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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
May 27, 1:21am
Post #1 of 16
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The Wheel of Time is cancelled; ROP will be offered for syndication
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Amazon has announced the cancellation of The Wheel of Time after three seasons. According to sources, the decision was financial: the execs liked the series, but season three episodes dropped out of the Nielsen top 10 original streaming shows. CBR is calling this a "big win" for ROP, as this would free up cash in the budget and because Chris Ottinger, the head of Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, has announced that the first two seasons will be offered to third parties for syndication.
https://www.cbr.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-syndication/
Don't mess with my favorite female elves.
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
May 27, 2:00am
Post #2 of 16
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With only two produced seasons of a very limited number of episodes, I'm not sure that The Rings of Power holds much appeal at this time as a syndication package. Amazon is going to have to produce at least one longer season if the show is going to reach its goal of fifty episodes.
“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella
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OldestDaughter
Nargothrond
May 27, 4:36pm
Post #3 of 16
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I personally think its a good thing to offer ROP for syndication
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They mentioned offering it up to third parties such a cable. I think this is a good thing. Get more people to watch it other than just prime, and as someone who really wants them to release the series on Blu-ray, think this could be a good way for it to be so.
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Victariongreyjoy
Nargothrond
May 28, 7:09am
Post #4 of 16
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I have a gut feeling they will condense both season 4 and 5. Amazon and the Estate agreed om 50 hours of televison and that can still work with a longer final season after season 3.
Amazon won't cancel ROP after season 3. The backlash and reputions to Amazon and Bezos will be huge, so they will salvage the show by one final season with longer runtime and more episodes.
(This post was edited by Victariongreyjoy on May 28, 7:11am)
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OldestDaughter
Nargothrond
May 28, 2:20pm
Post #5 of 16
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I rather have a longer final season with more episodes and longer runtimes.
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cats16
Gondolin
May 30, 7:40pm
Post #6 of 16
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is that this may be more a play for international market syndication than the U.S. It's a huge chunk of change they're likely leaving on the table given Prime isn't ubiquitous everywhere, so to me this is more that than "expect ROP to show up on NBC this fall".
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
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OldestDaughter
Nargothrond
Jun 2, 5:50pm
Post #7 of 16
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I can see them adding it to BBC or TNT
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Much like they do the Peter Jackson films. Honestly, I feel this as a good thing because that means they could get more viewers than just the people who watch it on Prime. And seeing if it could be on other channels, also gives a chance for it to be released on Blu ray. (Even though I see that happening anyways since Fallout season 1, also a prime exclusive, is coming to Blu ray in July)
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cats16
Gondolin
Jun 2, 7:11pm
Post #8 of 16
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I think the corporate dynamics are probably the bigger hinderance to something like that happening (IMO). Prime likely doesn't want to give any viewership away for its flagship show (while the show is still running especially) in the US to a competitor, where Prime is readily available to a large population yet still has more market share to seek out. Especially since Prime's overall strategy is to drive people to their larger product, which goes far beyond Prime Video. I.e. the exclusivity is part of the selling point.
Perhaps farther down the road that kind of licensing agreement could be more palatable if it's mutually beneficial to Prime and whoever owns the network that would syndicate, but I think internationally is where Prime can get some low-hanging fruit type of cash in the near-term while expanding the show's reach to countries where Prime isn't as ubiquitous.
Not to say I agree/disagree with any of this, it's more so that this is how I think these things are approached by executives.
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
(This post was edited by cats16 on Jun 2, 7:13pm)
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OldestDaughter
Nargothrond
Jun 2, 7:16pm
Post #9 of 16
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I get 100% what you are saying
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I myself being a Physical Media collector and who wants the show on DVD to have with my other LOTR movies, just hopes it eventually leads to that. But considering that the Show's soundtracks are already on physical media and that Prime put one of their other shows, Fallout on physical media, I think the whole syndication could lead to Rings of Power also being on Physical Media. (I don't think a DVD/Blu-ray would go against the Embracer's agreement if they put cds out for the show already)
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Eruonen
Gondolin
Jun 9, 6:47pm
Post #10 of 16
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Both shows were more alike than different and not in a good way
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Since Amazon has more invested, though both were costly acquisitions, they have put their remaining $ on ROP. If I was looking to buy a syndicated show I would want a complete series with known episodes to conclusion.
I don't think there is much of an audience for the show in syndication. If somebody does purchase rights I will be interested to see how it is received.
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Jun 9, 7:01pm
Post #11 of 16
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If I was looking to buy a syndicated show I would want a complete series with known episodes to conclusion.
Game of Thrones went to (ruined) conclusion. Would you buy that one for syndication? Maybe at a K-mart Blue Light Special discount.
(This post was edited by DGHCaretaker on Jun 9, 7:05pm)
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Jun 9, 9:50pm
Post #12 of 16
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Wheel of Time' Failed Because the Modern Writers Don’t Know People
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One reviewer's explanation of why Wheel of Time failed, below. I didn't spend any intellectual time to ponder how it might apply to Rings of Power, but I'm sure there's plenty of relevance since it, too, is written for the "modern" (Lindsey Weber's "what the world actually looks like) viewer.
YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmCUcX4dxdc
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Eruonen
Gondolin
Jun 11, 9:43pm
Post #13 of 16
(7149 views)
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Both productions - especially Wheel of Time - have showrunners that
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think they are better than the source material. WOT Rafe Judkins was a disaster all along.
In both series the well known characters are altered, sometimes to the point of destruction,
At least ROP has the excuse of having to fill in blanks and some rights limiitations. WOT had the entire works and basically said, thanks, no thanks.
Even though I am very critical of ROP I do want to see how they handle season 3. A lot of challenges - either they start to fix things or they continue with fan fiction.
Game of Thrones was far more successful so syndication would make more sense.
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
3:27am
Post #14 of 16
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More "Inspired By" Than A Direct Adaptation
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I usually ignore Screen Rant as alternately sycophantic Access Media or Incendiary clickbait. This article (link below), however, superficially offers a more credible argument to why contemporary streaming products - so-called "adaptations" - are so awfully written.
Where the YouTube review I mentioned summarizes it like this:
It was a vehicle for social commentary made by people who are living in a different reality than most of us, which is why it was impossible for them to connect with us. This is not an isolated event. This is a major problem in entertainment right now... Because when you compare it to its source material, it is glaringly obvious some of these writers have a worldview that is entirely foreign to most of the audience. Their priorities, their moralities, their assumptions about human interaction - it is all irreconcilably different, and these stores will continue to fail so long as they are at the helm.
In his Screen Rant article - in typical Screen Rant fashion - Charles Papadopoulos uses Brandon Sanderson, who completed the series after Jordan's death, to absolve the writers, claiming it is the streaming platform itself to blame. He claims the writers can't possibly do justice to a product when squeezing epic stories into eight episodes a season.
https://screenrant.com/wheel-of-time-story-changes-fantasy-problem-brandon-sanderson/
The article contains lines like these:
* Brandon Sanderson Said Wheel Of Time Is More "Inspired By" Than A Direct Adaptation.
* This Adaptation Was Never Going To Be Fully Faithful To The Books.
* Amazon's Wheel Of Time Story Changes Were Due To Logistical Constraints.
* The biggest issue with developing an epic fantasy TV series is that TV production industry standards don't meet the needs of every story.
* Epic Fantasy TV Seasons Need To Be Longer Than 8 Episodes.
A good summarizing line is:
The show needed to be faithful to win over audiences, but faithfully adapting a story like The Wheel of Time is simply impossible under current streaming industry standards.
I frequently beat the "faithful" drum. So I agree with that portion of Papadopoulos's point. But I don't buy the conclusion that the writers can be excused from their inferior writing.
Both the video and the article agree there's a problem. For Rings of Power, they're creating an entire narrative to fill an outline from Tolkien that can probably be more simply described as the "pitch." In this way, it's more "inspired by" than a direct, faithful adaptation. Like Papadopoulos, some uber Tolkien fans here and elsewhere are too interested in excusing it.
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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
3:44pm
Post #16 of 16
(526 views)
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The Screen Rant Article Makes More Sense
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The YouTube guy (Greg Owen) blames the cancellation of The Wheel of Time on the diversity aspect-- what he calls the "horribly executed diversity". He reasons that "people congregate in like groups", and thus when viewers see a diverse group of characters inhabiting a small town, it creates a deep feeling of wrongness. He's been saying the same thing for quite some time. However, this argument, in my opinion, has a deep flaw: since the diversity has been present since the series' inception, and The Wheel of Time had decent ratings for its first two seasons, why was there a ratings drop-off in the latter half of season 3? Did people finally get "fed up" with what they were seeing?
Your summary fails to mention one of Sanderson's most important points: that the constraints imposed in adapting the books to an eight-hour series meant that the writers had to invent material involving the main characters, since some of them virtually disappear for long stretches in the books, and this ultimately caused the series to focus more on scenes than on themes or overarching arcs. The result, in my opinion, was a series that lost focus, presenting somewhat interesting individual scenes but not a coherent storyline. Perhaps these scenes held more meaning for readers of the book series, but for non-readers — comprising the majority of the target audience — the effect was one of confusion and loss of interest. Personally, I gave up after the fifth episode, because I simply couldn't keep track of the plot or see where all these disjoint scenes were heading, or what was motivating these characters (the frequent references to "The Last Battle" didn't help, as it gave the impression that the story was just marking time until it reached an already-written conclusion). So, while I never cared about the "diversity" that Owen rants about, I lost interest right around the time of the ratings drop, and for reasons more in line with Sanderson's analysis.
The show needed to be faithful to win over audiences, but faithfully adapting a story like The Wheel of Time is simply impossible under current streaming industry standards.
Don't mess with my favorite female elves.
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