Amazon axes The Wheel of Time after three seasons, citing economic challenges

• Amazon’s The Wheel of Time has been cancelled and won’t return for a fourth season.
• Tough economic conditions and poor third-season performance led to the decision, despite improved critic scores.
• Kiwi actress Zoë Robins, a lead since 2021, praised the show for boosting her career visibility.

Amazon‘s hit fantasy show The Wheel of Time has been cancelled and will not be renewed for a fourth season.

It comes about two months after the show‘s third season debuted on its Prime Video streaming service.

New Zealand actress Zoë Robins has starred in one of the show‘s lead roles since 2021, joining an ensemble cast that included Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney and Sydney-born Madeleine Madden.

Amazon MGM Studios, whose executives are known to be fond of the flagship fantasy series, cited tough economic conditions as the reason behind its call, Deadline reported.

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The Wheel of Time, which aired its first season in November 2021, is based on the 14-book namesake series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

Despite a dramatic improvement in the show‘s ratings, the show‘s third season had its poorest performance yet on the Nielsen‘s Top 10 charts, which reflects US viewership and indicates a show‘s overall popularity.

Dónal Finn and Zoë Robins in The Wheel of Time. Photo / Prime Video

The lukewarm reception was enough to stop Prime Video and co-producer Sony Pictures TV from committing funds for another season, insiders told Deadline.

Season one became the most watched Prime Video series premiere when it aired in 2021 and remains among the streaming service’s top five debuts of all time.

US$260 million ($436.5m) was spent on producing the first two seasons, with each episode said to cost between US$10m and US$16m ($16.8 and $26.9m) to make.

While each season received generally favourable reviews, The Wheel of Time‘s Rotten Tomatoes critic score had improved from 81% for season one and 86% for season two to a near-perfect 97% for season three before it was canned.

Speaking to Viva earlier this year ahead of the third season‘s release, Robins said she hadn‘t “grasped the fact” that millions of people watched The Wheel of Time.

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She praised her role in the show for giving her a degree of visibility that wouldn‘t have otherwise been available to her.

“It’s meant I’ve been able to audition for some pretty big projects that I don‘t think would have come my way without the connections that I’ve made,” Robins said.

“I do feel like it’s ... a stepping stone to the next part of my career.”

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