Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films — and to a lesser extent his protracted Hobbit trilogy — are some of the most beloved cinematic artifacts of the 21st century. But what about Amazon’s incredibly, absurdly expensive Lord of the Rings TV series? The show bowed last year, and while the company was confident enough in the reaction to grant it a second season, there’s one problem: A lot of people who started watching it never finished it.
In a new Hollywood Reporter piece on Amazon’s streaming service (in a bit teased out by Gizmodo), sources tell the publication that in America, the splashy, orc-filled show only had a 37% completion rate. That means the majority of people who fired it up, expecting more Middle-Earth magic, never made it to the end of its eight-episode run.
Overseas was a little better, but not great either, reaching a 45% completion rate. For context, hitting 50% would be solid turnout but still not ideal, especially for something that cost Amazon so much dough.
Again, that doesn’t Amazon is pulling the plug. Not only did they grant it a second round, but Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke even defended the low completion rate.
“This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally,” she said. She also added that the second season will be a bit more dramatic. “That’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of setting up.”
Of course, if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, there’s no rush to finish their Lord of the Rings show any time soon. They paid a fortune for it and it’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon.
