The Wheel of Time was canceled by amazon Prime Video after three seasons for a number of reasons.  The Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan, a popular fan favorite series in the genre with fifteen large volumes, served as the inspiration for the fantasy television program.  It was always going to be difficult to adapt for television, but amazon invested a lot of money in the show to try to make it work. Although the first two seasons received mixed reviews, especially among book series enthusiasts, season three saw significant improvements. 

Because of this, the ardent fan base, who were just starting to appreciate the production, were taken aback by Amazon's decision to end The Wheel of Time.  With petitions circulating to show support for the series, some viewers were devoted to seeing it renewed.  However, for pragmatic reasons outlined in the original story, Amazon's choice appears to be definite. 

Wheel Of Time's Viewership Wasn't High Enough For Prime Video To Justify More Seasons
Season 3 Wasn't Performing As Well On Streaming Viewership Charts


The Wheel of Time was one of the most watched Prime Video series when it debuted in 2021, according to a report by Deadline.  The television medium's problem is that it's hard to bounce back after a bad first season.  New viewers would still have to endure the earlier episodes in order to reach the later seasons of The Wheel of Time, even if people felt that the show had improved.  Additionally, unless a show is a huge smash like Game of Thrones, its viewership tends to decline with each new season. 

Therefore, The Wheel of Time's ratings kept declining even after a strong start in terms of audience.  The weekly minutes streamed by original streaming shows are continuously listed in Nielsen's Top 10 Originals chart.  For the first three weeks, Season 3 was within the top ten, then it dropped out until the week following the season 3 finale.  It's hardly ideal to have one of the most costly series produced barely maintaining a position in the top 10 shows being viewed, even though this table just indicates viewership in the US. 


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