Amazon’s Fourth Wing Will Show The Wheel Of Time How It’s Done

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Prime Video hasn’t had much success adapting fantasy novels into TV shows, but its new series, Fourth Wing, might change that. While the Amazon show The Wheel of Time—based on Robert Jordan’s popular books—received decent reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes), it struggled early on and was ultimately cancelled, leaving fans disappointed. Despite not being a complete failure, it couldn’t overcome its initial problems.

I really enjoyed The Wheel of Time! The first season got mixed reactions – a lot of fans, myself included, felt it took too many liberties with the books. Thankfully, things really turned around with season two, and season three was fantastic! It’s such a shame, though, that the rocky start cost the show viewers. Making a fantasy series like this is incredibly expensive, and it seems like Amazon just couldn’t justify continuing without a bigger audience. It’s disappointing, but I understand the business side of things.

Prime Video hasn’t had much success turning popular fantasy book series into TV shows, but that might be about to change. Amazon now owns the rights to Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, and plans to adapt it—along with the rest of the Empyrean series—into a TV show. While it’s still very early in the production process, this series seems to have a better chance of succeeding than The Wheel of Time.

Fourth Wing Can Finally Be The Fantasy Series Prime Video Has Been Looking For

Prime Video was hoping to create a hit like Game of Thrones, but The Wheel of Time faced an uphill battle. While Robert Jordan’s book series has a dedicated fanbase, that wasn’t enough to guarantee success for the TV show. To truly thrive, the show needed to attract viewers who weren’t familiar with the books, but it didn’t quite capture their attention. Compounding the problem, the first season also disappointed many book fans, ultimately setting the show up to struggle.

Unlike many book adaptations, Fourth Wing is already set up for huge success. The Empyrean series is incredibly popular with the BookTok community, and they haven’t had a major fantasy show to rally around yet. Plus, Fourth Wing’s exciting, fast-paced, and romantic story has the potential to attract a wide audience, much like Game of Thrones did. While many people may not know the book now, that’s likely to change quickly.

Fourth Wing Can Also Avoid Rings Of Power’s Biggest Issues

Prime Video also offers the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While shows like The Wheel of Time and Fourth Wing might appeal to specific audiences, Rings of Power benefits from the widespread popularity of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. This familiarity was expected to draw in a huge number of viewers, and the show’s enormous production cost suggests Prime Video believed it would. However, Rings of Power has proven to be quite controversial, with reports indicating that fewer people are watching and even fewer are finishing the entire season.

I think the biggest issue with Rings of Power is that it focuses on a part of Tolkien’s world that’s pretty obscure, even for fans. A lot of us went in hoping for something similar to Peter Jackson’s movies, and it just didn’t deliver on that. Honestly, it feels like the show only really appeals to a small group of people, and even we have a hard time with all the changes they’ve made to the established story.

Look, let’s be real, Fourth Wing isn’t a household name like The Lord of the Rings, and honestly, that’s a good thing. It means the upcoming Prime Video series doesn’t have to live up to impossible expectations. I’m hoping Amazon has learned from past adaptations and will really prioritize staying true to Rebecca Yarros’ books this time around. If they can pull it off and get both the dedicated fanbase and new viewers hooked, this could finally be the fantasy hit Amazon’s been searching for.

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2026-05-04 20:00