David Farnor | On 06, Sep 2022

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has become Amazon’s bigger ever new show, with more than 25 million viewers watching the show.

It brings to screens for the first time the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth. Set thousands of years before the events of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it begins in a time of relative peace and follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that will live on long after they are gone.

Led by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, with JA Bayona directing the first two episodes, the series launched on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 2nd September in more than 240 countries and territories. It will continue to launch new episodes weekly through to the finale on 14th October. But with Amazon looking to create its own watercooler hit to rival Game of Thrones’ success, the omens are already promising for the series’ future, with more than 25 million viewers worldwide watching the series on its first day of release

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment. I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who are our true measure of success.”

“Amazon’s ambitious, expansive fantasy epic is a thrilling, beautiful return to Middle-earth,” we wrote in our review.

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