A free Amazon (AMZN) Prime Video series based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was watched by more than 25 million people globally in its first four weeks, the company said Thursday. The series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, consisted of four 30-minute episodes based on J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth fantasy epic and aired on Dec. 15 and 22, 2018 and Jan. 5 and 19, 2019. It became available to Prime members in more than 200 countries and territories, Amazon said in a statement Thursday.
The first episode of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series, which debuted on its Prime Video streaming service on Saturday, garnered more than 25 million viewers worldwide in its first day, according to the company.
The most costly television series ever is based on the appendices of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” books.
The CEO of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, said in a statement that it was strangely appropriate that Tolkien’s works, which are among the most well-known of all time and are widely regarded as the actual foundation of the fantasy genre, have brought the company to this happy moment.
The rich founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, alluded to the value of the series to viewers during the U.K. debut of the programme by stating that one of his kids had pleaded with him to “don’t eff this up” after learning that Amazon had purchased the story rights.
The programme will continue to have weekly premieres on Amazon Prime.
HBO said earlier this month that the launch of its “House of the Dragon” prequel series was the largest in the network’s history. BBC One aired Doctor Who for the 50th anniversary last year in Britain and it too reached an audience of more than 10 million people. Sony Pictures Entertainment made a film adaptation of the 2003 novel Jurassic Park and has seen success from it with at least 2 billion views from around 30 different languages.
Netflix recently announced its planned takeover of Millarworld, a company founded by comic book writer Mark Millar, who created such titles as Kick-Ass, Kingsman, and Old Man Logan.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Details
Created and executive produced by John Krasinski, the eight-episode series stars award-winning actor, comedian, and Academy Award-nominee John Krasinski as Jack Ryan. A spy for both CIA and international task forces who has left field work to teach history at a small liberal arts school in upstate New York.
Miniseries will be based on Clancy’s literary hero Jack Ryan and his time at the CIA
Clancy’s literary hero Jack Ryan and his time at the CIA will be retold in a miniseries on Amazon, adapted from Clancy’s iconic bestseller Without Remorse. The series follows Ryan after he joins the CIA as an analyst and navigates a dangerous world of international intrigue, suspense, espionage and political skullduggery. Tom Clancy is well-known for making President John F. Kennedy’s assassination the focal point of his novel, The Hunt for Red October.
The show is written by Lost scribe Ken Nolan (Ryan joins Lost) and executive produced by Carlton Cuse (Ryan makes it to Carlton Cuse). No release date has been set yet.
