There really was one series that ruled them all this fall when Prime Video released the highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power in early September. The series broke all previous Prime Video records for most views. The series premiered with 25 million viewers worldwide, and by the finale it was viewed by over 100 million people, for a total of 24 billion broadcast minutes. At launch, it topped the Nielsen streaming chart for its opening weekend and remained the top Prime Original in every region hosting the streaming service. The final also attracted a lot of attention, hitting Twitter in 27 countries for a total of 426 hours.
In the current era of streaming, viewers are used to the shorter format and most shows have between 6 and 10 episodes per season. Behind Rings of PowerHead of Amazon Studios Vernon Sanders said in a one-on-one interview with the chief editor of Collider Steve Weintraub that the studio stopped at 8 episodes for the first season for a reason that was more logistical than plot.
It was an evolving discussion. I think initially we were talking about making more episodes, but once we got into the practical aspects of what it takes to shoot actors, which are really on the same level in real life, but you make gnomes and you make harfoots, elves and humans. Surprisingly, even though special effects have changed over time, you still have to do it the old fashioned way.
And indeed, the producers came back to us and said, “You know what? After we’ve considered everything we need to do to be successful, we think we should do eight episodes instead of 10.” But it was a conversation that we came up with together, and we’ve had a lot of success with eight episode seasons on TV, so it’s a bit kismet. But that’s how we came to that decision for the first season.
This does not mean that the choice did not affect the story. Making the decision early on no doubt allowed the team to craft their story to fit the number of episodes, rather than trying to modify it after the fact, leaving obvious scissor marks behind. By allocating enough time to shoot dwarves, elves, serpents and humans, the creators were also able to provide the most complete history of Middle-earth.
What can we expect in Rings of Power Season 2?
For many fans, the expectation Rings of Power Season 2 is likely to feel even longer than the wait for season 1, given the shocking note the last episode ended on. Charlie Vickers, who plays Halbrand, who actually turned out to be Sauron in the finale, teased that his character would see a “repentance stage” in season two. It also seems fair to assume that in the second season other characters, especially those with whom he was close, will recover from the exposure - if Galadriel (Morphed Clark) even tells them i.e. With Nori (Markella Caveno) away with Gandalf (Daniel Weiman) and Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) Returning to the reshaped Numenor, the stakes for a new season are higher than ever. Luckily, new episodes are in production as we speak.
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power The first season is already streaming on Prime Video. More about Rings of Powerhere is our interview with Markella Kavanagh and Megan Richards.
Source: Collider
