The Wheel of Time, Prime Video’s high fantasy drama, has been canceled after three seasons.
Deadline reported that the series was let go after tense deliberations. Prime Video ultimately decided that even though executives liked the series, the financial costs to produce it were too great.
Declining viewership and rising costs contributed to cancellation
While production costs were the key issue, viewership didn’t help. Though not listed as the main reason for cancellation, The Wheel of Time had been “on the bubble” for some time. According to Deadline, it fell out of the Nielsen Top 10 Originals list during the first few weeks of Season 3’s release. Anecdotally, the series hasn’t made a strong impact online in the same way that breakout hits like Netflix’s Squid Game or Bridgerton have. While it certainly developed a loyal fanbase, it never reached the status of being “too big to fail.”
Based on the bestselling fantasy novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time follows a matriarchal order of magic users called the Aes Sedai, who protect humanity and prepare for the prophesied return of the Dark One. Central to their mission is the arrival of the Dragon Reborn—someone destined to save the world, even if it means breaking it in the process.
The series featured a multicultural ensemble cast including Rosamund Pike, Madeleine Madden, Zoë Robins, Priyanka Bose, Natasha O’Keeffe, Kae Alexander, Jennifer Cheon Garcia, Fares Fares, Dónal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Marcus Rutherford, Hammed Animashaun, Kate Fleetwood, Josha Stradowski, Daniel Henney, Meera Syal and Ayoola Smart.
Rosamund Pike reflected on fan expectations and world-building
“You make this thing in a vacuum in a way, but we’ve also made it alongside the kind of appetite that we’ve sensed from fans of the books, which has been tremendously kind of galvanizing as we’ve gone along,” Pike told Blavity’s Shadow and Act during a Season 1 cast interview. “We felt their support. They’re willing this show well and that means a lot, but now we’re aware I think that until you are actually on air, there’s a lot that you still don’t know and there’s a lot to learn from the fan reception.”
She continued, “I don’t feel it’s a done deal that this will be embraced. I don’t think you can be sure of anything in this climate—the way audiences are taking on material, how discerning people are, how the expectations have skyrocketed as there is so much great TV. There’s so much content and there’s so much great content. So I’ve got everything crossed because I know what’s unique about this show. I know that there are definitely elements… Robert Jordan’s world-building is like unbelievably good and it’s only getting better as the seasons go on and as the books go on. And I know there are elements that are totally unique.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did they film ‘The Wheel of Time’?
Filming for The Wheel of Time took the production around the globe, with standout locations like Prague in the Czech Republic, the Canary Islands, Morocco, Italy, and South Africa, along with scenic spots in Spain, Slovenia and Croatia.
How many seasons were planned for ‘The Wheel of Time’ series?
Though the show will only have three seasons now that it has been canceled, it was initially envisioned to have an eight-season run, as showrunner Rafe Judkins once said.
