The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series

i feel like the only possible response here is "oh no!"

Truly a smash success:

It’s long been an open secret that Jeff Bezos has yearned for his own Game of Thrones, and that Amazon’s big swing as it reached for its own massive hit was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, believed to be the most expensive series ever made.

Last September, the show began with a bang, delivering the biggest debut ever on the streamer in what Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke called “a very culturally defining moment” for the company. But when season one wrapped, the show was less defining than hoped, falling short of being the breakout hit that Amazon had envisioned.

While Amazon, like other streamers, provides only limited data — and internally, it held information even more closely than usual on the series — sources confirm that The Rings of Power had a 37 percent domestic completion rate (customers who watched the entire series). Overseas, it reached 45 percent. (A 50 percent completion rate would be a solid but not spectacular result, according to insiders). The show has not been a major awards contender, either, overlooked by the major guilds with the exception of one SAG-AFTRA nomination for stunt ensemble.

But according to Salke, the series has worked. “This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally,” she says. The second season, currently in production, will have more dramatic story turns, she adds. “That’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of setting up.”

You keep telling yourself that.

I thought the show was pretty entertaining, but possibly not for any of the reasons they were aiming for

I will accept this judgment.

it's just tragic they spent so much time and money on a Neverwinter Nights expansion pack

cranking that Mount Doom ignition switch until that bad boy turns over

Squid Game had an 87% completion rate. Resident Evil was canceled for having a 45% completion rate. https://t.co/lMn7nyTLh2

— Ed Zitron (@edzitron) April 3, 2023

The whole thread with Zitron and David Ruddock's response there says it all.

“more dramatic story turns”

vacillating between “oh no” and “hell yeah”, the latter being more of morbid interest

Yeah I'm with you there. As I said elsewhere: "more dramatic story turns" = Galadriel and Halbrand are still in love, and are secretly long-lost twins. Meantime, Not Gandalf is arrested for wandering around with a tiny Harfoot. Elsewhere, whatshername and Kevin on Numenor take their relationship to new levels of drama by actually HOLDING EACH OTHER'S HANDS.

Oh dear elven gods do we have to buckle in for another 50 hours of hearing the exaggerated rolled R in Numenorrrrrr and Galadrrrrrriel and Elrrrrrrond?

Like, wouldn't the world be better off if someone had broken into Tolkien's house or hobbit-hole or whatever and simply rrrrremoved the rrr key from his typewrrriterrr?

The Lod of the Ings

let’s not go to MorrrrrRRH’dorrrrrrrrrrRRRHH’ afterrrh all

'Tis a silly place