On a Friday afternoon ahead of a long holiday weekend, Prime Video decided to sneak in some cancellation news under the wire: The Wheel of Time has been canceled after three seasons. Just like that, the streaming service canceled its best show, a beloved fantasy series with so much promise. The reasons don't make any sense, and we'll tell you why.
The uncertainty of The Wheel of Time's fate has been felt, since it's been over one month since season 3 wrapped up its run on April 17. It's not a secret that the show has been an expensive one for Amazon to make, given the show's scope and extensive use of special effects. According to Deadline, negotiations over a potential renewal came down to financial reasons to drop the axe.
Compared to its first season, The Wheel of Time wasn't as successful in its viewership figures as it went on, which brought Amazon to the ultimate decision to cancel the series after discussions with the show's fellow production studio Sony Pictures Television. If a series isn't bringing in a significant amount of ratings compared to its price tag, a streamer's less likely to commit to it.
The Wheel of Time canceled after three seasons
The Wheel of Time was said to have cost about $80 million on season 1 with a rumored combined cost in the hundreds of millions for all three seasons. That's a lot of money, but it's unfortunate to think that something like that is the reason fans are losing a show that they love. Especially when Prime Video renewed Beast Games for two seasons, a show with a $10 million grand prize.
Obviously, that figure's a drop in the bucket when you're making a show like The Wheel of Time, but it's not nothing. And it's an inconsistency that will be hard to reconcile for fans who wanted to see the story completed in some form. It's been said that the season 3 finale was crafted in a way that could bring "closure" to fans in the event of a cancellation, but that's not completely true.
In a lot of ways The Wheel of Time was Prime Video's best and strongest show. Maybe not in the ways that mattered on paper to the powers that be, but to fans, it was a show that kept getting better and finding its way. Canceling the series prematurely without giving it a chance to out on its own terms, especially after three seasons, seems like a rather egregious mistake.
Prime Video recently lost Bosch: Legacy, though it gains a spinoff this summer, and will lose hit teen drama The Summer I Turned Pretty following its third season this summer. The streamer will have to make up lost ground after thinning some sizable hits from its lineup and fumbling what could have been its very own Game of Thrones with the proper promotion.
Early cancellation reports don't indicate that the show will be shopped around by either Amazon MGM or Sony TV, though its unimaginable that another streaming service would save a show with such a hefty price point. But that won't, and shouldn't, stop devoted fans from making noise online. We're sure to see campaigns and petitions popping up for a show that really deserves it.