‘Lord of the Rings’ Officially Returns to Prime Video in 10 Days

1 week ago 29

Published Nov 1, 2026, 10:15 AM EST

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Now that one of the most iconic franchises in pop culture history, James Bond, is under the Amazon umbrella, it remains to be seen what the company does with its other costly acquisition, Lord of the Rings. Prime Video famously spent hundreds of millions on acquiring rights to the property for a streaming series that hasn't exactly delivered the kind of results that were expected. Amazon reported that the show's first season broke viewership records for Prime Video, but audience drop-off rates have been worryingly steep. While Amazon said that the first season was watched by 150 million people, a report indicated that less than 40% of U.S. audiences finished all eight episodes. Two seasons later, the show is set to return with a brand-new installment that'll cover lore that is central to the entire franchise.

The series has received mostly positive reviews so far, after having premiered in 2022 and returned with a second season in 2024. Research has shown that viewership tends to drop significantly for shows that take longer between seasons. Nielsen reported that the second season delivered slightly lower viewership in its initial few days of release compared to the first season. The reviews, however, remained in the same range. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the show's first season scored 84% while the second season scored 85%. The show has unfortunately been the target of review bombing, with the overall audience score on Rotten Tomatoes now sitting at 48%.

Here's When Prime Video's Epic Fantasy Series Will Return

We're talking, of course, about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's epic series of books, which were previously adapted into six culture-defining movies directed by Peter Jackson, the show is set thousands of years in the past. The third season will focus on a pivotal moment in Middle-earth history, when the Dark Lord Sauron creates the One Ring. Like the second season, the third season was filmed in the United Kingdom. Amazon spent nearly $500 million on the first season, which was filmed in New Zealand, like Jackson's movies. The third season of The Rings of Power will debut with four episodes on November 11, followed by two episodes the next week, and two more the week after that. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.