The hype of Amazon Prime's new Lord of the Rings series has been very real. Fans have been waiting for The Rings of Power for a while, and on Thursday (September 1), the first two episodes of the series were finally released.
According to Deadline, fans turned out in droves. Prime reported over 25 million viewers for the episodes on the first day of their release. This means that the debut has become the biggest premiere for any Prime Video project ever.
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Amazon was hoping for nothing less. The Rings of Power is by far the most expensive season of television ever made. The studio paid $250 million for the rights to Lord of the Rings, and an additional $465 million in production.
Unsurprisingly, Amazon Studios' head, Jennifer Salke, was happy about the success the new show is seeing. "It is somehow fitting that Tolkien's stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment," she said in a statement. "I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate– and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew– for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy."
Salke was also sure to thank the fans. "It is the tens of millions of fans watching– clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are– who are our true measure of success," she concluded.
It doesn't seem like Rings of Power is going anywhere any time soon. Critics have given the show generally positive reviews, and it is expected that the series will run for at least five seasons.