It’s not unusual for Amazon Prime Video to cancel shows after only a single season. There are titles on that streamer and others that manage to overcome that hurdle, though. Unfortunately for fans of The Wheel of Time, that series was axed after the recent release of its third season amid the 2025 TV Schedule. While surely upset, a portion of WoT viewers did not seem surprised following the announcement and, now, some Prime Video subscription holders are making some observations that I agree with.
This past Friday was when news broke that Prime Video would not be renewing Wheel of Time for another season. Devastated fans flooded the comments of Prime Video’s Instagram and TikTok, calling for a renewal of the fantasy book-to-screen adaptation on every video or post in the past couple days.
Avid fans also took to Reddit to air their grievances and discuss the development, with many saying the Prime Video original was doomed from the start. Some argued that the show alienated too many fans of the book early on due to plot discrepancies. However, many of comments didn't cast blame on the writers. Instead, they discussed what they view as being problems with Prime’s streaming model overall. Here are some of the points that personally resonated with me:
- The series has remained a solid performer but its viewership has slipped' Well, it took almost two years to release season 3, so yeah, ppl lost interest. - CpnLouie
- It also surely wasn't helped along by the generally poor experience of using the Prime Video platform. Its many technical issues aside, it was always bad at letting you know that there is a new season of something you liked. - KarelKat
- The eight episode every two years format that Amazon uses is trash. Sucked in a fantasy setting like WoT, and sucks in a modern setting like Etoile. Too much story, not enough time. - AnSionnachan
- Viewership is also a very bad metric if it’s only based on viewership in the first weeks. There are so many shows coming out, that I’m only now coming around to watch season 3. And I’m probably not the only one. - SpaceSolaris
To KarelKat’s point, if the platform itself doesn’t highlight a new season of a show a user previously watched, then forget about it. The fact that the shows I'm watching on Prime at a given time sometimes don’t even appear on my home page speaks volumes to some of the platform’s technical issues.
Also, while this isn't specific to the The Wheel of Time's cast, crew, and writers, I feel as though limited episode orders can be a disservice to a show as well. This may not always be the case, but there are instances in which a season of a show can feel truncated due to having only eight to ten installments. Something like that could possibly contribute to cliffhanger endings, which are rarely ever satisfying for this Prime Video user.
SpaceSolaris also brings up a good point. We are just about a decade into the streaming boom, and viewership remains a hot topic. Don't get me wrong, as viewership is obviously an important metric, but the span of time in which it's measured can sometimes be unreasonable in my humble opinion.
On multiple occasions, streaming has proven that TV series can find new life following their initial debuts. Broadcast shows like Suits, Schitt’s Creek and Breaking Bad all had insane streaming resurgences years after they initially aired on TV. Who's to say that a streamable title from an entity like Prime Video can't find an audience sometime after its premiere? Even Cobra Kai, which moved from YouTube to Netflix ended up becoming a hot title in time. In short, some shows hook viewers right away, but others may need time to build a steady base.
As for The Wheel of Time, fans are trying to fight this cancellation. Multiple petitions have been started in the hopes of either changing Prime Video’s mind or convincing another network or streamer to save the show by picking it up. As of this writing, there's no indication as to whether that remains a firm possibility.
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