Welp, viewers of The Wheel of Time just got the news that no fan wants to hear. Prime Video has canceled the epic fantasy series after 3 seasons. Yes, we’re still primal screaming about it, too. We’re angry. Television shows get cancelled all the time, but there are many good reasons why we think The Wheel of Time deserved more seasons.
The first and most important reason is the quality of the production itself. The Wheel of Time premiered in 2021 as an adaptation of the best-selling fantasy novels by Robert Jordan. Season one was good, but the series became even better in seasons two and three. The third season was a brilliant example of the fantasy genre on television.
This is something that often happens with TV shows: they just take time to perfect their unique tone and settle into the characters and plots. Networks and streaming services have rarely allowed this process to play out in recent years. They often cancel a series before it has a chance to flourish. That’s what makes this cancellation all the more painful, because The Wheel of Time DID achieve its full potential in season 3. We’ll never know if further seasons could’ve maintained that quality.
MORE: Read our review of the last episode of The Wheel of Time, Season 3 Episode 8, ‘He Who Comes With the Dawn.’
Another reason Prime Video should’ve renewed this show is all the possibilities it leaves behind. The book series spanned fourteen books. Season three of the show was mostly based on the fourth book in the series. That leaves a lot of source material on the table. This is one of the hardest things about losing a good show. You always wonder what it would’ve looked like. There are a lot of fantasy shows out there, and The Wheel of Time distinguished itself from the others through its unique details.
Most of all, the show we actually got feels unfinished. Even if there were no novels to draw from for the story, the plot left off while there was still more narrative to explore.
Not only did Rand (Josha Stradowski) not face off against the Dark One in the Last Battle yet, but he was just starting to struggle with the madness that channeling magic might bring upon him. Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) severely wounded Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) during their fight. The Dark One’s servants, the Forsaken, got their hands on a collar and bracelets that would allow them to control Rand. Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) was in the custody of the White Cloaks. As a shipper, I also wish that Lan (Daniel Henney) and Nynaeve’s (Zoe Robbins) romance had gotten more time. Perrin and Faile (Isabella Bucceri) had a future that I wanted to see as well. That’s a lot left unresolved.
Cancelled shows find new homes on other networks or streaming services all the time. All we know now is that The Wheel of Time will not return on Prime Video. And it was too soon. We wanted more of the characters and their relationships. We wanted more of the vividly realized fantasy world. The Wheel of Time should’ve kept turning.
MORE: Season 3 Episode 4 of The Wheel of Time is one of the series’ best episodes, as we discuss in our review of ‘The Road to the Spear.’
The Wheel of Time Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Prime Video.
Just utterly devastated. I loved the books and show.
There’s a fan campaign to try to save WoT — https://savewot.com/
Angry! Frustrated! Indignant! And perhaps just ever so slightly more shocked than I should be in this era of throwing spaghetti at the wall without even waiting to see if it sticks before cancelling promising shows left and right. The Wheel of Time might be categorized in the fantasy genre, but what it offers is something truly unique, especially in a world of tired reboots and spinoffs. Maybe if they put even the slightest amount of effort behind marketing this show. I’m done with Amazon Prime after this. I really hope another streamer can pick up The Wheel of Time. #SaveWot