The second season of Amazon’s divisive “The Lord of the Rings” prequel series, “The Rings of Power,” has come to end. The season finale was released Thursday — and it was met with mixed reviews.
Regardless of how Tolkien fans feel about the show, the studio seems all-in on the series.
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have already planned out all five seasons, as the Deseret News previously reported. However, there’s been no official news of a renewal.
Here’s what we know about “The Rings of Power” Season 3 — plus how Season 2 performed, which could point to a renewal or cancellation of “The Rings of Power.”
‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 viewership
While “The Rings of Power” Season 2 ratings were down from Season 1, they were still strong overall, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Amazon said that “The Rings of Power” is “a Top 5 all-time season for Prime Video” and “has been No. 1 for the service since its return.”
According to Variety, Amazon said that Season 2 reached 55 million global viewers 34 days after its premiere. Variety notes that it’s “an increase of only 15 million viewers since the total of 40 million that the company reported 11 days after launch.”
“The Rings of Power” Season 2 also made it to Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 — Nielsen is “a global leader in audience measurement,” according to its website — and has accumulated 1 billion minutes of watch time, per Variety.
Variety reported that Amazon does not define what it counts as a viewer. “Therefore, it is unclear how much of the season the 55 million reported viewers watched,” the article said.
What did critics say about ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
“The Rings of Power” Season 2 received mixed, but mostly favorable, reviews from critics.
The show currently has a critics’ score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes — but an audience score of 59%.
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‘The Rings of Power’ is slogging its way to an ending we already know
Alison Herman wrote for Variety, “Rather than a thrilling sense of discovery, ‘The Rings of Power’ instead instills a bleary disorientation, like you’ve shown up to a college lecture without doing the required reading.”
Angie Han wrote for The Hollywood Reporter, “By prioritizing grandiose lore over intimacy and heart, ‘The Rings of Power’ puts its story behind glass. You’ll get to admire the series’ ambition and its beauty; you’ll come to understand how things happened and why; perhaps you’ll even formulate some ideas about what it all means. But precious little of it will feel like anything that might reach out and touch you.”
Ben Travers wrote for IndieWire, “What matters is that ‘The Rings of Power’ chooses to focus on certain details, rather than settling for capturing Tolkien’s broad sentimentality. It may seem like ‘The Rings of Power’ begins badly — and again, it only seems that way — but there’s no mistaking it ends well.”
Jackson McHenry wrote for Vulture, “‘The Rings of Power’ is dutiful and familiar, lacking texture and imagination.”
Is there going to be a ‘Rings of Power’ Season 3?
While there’s no official word on Season 3 yet, according to the Hollywood Reporter, “The Rings of Power” is on the “verge of Season 3 renewal by Amazon.”
As has been widely reported, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have already started preparations for “The Rings of Power” Season 3, despite no word of a renewal.
But an update on “The Rings of Power” Season 3 will likely come this month. Amazon MGM Studios has reportedly presented to advertisers in the U.K., and “touted ‘Rings of Power’ content and brought out several members of the show’s cast” during the presentation.
During the presentation, studio head Jennifer Salke pointed to Season 2′s promising viewership numbers, telling buyers that “the company expects the latest season to eventually catch up to the first season, which reached more than 150 million.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “At these events, studios typically only present shows to buyers if they firmly plan to continue them.”
In an interview with RadioTimes, executive producer Charlotte Brändström said, “I can’t say much about season 3, but I think there’ll be good news soon.”
‘The Rings of Power’ Season 3 release date
Since “The Rings of Power” hasn’t been officially renewed for Season 3, a release date hasn’t been announced yet.
