Why Was The Wheel of Time Cancelled and Can It Be Saved?

The Wheel of Time was cut short by Amazon while it still had plenty of story to tell, and fans are fighting to save it.

What Is It?

This series, based on the books by Robert Jordan, follows a woman known as Moiraine who is a powerful Aes Sedai in a world where magic exists but only certain women can wield it. She must guide a group of young villagers–one of whom may be the prophesied Dragon Reborn–on a perilous journey to confront a rising darkness.

Aired: Prime Video, 2021-25, 3 Seasons Totaling 24 Episodes

Starring:  Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford

Developed By:  Rafe Judkins

Why Was It Cancelled?

When The Wheel of Time premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video in Fall of 2021, it proved quite a hit for the streamer, placing in the Top 5 of the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for seven weeks–eight weeks overall in the Top 10–and averaging an estimated 613 million minutes of viewing per week. When it returned for its second season, its numbers dropped, but it still performed quite well with three weeks in the Top 5–six total in the Top 10–and 472 million minutes watched per week. When it returned for its third season–after a hiatus of a year-and-a-half–it did not make it into the Top 5 of the Nielsen Rankings, but it still charted for five weeks with an average of 474 million minutes watched per week. That represented a slight drop-off, but not significant. And the downward trend in viewership per season is a standard for television shows.

I expected the show to get renewed because it had not lost much of its audience from its second to its third season, but Amazon remained silent even after its third year wrapped up. Then came the surprise announcement that the show would not continue to a fourth season, leaving its story unresolved.   Showrunner Rafe Judkins had previously indicated that he envisioned the series running for around eight seasons, which seemed like a stretch, and I figured it might cap off around its fifth season.  And even if they would not let it go that far, I would have at least expected a fourth season that could wrap things up as best as possible to make it more satisfying for binge-viewing.  But instead, the streamer just decided to pull the plug on the show.

Amazon has not given a reason for the cancellation, but likely it comes down to money.  The Wheel of Time is an expensive show to produce, and Amazon is also paying the bill for the much more expensive The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which they are committed to through five seasons.  In addition, Fallout is rather costly as well, and the streamer likely had to make a decision on which one to sacrifice in the current cost-cutting environment.  Of the three properties, The Wheel of Time had the lowest viewership, so it may have just come down to the numbers.

Still, after investing as much money as they did on the show, it sure seems like it would have made more sense to give it some sort of conclusion.  But the post-Peak TV era is seeing venues making cuts across the board, and perhaps Amazon execs could not justify keeping it going.  And thus, The Wheel of Time becomes yet another truncated streaming entry that will leave many fans disappointed.

Can the Fans Save It?

Any attempts by the fans to save the show will certainly face an uphill effort. The series is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television meaning that Amazon has an ownership stake in the property. And according to TV Line, the show is not currently being shopped around to other venues. So the best chance at this point is for fans to try and convince Amazon to change its mind about the cancellation, which won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either.  And Rafe Judkins did give a glimmer of hope in an Instagram post he put up:

Will The Wheel of Time get to do that with another network and finish the story? Sadly, it’s not something that happens often. But it does happen. In fact, one of the reasons we first chose Amazon as a home for the show was because they were in the midst of picking up The Expanse after SYFY cancelled it. So, who knows, perhaps The Wheel of Time show will do what the books have always managed to do since day one – defy the traditional definitions of ‘beginnings’ and ‘ends’. I certainly hope it does – because this book series and these fans deserve to see the story finished.

There is already an online petition with over 130K signatures which is quite impressive. Voting for the show in our Spring Poll could help as well if the numbers are high enough (engagement has been low so far this year). Fans should also stage watch parties and connect on social media at the same time to get it trending. In addition, they should stage subscription drives to Prime Video to get people to watch the show as that will impact the bottom line and get the attention of Amazon executives. (You can find more campaign ideas at this link.) It does not help that there is a contingent of book fans out there who hate the show and constantly rail against it. But if those who support the television adaption remain diligent, perhaps Amazon could be convinced to bring this one back. Or perhaps another venue may take an interest and look into acquiring the property.

The timing is essential on this because the cast and crew have likely been released from their contracts and will be seeking out other work. And there is no guarantee this will remain available for streaming on Prime Video (see below). It is definitely a longshot, but we have seen other shows like Timeless, The Expanse, and Lucifer saved in the past, so there is always a chance.

Where Can You Watch It?

All three seasons of the show are currently streaming on Prime Video. But I would not be surprised if Amazon decides to take a write-down on this one and remove it from streaming altogether. So if fans are going to stage watch parties or subscription drives, they need to get on that right now!

Did you watch The Wheel of Time and will you support fan efforts to save the show? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.

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