In 2021, the streaming wars were more fierce than ever. Whether it was Disney+ and its slate of Marvel Cinematic Universe shows or Netflix finding an unexpected gold mine in Squid Game, there was plenty to watch. But it was Amazon’s fantasy epic The Wheel of Time that ultimately claimed the crown as the most in-demand show of the year in the U.S.
Amazon has set up The Wheel of Time as one of its tentpole shows, hoping to fill the fantasy void left behind by Game of Thrones. According to data firm Parrot Analytics, which tracks demand by looking at how often people are talking about a show online, it was 43.2 times more in demand than the average series in its first 30 days after release. That bodes well for Amazon’s other upcoming fantasy show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which comes with an even bigger built-in fanbase. There’s always going to be incredible hype for anything Middle-earth.
When you look at the top 10 most in-demand shows of last year, The Wheel of Time’s achievement becomes even more impressive. It was more in-demand than every single Marvel show, The Book of Boba Fett, and even Netflix’s global phenomenon Squid Game! Take a look at the full list, via Business Insider:
- The Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime Video)
- Arcane: League of Legends (Netflix)
- The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)
- Hawkeye (Disney+)
- WandaVision (Disney+)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+)
- Loki (Disney+)
- Squid Game (Netflix)
- Chucky (Syfy)
- Shadow and Bone (Netflix)
Amazon vs Disney+ vs Netflix
Sure, Amazon Prime may have won the battle, but did they win the war? The Wheel of Time is the only Amazon show in the top 10. Disney+, on the other hand, owns half the list. Above all of those, however, remains Netflix, which boasts a wild 43.6% of platform demand share, although the gap has narrowed in recent years.
The Wheel of Time season 2 is still in development, so we don’t have a release date yet. Rest assured, it’s definitely on the way. Season 1 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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