Amazon Admits To Ignoring Negative Feedback For Rings Of Power
In response to negative feedback to Rings of Power, Amazon's head of TV says simply that some fans "just aren't on board."
Amazon Studios’ Head of Global Television, Vernon Sanders, recently spoke to ComicBook.com about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and it sounds like the negative feedback from some fans still isn’t resonating with the studio. Talking about the series, Sanders referred to a study the company set up to “just understand how they were reacting,” and concluded, “I think whenever you take on something that’s so beloved, you’re going to have probably a strong reaction for and have some people who just aren’t on board.” While he’s certainly not wrong about that, this statement doesn’t really make it seem like they’re wanting to do something about those negative reactions.
While The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power feedback hasn’t been all positive, the viewership numbers certainly convinced Amazon that the series is worth the effort. According to Amazon, the show brought in over 100 million viewers worldwide, with 25 million viewers watching the series on the first day. This broke tons of records for Prime Video and also brought new subscribers to the platform in droves.
As much as artistic integrity is something that all fans of major franchises long for when it comes to creating these series, money and viewers are always going to speak first. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power could get all the negative feedback in the world, but the studio is still going to make more episodes if tons of viewers come to watch it and pay for an account. Also, there are tons of passionate creatives who worked on the show, and there is a good amount of positive feedback about the show out there too.
It may not sound like the studio heads at Amazon are listening to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s negative feedback, but there’s always a chance that the writers are listening and taking it to heart. Of course, some of the complaints aren’t really valid and come from primarily online trolls. For instance, the show introduced more diversity with its hobbit, dwarf, and elf characters, which sent some unsavory parts of the fanbase spiraling.
Then there are the legitimate concerns, like certain parts of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power straying from Tolkien’s source material. Obviously, creative liberties will sometimes be taken when adapting something, but when you have such a large fanbase of a beloved IP, those creative liberties are going to be put under a harsh microscope. Feedback is tricky for movies and TV shows to navigate — you don’t want to let fans dictate the creative process completely but it’s not always the right call to ignore them either.
It remains to be seen if Amazon’s strategy for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to be successful and get the viewers and ratings they want. As far as the first season goes, it appears that their strategy is working just fine and that negative feedback hasn’t really affected their ultra-expensive show at all. The series is getting another season regardless, so we’ll just have to wait and find out if the show can continue to bring in fans and new viewers alike.
