Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Mia O'Hare

Amazon's most expensive TV show ever Rings of Power dealt devastating blow

Dubbed the most expensive TV show ever to be made, Amazon Prime's Lord of the Rings spin off came with much anticipation.

The epic eight part series Rings of Power set the global company back £209m million just for the rights alone and £47 million per episode.

Yet recent data analysis showed viewership hit a slump as just 37% of viewers completed the whole series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It means less than half of those who sat down to watch the latest in the Lord of the Rings saga finished the series in the US.

According to the report, the series did better outside the US with a completion rate of 45%.

The Rings of Power is believed to be the most expensive TV series ever made (AMAZON PRIME)

The Mirror has contacted Amazon for comment.

Unsurprisingly, the reaction to the trilogy has been mixed - but that's always the way with much loved book to screen adaptations.

There's the familiar age-old clash of devoted buffs admonishing anything that doesn't strictly follow the original story, while others will enjoy the new series for what it is, not what they want it to be.

The Rings of Power series is set ­thousands of years before the triple film franchise that catapulted stars Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis to fame.

The original three Lord of the Rings films from 2001-2003 covered the novel J.R.R Tolkien toiled over for 12 years.

But The Rings of Power, developed by screenwriters JD Payne and Patrick McKay, is based on a 150-page collection of fictional histories Tolkien created called The Silmarillion.

The series was hit with mixed reviews from fans (AMAZON PRIME)

Like the original trilogy, the show was initially filmed in New Zealand and takes viewers back to the era in which the kingdoms rose to glory before falling to ruin.

The Mirror previously reported, Amazon released just one figure on its viewership, stating that the first two episodes were streamed by 25 million global viewers in their first 24 hours.

Rings of Power saw backlash from Lord of the Rings star Bernard Hill who starred as King Théoden in the original trilogy.

Speaking with the Metro, he said: “It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.