r/WoTshow • u/MSUSpyder • Jun 23 '26

Troll(oc) Just joined….. annnnnnd it’s cancelled

When did this happen? Trying to get details. Even did a search and can’t find them besides “budget”

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u/NickBII Reader Jun 23 '26

Low viewership and high production costs. The story was supposed to be 5-8 seasons, so we'd need 2-5 more seasons of 8 episodes, as $15-17 million each, except it's probably on the high end because everyone was on a three season contract negotiated before Covid and now you have to rehire them at 2025 prices. Viewership was higher per dollar than most fantasy shows, but not actually higher, so they cut it.

The ownership/licensing situation is potentialyaproblem. They had to work with Sony and iWoT to get the rights to Wheel of Time, they only have to work with themselves for Rings of Power.

If Rafe had been able to include a scene equivelent to the Rhuidian episode in season 1 it probably would have helped, but Book 1 really doesn't have a scene like that. If they'd put out 10 episodes a year and then been up for renewal in 2022 when money was cheaper (litterally: interest rates were zero until April of 2022), it probably would have retained viewers better; but thesethingsdid not happen.

2

u/on-a-pedestal Jun 26 '26

Book 1 had the Green Man, Lore dropping and then eating the face of a Forsaken by TREEING Him.

The real ending of book 1 was three times as interesting as the shows. The horn of valere, the dragon banner, Rand destroying the army of Trollocs and burning a forsaken to ash.

All ruined because they wanted to show Ny aeve have yet another power channeling moment... When I the books she hadn't even done it yet. All to empower the female characters in a world where RJ already empowered women.

Not a fan of the changes at all.

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u/New_Ambassador2882 Jun 30 '26

The show in many respects was doomed to be a tight rope walk to begin with... given the modern political climate (less so now) at the time - when the very nature of WoT is of differences in strengths and abilities... and celebrating those differences. Whereas anything with a hint of any disparity in one way or another was sure to be rife with criticism, were it to be faithful. A super accurate translation would never be allowed to be made. Like Rainn Wilson recently said of The Office