Despite being one of Amazon's flagship fantasy series for a long time, last month they announced that The Wheel of Time is now officially being cancelled. The series was seen as a prestige project in the style of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but will not be renewed for a fourth season.
The announcement has raised several questions, especially since the recently concluded third season was warmly received by fans of Robert Jordan's beloved book series. What actually went wrong? According to the series' showrunner, Rafe Judkins, it is not a matter of lack of audience interest. In a statement, he explains that the series had global impact with high viewer numbers; "It was watched by huge numbers of people all over the world."
He refers to Nielsen data confirming that the series was in their top 10 list for over 20 weeks, an achievement that Judkins believes "very few shows have been able to match in the last decade".
So why did it turn out the way it did? Well, even though the viewing figures were impressive, it was the budget that threw a spanner in the works. The high production costs seem to have become too heavy a burden to bear, even for a giant like Amazon. However, Judkins still has some hope that another company will want to take over the series:
"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."
In other words: perhaps The Wheel of Time will turn elsewhere.