To the surprise of no one, The Rings of Power is Amazon's most-watched show ever

Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
(Image credit: Amazon)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is Amazon Prime Video's most-watched show ever, according to Amazon Studios boss Vernon Sanders. 

The streamer has already shared that the first two episodes – released together – brought in a massive 25 million global viewers in their first 24 hours available, which marks Amazon Prime Video's biggest ever premiere. 

"We green-lit this, we made this investment, just on the rights, so long ago, that I don't even know what the hopes were," Sanders told Collider. "But it has been a tremendous success. It is, by far, our most-watched show, first-season scripted series, by far. It's our most acquisitive show. We still have millions of people coming to this show within the last month, millions and millions of people coming to the show for the first time, even in the last month."

He added: "So, it's just been a powerhouse for us. And, as big of an investment as it's been, it has more than paid off for us. So, we're thrilled."

The Lord of the Rings show's popularity is definitely good news for the streamer; the series is already confirmed to run for five seasons. The Rings of Power season 2 is in production at the moment, though there's no release date just yet. 

One major change for the next installment has already been confirmed, though: Adar has been recast and will now be played by Sam Hazeldine. The character was previously played by Joseph Mawle.  

While you wait for more from Middle-earth, check out our guide to all the upcoming TV shows coming soon for everything else to get excited about. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.