If you needed proof that fantasy and sci-fi are still alive and thriving (I mean, aside from the success of Dune, The Witcher, and countless others), there might not be any better testament to the genres’ staying power than Amazon’s plan to go all-in on them over the course of the next few years. The first step on the road to being the “go-to” streaming service for mythical adventures and entertaining impossibilities? The studio’s recent adaptation of Robert Jordan’s best-selling novels, The Wheel Of Time series, which, as it turns out, was quite the success.
In an interview with Deadline, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke told the outlet that since its premiere on November 19, the first episode of The Wheel Of Time had become one of the company’s top five series launches of all time. Beyond that, Sulke said, it also quickly nabbed the record for most-watched series premiere of the year.
“We can firmly say that Wheel of Time was the most-watched series premiere of the year and one of the Top 5 series launches of all time for Prime Video,” Jennifer Salke said.
Much like competitors Netflix and Disney+, Amazon is still figuring out exactly how much information it wants to divulge regarding who watches its Prime-exclusive content and to what capacity. However, Salke did share that “there were tens and tens of millions of streams” for The Wheel Of Time in the first three days of its release, with the US, India, Brazil, Canada, France, and Germany being the countries with the biggest turnout for the fantasy series. Salke also said the series’ first three episodes logged some of the “highest completion rates on the service ever,” with The Wheel of Time being number one on social across all releases last weekend.
Following The Wheel of Time’s resounding success, we’re guessing Amazon is a lot more confident in two more of it’s big, upcoming series: a Lord of the Rings adaptation and the recently announced Mass Effect series. While we’re sure Lord of the Rings needs no introduction (though it’s worth noting the upcoming series will not follow the story you know from the 2000s trilogy), for those unfamiliar with Mass Effect it is a critically-acclaimed science fiction video game series known for its immersive world, beloved characters, and gripping narrative.
“You will see us continuing to invest in fantasy genre of all kinds, we have a genre-focused team on the ground in Studios who work tirelessly with our creative partners on those slates, and you can look forward to more,” Salke said.