Amazon Prime Video’s highly anticipated series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” made its Season 2 debut with a bit of a soft start. Despite this, the show managed to attract a significant amount of viewership, with 764.7 million minutes watched during the week for the three episodes that premiered on August 29th. This brings the total minutes viewed for the second installment of the Tolkien adaptation to 827.9 million to date.
The delay in the release of Season 2 was due to last year’s writers and actors strike, but fans were eager to see the continuation of the epic story. The arrival of the new season also gave a boost to Season 1 viewership, bringing it back into the streaming original series top 10, settling at No. 8 for the week with 229.2 million minutes viewed.
Despite the buzz surrounding “The Rings of Power,” it couldn’t hold off Netflix’s “Worst Ex Ever” for the No. 1 spot among streaming original TV series. The horror documentary series from Blumhouse Television garnered 939.1 million minutes watched during the period, claiming the top spot. Coming in at No. 3 was Netflix’s “The Accident,” a Mexican drama series that held strong with 589.4 million minutes watched.
A new entry on the series chart this week was “Kaos,” starring Jeff Goldblum. The fantasy drama series debuted at No. 4, with 580.8 million minutes watched across its eight episodes. The show’s unique premise and Goldblum’s star power likely contributed to its strong showing in its first week of release.
On the movies top 10 chart, a newcomer this week was the Peacock documentary “Gary,” which delves into the troubled life of child star Gary Coleman. Directed by Robin Dashwood, the documentary generated 102.8 million minutes watched and 1.1 million views.
Overall, the streaming landscape continues to be competitive, with new and returning series vying for viewers’ attention. “The Rings of Power” may have had a softer start than expected, but its high profile and dedicated fan base are sure to keep it in the spotlight for the foreseeable future. As the series continues to unfold, fans can expect more epic adventures and twists in the world of Middle-earth.
(Note: Luminate and Variety share a common owner in Penske Media Corp.)
(Photo: “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”)
