Amazon is celebrating the success of their latest fantasy epic The Wheel of Time, as the series debut pulled in massive viewership numbers on its first weekend. Based on the best-selling novels by the late Robert Jordan (later finished by Brandon Sanderson following his death), The Wheel of Time is widely considered one of the most influential works of modern fantasy since J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Following the story of a group of youths from the small village known as the Two Rivers, their lives are inexorably turned upside down when the Aes Sedai Moraine (Rosamund Pike) rides into town one step ahead of dark forces, seeking out the prophesied Dragon Reborn.
Co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, the first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season one dropped on Amazon Prime over the weekend to great acclaim. First announced in 2017, this much-anticipated television adaptation of Jordan’s sprawling fantasy world is being helmed by executive producer and showrunner Rafe Judkins. Sanderson, along with Jordan’s wife and editor Harriet McDougal, are serving in the capacity of consulting producers on the show. The remaining five episodes of season 1 are slated to drop each week until December 24.
Drawing in tens of millions of views in the first three days of its release, The Wheel of Time has gone on to become Amazon’s most-watched series premiere of 2021, and one of the Top 5 series launches of all time for Prime Video. In addition to the show’s impressive stats, The Wheel of Time has also reignited interest in the original novels with the first book Eye of the World climbing to #14 on Amazon’s Most Read Fiction chart. Head of Amazon Studios Jen Salke says the numbers are “a testament to everyone involved in the series.” Check out her full comments below:
“We are elated by the strong debut of The Wheel of Time, one of our most watched series premieres of all time. It’s a testament to everyone involved in the series – the incredible cast, led by Rosamund Pike, and our showrunner Rafe Judkins, and the entire team, who took viewers on a journey into a visually stunning world populated with diverse characters and cultures. It’s unlike any other fantasy series, and our customers all over the world are responding.”
The success of The Wheel of Time is certainly good news for fantasy fans, as not only is The Wheel of Time season 2 already midway through production in Prague, but this series will also test the waters for Amazon’s enormous investment in its upcoming Lord of the Rings series slated for its own debut in September next year. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had previously given Amazon Studios a mandate to develop their own fantasy series of a scale equivalent to Game of Thrones, and now they not only have one, but two giant fantasy epics set to challenge HBO for the crown of most popular fantasy series adaptation.
Of course, HBO isn’t sitting idly by either, and the company has its own plans to return to Westeros in a new prequel series House of the Dragon, which is also slated for release in 2022. Meanwhile, Netflix also has The Witcher season 2 featuring Henry Cavill planned to make its own debut in just a few weeks. With an absolute wealth of high-quality epic fantasy planned across multiple platforms, audiences certainly have much to celebrate in the coming years. No doubt fans of The Wheel of Time will be just as eager to dig into each new series to follow when they begin to hit screens, and the battle for the throne of most beloved epic fantasy is sure to be plenty fierce.
Source: Amazon
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