Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1 ratings shocker?

If there was a big takeaway that we had from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, it was this: The end result was pretty awesome, but it took a while to get there. The first few episodes were expansive, but also cluttered as they took a good bit of time to set up the world. The show may have tried to do too much, too soon, especially for those who were not particularly into the fantasy genre.

This week, The Hollywood Reporter published a larger piece about Amazon Studios that contains some surprising information. Per the publication’s sources, the first season of the aforementioned show set in the J.R.R. Tolkien universe had only a 37% completion rate in the United States. That is rather low, especially when comparing it to other big-budget properties out there. (It is important to remember that The Rings of Power is considered one of the most expensive shows ever made, at least through one season.

Speaking to THR, Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke noted that there are no concerns about these numbers behind the scenes:

“This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally.”

Should there be any concern?

That’s a tricky conversation to have since Prime Video has never unveiled any specific viewership metrics. Even if there is a 37% completion rate, that may still be more than enough viewers to justify the high cost. It also does have a slightly higher retention rate globally.

Now if the show is able to keep the audience it has through the remainder of the series, there likely will not be any issues. It’s also possible that we’re going to see viewers come back to The Rings of Power down the road who originally bailed on it — or, at least that’s possible if positive word of mouth spreads for season 2.

To us, the figures for season 1 are lower than expected — but whether or not it means anything beyond that remains to be seen.

Are you surprised about any of these numbers when it comes to Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1?

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Photo: Prime Video