Amazon’s Rings of Power series ‘could be cancelled’ due to poor viewership

One show to end them all

Despite a slight critical resurgence in its second season, it would appear that the improved Lord of the Rings spin off is struggling to fend off the diminishing novelty factor that gave the first season enough interest to warrant a follow up.

The Rings of Power is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien which tells a story loosely based on Tolkien's Second Age of Middle-earth.

Many have sung the praises of season two, describing it as a return to the original The Lord of the Rings film trilogy notably in relation to how it looks, but many others have criticised the show's dialogue and lack of drama.

With the first season polarising fans, it would appear interest in the spin-off is waning, with groups suggesting the show has veered too far from its original roots laid by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Now, with ratings ultimately embodying the film industry's sharpened guillotine that can end a show's run in one fell swoop, the Rings of Power look like they might soon be a thing of the past.

Once low ratings are combined with a high budget, it is almost guaranteed curtains for a product.

The problem for the Rings of Power is that the second season has cost £535 million, an insane amount for a TV show.

Deadline reported that, according to Samba TV who track streaming numbers, there has been a massive decline in viewership from Season 1 to Season 2.

Samba TV's data showed that only half the amount of people tuned into the premiere episode of the first season watched the second at only 902,000 U.S. households.

Unlike other popular shows like Game of Thrones which saw audiences grow on the opening episode of each season, the Rings of Power has done the opposite, with most viewers not even sticking around to finish the series.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that only 37% of viewers who started the first season never made it to the end, which, ultimately, is an indictment of the shows inevitable failure.

With the numbers not looking promising for the studio a decision will have to be made soon whether Amazon Prime want to commit the show and try turn the ship around, or dispose of it into Mount Doom to end the show once and for all.