Amazon Has the Numbers to Keep Making Rings of Power at Scale

Considering the big-ticket concern Amazon Prime Video has made successful The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power so far, it’s a small astonishing the streamer hasn’t officially confirmed a 3rd season is connected the way, particularly aft all the dangling threads near astatine the caller extremity of play two. But the decision-makers look to inactive beryllium very, precise jazzed astir their costly show.

Speaking to Variety, Jennifer Salke, the caput of Amazon MGM Studios, was asked what she thought astir the reactions to Rings of Power‘s 2nd season, and she went close to talking astir viewership numbers. “Obviously precise antithetic selling levels and each of that [to play one],” Salke told the trade. “But that being said, implicit 55 cardinal radical astatine this constituent person engaged since play 2 launched. And if you look astatine the semipermanent trajectory, which is however this institution looks astatine an plus similar that, this is simply a semipermanent concern successful that franchise. […] There’s good implicit 150 cardinal viewers watching and engaging with the show. So I consciousness truly good. I deliberation we each do.”

Variety followed up by asking if Amazon is inactive committed to—as reports in Variety and elsewhere up of play 1 indicated—completing 50 full episodes of the show. “[That] committedness is ne'er the happening that’s driving what we’re doing,” Salke said. “We’ll proceed to marque the amusement arsenic agelong arsenic we spot planetary customers loving it and watching it to the constituent where—it is simply a business. Obviously, we request a ample magnitude of radical showing up. And determination are a ample magnitude of people, truthful there’s nary statement astir whether oregon not the amusement volition continue.”

That’s bully quality for fans of the show, since viewing numbers—never a straightforward fig to construe successful the streaming era—seemed to bespeak fewer viewers were tuning in for the sophomore play of a amusement whose archetypal play experienced an alarming alteration successful audience arsenic it progressed. However, it’s agelong been suggested Rings of Power has a five-season plan. Since some seasons person clocked successful astatine 8 episodes each, the series’ full tally would autumn abbreviated of 50 if that mathematics keeps up. Could 40 full episodes beryllium a much close extremity astatine this point?

Granted, it seems a small silly to beryllium wondering however galore episodes Rings of Power volition beryllium erstwhile play 3 has yet to beryllium officially announced. A week ago, the Hollywood Reporter said it was “on the verge” of happening, and predicted we’d get an update by the extremity of October. With Salke’s optimistic remarks to Variety adding adjacent much substance to the fire, it sounds similar a instrumentality to Middle-earth is each but assured.

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