I have my issues with the show, there's a lot that I enjoyed about season 2. The Second Age of Middle-earth isn't the most-explored era of Tolkien's mythology, but it's one of the most fascinating to me, and that alone makes me excited to see certain events play out. It would be a shame for it to end on a similar note to The Wheel of Time, coming to a premature conclusion before the eventual downfall of Sauron.

Of course, I'd have loved to see The Wheel of Time play out in its entirety as well, but this is the situation we're in, and I'm happy to still have one. No show deserves to get the axe like The Wheel of Time did, but right now, fantasy shows carrying on and finding success are crucial for the genre. If The Rings of Power were to be canceled in a similar manner, epic fantasy would find itself in a rut very quickly, with studios unwilling to invest resources into similar projects.

Sources: Parrot Analytics, Variety