Despite receiving better critical reviews and slightly higher audience approval, Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 failed to impress in terms of ratings. The second season scored lower ratings than the first.
According to Variety, Season 2 was watched by over 40 million viewers within the first 11 days of its streaming release. However, the platform added that “it’s difficult to put the stat in full context, as Amazon has not defined how it quantifies its viewership; for example, 40 million could simply be the number of people who watched any portion of the available episodes.”
This is indeed a concerning scenario for showrunners Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne because the debut season gathered over 25 million views on its first day. Compared to this figure, Season 2’s viewership seems significantly low.
Moreover, Season 2’s ratings do not sit well with Amazon’s overall investment in Rings of Power, which is expected to cross over $1 billion for five seasons of the show. Season 1 was made on a mammoth budget of $250 million.
However, a new report from The Hollywood Reporter claims that Amazon is happy with Rings of Power Season 2’s viewership. Although, the studio has yet to officially renew Rings of Power for Season 3, despite it being in development for months.
Given Amazon’s massive investment in the series, it appears likely that Season 3 will be produced. However, the fate of the show may still depend on the performance of the remaining three episodes of Season 2. If these episodes can boost the overall ratings, it will strengthen the case for continuing the series. In the next few weeks, we will have a better understanding of the situation.
Stream all five episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 on Prime Video. Stay tuned for more updates.