It's been a few days since the third season of The Wheel of Time ended on a high. Not only is the show certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at a very impressive 97% rating, it's the highest-rated season of fantasy TV since the fourth season of Game of Thrones, which The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins is reportedly taking pains to point out on his Instagram.
The folks behind the show are hyping it up because, as of this moment, we don't have word on whether Amazon and Sony will renew The Wheel of Time for a fourth season (or a fifth or a sixth or beyond; this is a huge book series Judkins and company are adapting). Any ammunition helps, and Judkins may get another bullet in the form of Nielsen's streaming charts for the week of March 17-23.
Nielsen is the most trusted name in TV ratings; they take the time to get their information right, which is why their charts don't come out until weeks after the fact. The fourth episode of The Wheel of Time dropped on March 20, after the first three dropped all at once on March 13. So about halfway through its season, The Wheel of Time was charting; it came in seventh on the list of most-streamed originals:
The Wheel of Time breaks into the Nielsen streaming charts for the week of March 17-23 pic.twitter.com/aV0v30GoBS
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True, this isn't a placement so spectacular that Amazon has no choice but to renew the show, but being among the 10 most streamed series in existence that week is still impressive. Together with the rapturous reviews, we hope it's enough to convince Amazon and Sony to commit to the show in the long term. The Wheel of Time has gotten better each season. If it continues its upward trajectory, the sky's the limit. I expect it to stick around the Nielsen charts as new data comes in, hopefully rising in the rankings as season 3 continues to kill it.
Other than The Wheel of Time, it's no surprise to see Netflix's latest breakout hit Adolescence on the top of the chart. Reacher's presence is no surprise, either; it's the most popular show on Prime Video, which has three titles in the top 10 for the second time in two weeks. I'm also happy to see Severance so high; this chart covers the period after Severance aired its excellent season 2 finale.
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