It feels good to be back in Middle-Earth again, doesn’t it? The first two episodes of Amazon Studios’ highly anticipated and insanely expensive The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered on Prime Video on the 1st and 2nd of September with huge figures.
According to Amazon, The Rings of Power was viewed by 25 million viewers in the first 24 hours across 240 countries and territories. Isn’t that amazing? For every hour, over 1 million viewers tuned in to watch the first two episodes.
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment. I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who are our true measure of success.”
Now, this is actually a first for Amazon. Never before have they released the viewing numbers for any of their top series like The Boys. So for them to announce this, they must be incredibly happy with the result and even more eager to move forward with season 2’s production- despite unwarranted backlash from “fans”.
In an attempt to snuff out trolls, Prime Video user reviews are being held for the first 72 hours post launch. It’s hard to say whether this will actually work… Review bombing has become a huge issue for many shows and films, and it’s incredibly difficult to prevent without blocking out the voices of those who genuinely enjoy the show or those who have legitimate criticisms.
Having said that though, Amazon are currently enjoying their biggest premiere ever. People seem to be loving The Rings of Power, including us, and we can’t wait to see where we venture off to next.
Episode 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on Friday, 9th September. Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments.
The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. Joining Payne & McKay are executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, as well as producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs, along with Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.
