The Wheel of Time is off and running for Prime Video.
The highly-anticipated TV adaptation launched last week with a three-episode bow on the streaming service, and it had solid numbers.
“We can firmly say that Wheel of Time was the most-watched series premiere of the year and one of the Top 5 series launches of all time for Prime Video,” Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said in a statement to Deadline.
While the streamer touts The Wheel of Time as the biggest premiere of the year for the service, Prime Video did not release any viewership statistics.
The closest we got was Jennifer saying that “there were tens and tens of millions of streams” for the fantasy drama within its first three days of launch/
Salke did reveal that the U.S., India, Brazil, Canada, France, and Germany are the top countries for the show so far.
Prime Video has also revealed the series logged some of its highest completion rates ever, meaning that most people who started watching the show finished the episodes they started.
For now, the series is beating the streamer’s expectations “which were high,” according to Jennifer.
Streaming services have typically kept details of raw viewer numbers hidden, and it makes it difficult to assess the true success of these shows.
Amazon, in particular, is doubling down on proven franchises. The Wheel of Time did catch some heat from book fans for some of the changes in the transition from book to screen.
Amazon also has the Lord of the Rings TV series, which has been in the works for a few years. That is set to bow in 2022.
A TV adaptation of Fallout is also in the works.
Per Deadline, Prime Video is nearing a deal to bring a TV adaptation of the Mass Effect videogame series to life.
“You will see us continuing to invest in fantasy genre of all kinds, we have a genre-focused team on the ground in Studios who work tirelessly with our creative partners on those slates, and you can look forward to more,” Salke said.
What are your thoughts on the show premiering huge?
Did you like the finished project?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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