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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Sun, 7:49pm
Post #1 of 5
(182 views)
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ThatParkPlace.com article on Rings of Power:
https://thatparkplace.com/amazon-cant-cancel-rings-of-power-without-hefty-financial-kill-fee-to-tolkien-estate/
Bullet points:
$20m kill fee per every unfinished season, offering some explanation for not canceling the show.
Staggering money pit that drains Amazon of other opportunities.
37% of domestic Prime subscribers finished the first season while a 50% completion rate is considered “unspectacular.”
Rings of Power rapidly descending in a catastrophic drop towards Loki, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, and Echo levels.
I won't vouch for the credibility of the site, but I consider it as more information to evaluate claims along the way.
I still see most loving praise of Rings of Power as admiring the beauty of the emperor's clothes; wanting to believe. However, Season 3 is the really the first opportunity for the show to change things from viewer feedback since Season 1 and most of Season 2 were written before even airing Season 1. So let's see how it goes. But the article's graph showing the slope of the existing seasons against other failed shows should be alarming with three seasons to continue such a decline.
That said, I still put 90% of the blame on the Tolkien Estate and their dumb fracturing of rights to the mythology. Imagine what the show could have done with full rights.
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Junesong
Nargothrond
Mon, 5:31pm
Post #2 of 5
(172 views)
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Thanks for the update! That's great news. I'm glad the Tolkien estate put that clause in - it would be tragic to see such an ambitious attempt cut short just because a trillion dollar company isn't making profit from it.
Also sounds like enough of us are watching and loving it that they can afford to wait a bit for other fans to join in. Maybe they won't - don't forget, the pursuit of casual fans is not just contending with other shows, and the usual media landscape, they are also competing with the super loud and obnoxious online community who hate the show and want everyone else to wake up and hate it too. The show might always just appeal to a small niche fanbase and that's ok.
As someone who has famously and continually shown contempt for both Amazon and ROP, it was nice and kind of touching to see what sounded like concern in your post. I'm sure no matter how much of a "money pit" ROP ends up being, Amazon will still be able to scrape up some loose change for other opportunities.
Also, I LOVED Loki. If that's an example of a ratings failure then I think it's a very apropo comparison here. Not every excellent piece of art needs to be a huge moneymaker. Sometimes it's nice just to get good work that fans enjoy.
As I've said before - I really really loved Season 2. I thought it was a huge level up from Season 1 and (as you've pointed out a few times) season 3 is our first chance to see the showrunners do some course correction as well. I'm really pumped to see where things go from here.
Anyway - thanks for the really encouraging update! I'm happy to hear we'll likely be getting all 5 seasons regardless of how loud the online complaints become.
Haters gonna hate, after all.
"So which story do you prefer?"
"The one with the tiger. That's the better story."
"Thank you. And so it goes with God."
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Tue, 2:50am
Post #3 of 5
(151 views)
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I'm happy to hear we'll likely be getting all 5 seasons regardless of how loud the online complaints become.
You see concern where I meant objective news, but fine. ;)
You should remember, too, that I've consistently posted of having no doubt about Rings of Power running all five seasons - and that with no previous knowledge of any "kill fee." I've known that just as well and immediately as Halbrand was so incredibly obviously Sauron. Well, new writers, new chances... But old showrunners, sooo...
(This post was edited by DGHCaretaker on Tue, 2:53am)
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Noria
Hithlum
Tue, 3:36am
Post #4 of 5
(145 views)
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Just stopped by TORN to see if there was any discussion of the bits and pieces about ROP Season 3 that have recently appeared.
Coincidentally, I’m just finishing rewatching both seasons of ROP, because I felt like it. I still really like the first season and love the second. I have quibbles and there are things I would have done differently which is exactly what I feel about Jackson’s films. But overall, IMO, the series doesn’t need any major tweaking. Actually, I’ve always suspected that Poppy’s appearance in Season 2, after the heartfelt farewell at the end Season 1, was a minor tweak.
If ROP is cancelled, I doubt that we’ll see any more TV adaptations of Tolkien for some while. Studios won’t care that the production was “too woke” or about Amazon’s marketing strategies. They’ll just see Tolkien=fail.
The sun yet shines
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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
Tue, 4:09am
Post #5 of 5
(139 views)
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"ThatParkPlace.com" has, from Day One, been fully biased against ROP, cherry picking everything negative that they can find. This article is typical.
As for the kill fee being the reason why Amazon "can't cancel the show": just do the math. If ROP were to be canceled after Season 3, Amazon would have to pay the Tolkien estate $40 million. Each single episode of ROP costs more than $40 million (Season 1 episodes cost $58 million each). So Amazon would lose $40 million but gain savings of $600-$800 million.
Don't mess with my favorite female elves.
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