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Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘The Wheel of Time' Was a Damn Good Show
Three seasons—and then an abrupt end. It's a routine genre fans are unfortunately familiar with. There are still people out there (me included) holding out hope for fourth seasons of The Orville and Hannibal. The latest three-season casualty is Prime Video's The Wheel of Time. Sometimes a miracle happens and another platform steps in; remember when Lucifer made three seasons at Fox, then got resurrected for three more at Netflix? Or when The Expanse was rescued from the Syfy scrap heap after its third season, and got a few more notches on its belt from Amazon? Amazon's the one doing the scrapping this time around: The Wheel of Time fans learned last week that the fantasy show will not be returning for a fourth season. Pickup elsewhere seems like a grim prospect, no matter how passionate the online outcry, mostly because the reason given for its cancellation was how much it cost to produce—a price tag that apparently wasn't justified by its viewership numbers. That's a true shame, because The Wheel of Time was a damn good show. Its budget wasn't as lavish as Prime Video's other big fantasy series—The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is currently working on its own third season—but it definitely wasn't made on the cheap. It had a large cast headed up by Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred; though the rest of the main characters were mostly played by up-and-comers, more familiar faces (Sophie Okonedo, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Olivia Williams, Lindsay Duncan, Hayley Mills) were sprinkled through the supporting cast. Across the board the performances were excellent; special shout-out to Madeleine Madden for Egwene's absolutely searing season-two arc, though. Its production values were outstanding; on a show filled with a vast array of cultures across diverse landscapes—deserts, forests, cities, villages, throne rooms, dungeons, freaky in-between worlds—it did a striking job creating tones and textures that felt distinct and detailed. The costumes were particularly notable in this regard. I'm still haunted by the spooky outfits, especially the gold mouth shields, forced onto the magic-wielding 'damane' slaves in season two. The special effects were also impressive, bringing both practical creatures (Loial the Ogier, brought to life by Hammed Animashaun in heavy prosthetics, being particularly emotive) and mystical magic 'weaves' to the screen. Much like Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time is based on a beloved book series, though as popular as Robert Jordan's work is, it's definitely not part of mainstream culture the same way JRR Tolkien's work is. There's no Oscar-winning trilogy of epic movies for The Wheel of Time, for one thing. Though there had been games (both video and tabletop) based on The Wheel of Time in the past, the TV adaptation drew in a lot of newcomers along with seasoned readers, and the show was careful to remain accessible for the former while also dotting in winks and Easter eggs for the latter. The worldbuilding was high-quality, and if the story felt familiar and trope-y at times—it's kind of Tolkien meets Game of Thrones but with more women-powered magic, and an end-of-the-world prophecy that's both cyclical and inevitable—the series, broken into eight-part seasons of episodes that ran at or just under an hour, was still propulsive and enjoyable. The tone was overall fairly serious (as we mentioned, the fate of the world is at stake here!), and many of its storylines dealt with darker themes of trauma and grief, as well as the frustration of being powerless to control one's fate, especially in a world where prophecies are seen as both irrefutable and subject to interpretation, depending on who you ask. But The Wheel of Time also made room for humor, romance, music, and even some delightfully campy moments, especially as the show found its footing in seasons two and three. Perhaps the biggest bummer about the show's cancellation is that it was clearly building toward something very big. The Wheel of Time's 'Last Battle' is, as implied, the showdown at the end of days between the Dragon Reborn, the reincarnated chosen one, and a villain so sinister he's known only as the 'Dark One,' with lieutenants running around among humankind known as 'Darkfriends' (if they're mortal) and 'Forsaken' (if they're not). The Last Battle was teased throughout all the show's seasons, with the character of Rand learning in season one that he was the Dragon Reborn. Season two followed him as he came to terms with that awful yet awesome responsibility, compounded by the known fact that in this world, men with magical abilities will inevitably go insane. And season three saw him begin to prepare, strengthening his control over his burgeoning powers while building an army of supporters. Every other character, without exception, is also invested in the Last Battle in some way. They're on different sides and serve different purposes, but they're all counting down to it just the same. It is the defining event of the story. Everyone knows it's coming. And Amazon pulled the plug before the show got there. This is all the more crushing because Wheel of Time series creator Rafe Judkins had high hopes that Amazon would grant the space to tell 'the whole story,' as he explained to io9 in an interview ahead of season three. There are over a dozen books in the Jordan series, so you can't imagine he meant that Wheel of Time would continue for a decade. But he definitely had plans for a fourth and maybe a fifth season, and you can tell that season three was plotted accordingly. While fan campaigns are now underway to save Wheel of Time (read more about that on Nerdist), maybe the best case scenario would be a made-for-Amazon movie. Another Prime Video show that's meeting an early end for entirely different reasons—Good Omens—is getting a send-off movie in place of a third season, wrapping up that show's own tantalizing cliffhangers. With a fourth season apparently relegated forever to Tel'aran'rhiod, The Wheel of Time's slippery dream world, would it be too much to ask for, say, one more jumbo-sized episode to craft a satisfying conclusion? Especially for fans who invested time and emotions into the three existing seasons? Of course it would be. At least you can always pick up Jordan's books and find out how the author envisioned the Last Battle—then stick around to dive deeper into the world the show, after just three seasons, has sadly left behind.
Geek Tyrant
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Amazon Cancels THE WHEEL OF TIME After Three Seasons — GeekTyrant
Amazon Prime Video has officially pulled the plug on The Wheel of Time after three seasons. The ambitious adaptation of Robert Jordan's sprawling fantasy epic, which had become a cornerstone of the platform's genre programming, won't be moving forward beyond its already-filmed third season. The series followed Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the powerful Aes Sedai order, as she shepherded a group of young villagers, one of whom, Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, a figure destined to either save or doom the world. Season 2 confirmed Rand's identity and set the stage for a third season full of spiritual tug-of-war, with both dark and light forces vying for control. Meanwhile, characters like Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden) and Moiraine continued to anchor the show's moral center. The ensemble cast also featured Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Marcus Rutherford, Dónal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Kate Fleetwood, Natasha O'Keeffe, Ayoola Smart, Kae Alexander, and Sophie Okonedo. Rafe Judkins served as the series' showrunner and adapted Jordan's massive story for the series. He was joined by a deep bench of executive producers, including Pike, Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of Iwot Productions. The show was a joint effort between Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. News of the cancellation comes just months after it was reported that Iwot Studios is developing a video game based on The Wheel of Time . At the time, the studio stated the game would 'build on the global success' of the TV series and was expected to be in development for about three years. So, while the tv show may fade to black, the franchise isn't entirely out of lives yet. Between the upcoming video game and the still-untapped wealth of source material, The Wheel of Time may spin again, but not on Amazon Prime Video. Source: Variety
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Why Did Amazon Just Cancel A 97% Scored Prime Video Show?
The Wheel of Time Amazon Streaming services work in mysterious ways, and it was indeed pretty stunning on Friday when it was announced that Amazon Prime Video's The Wheel of Time was canceled, and would not be returning for a fourth season. The show had just seemed to find its groove. Season 1 had an 81% score and season 2 had an 86% score, but season 3? A stellar 97% critic score which you rarely see, especially on Amazon. So what happened here? A few things, supposedly: The Wheel of Time Rotten Tomatoes In a now poorly aged article, I wrote that there shouldn't be much to worry about in terms of the series getting a fourth season. Part of that was based on the confidence of the cast and showrunner. Here's Josha Stradowski (Rand al'Thor) last month: Then Rafe Judkins on his conversations with Amazon: Fans began to panic in recent weeks as cast members and the showrunner started sharing a fan-created 'renew Wheel of Time' petition for season 4, implying they too were not worried about it. It turns out everyone was right to worry, as here we are. It's frustrating for fans because Amazon is also airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, its billion-dollar fantasy series that has had a lukewarm reception and its viewership reportedly dropped by half from season 1 to season 2. It was renewed for season 3, albeit this cancellation of a high-budget family show does raise questions about whether Rings of Power will be able to get to its supposed five-season plan. So, Wheel of Time fans are sad, book-readers who didn't like the adaption didn't care, but with a stellar third season, I'd consider this a tragedy. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Geek Girl Authority
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Prime Video Cancels THE WHEEL OF TIME After 3 Seasons
Highlights Prime Video has canceled The Wheel of Time five weeks after its Season 3 finale. The Wheel of Time The reason for its axing is a financial one, as it is purportedly well-liked creatively by Prime Video executives. Season 3 dipped in viewership, eventually slipping from the Nielsen's Top 10 Originals chart. The Wheel of Time's Fate Decided The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills … well, at least according to Prime Video. Epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time has been canceled after three seasons. According to Deadline , the decision comes after 'lengthy deliberations.' RELATED: The Wheel of Time : Robert Strange on Playing an Eelfinn in the Season 3 Finale That Explosive Finale 'He Who Comes With the Dawn,' the show's Season 3 — and now series — finale, aired on Thursday, April 17. It delivered a handful of loose narrative threads, including Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan (Shohreh Aghdashloo) ordering Siuan Sanche's (Sophie Okonedo) execution and deposing the latter as the Amyrlin Seat. Meanwhile, in Tanchico, Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn) strikes a potentially hazardous deal with an Eelfinn (Robert Strange), and Liandrin Guirale (Kate Fleetwood) gets away with the cuffs and matching collar needed to capture the Dragon Reborn, aka Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski). Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoë Robins) seemingly breaks through the block on her ability to channel the One Power, too. In the Aiel Waste, the Aiel declare Rand as the true Car'a'carn, while Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) battles Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe) and reels in the aftermath following Siuan's decapitation. Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden) watches in terror in the finale's last moments as Rand struggles to stop channeling, indicating we could've seen a darker turn for the Dragon Reborn in a potential fourth season. Not to mention, the penultimate episode also sees Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) captured by the White Cloaks — yet another cliffhanger. RELATED: Read our The Wheel of Time recaps The Why of It All Deadline reports that Prime Video decided to cancel The Wheel of Time for financial reasons, but there's also a viewership component. The adaptation of Robert Jordan's bestselling fantasy novels stayed in Nielsen's Top 10 Originals chart for the first three weeks of Season 3 before dropping out. The show remained on the chart for its previous seasons' entire runs. However, it returned to the Top 10 list the week after the Season 3 finale. According to Deadline , its performance, viewership-wise, wasn't strong enough to offset its pricey budget. Its contemporary, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , is currently in pre-production in the UK. This certainly comes as a shock. Season 3 is the show's best yet, and episode four, 'The Road to the Spear,' might be one of the best episodes of fantasy television out there. It's currently sitting at 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes on the critics side. Perhaps it can find life elsewhere. All three seasons of The Wheel of Time are streaming on Prime Video. Davina Lamont and Sharon Gilham Craft Looks That Bring THE WHEEL OF TIME Season 3 to Life Contact: [email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium. Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
