The third season of The Wheel of Time is over, and it was splendid. One question remains: are we getting a season 4? Josha Stradowski, who plays Rand al'Thor, is "confident" there will be another season. Showrunner Rafe Judkins is "hopeful that we will get to finish this story." But neither are certain.
So will Amazon and Sony, who coproduce the show together, renew The Wheel of Time for season 4? What about season 5, 6, 7 or 8? After all, this epic fantasy show is based on a series of 14 enormous books written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Adapting The Wheel of Time for TV is a marathon, not a sprint. Rafe Judkins, a huge fan of the books, knows this; he's said he has an eight-season plan for the show, although he's willing to do it in fewer seasons if he has to.
Judkins is probably talking to Amazon and Sony right this very moment about what the rest of the series might look like. But will they agree to let him carry out his vision? It's hard to know what they're thinking. However, it's incredibly easy to know what they SHOULD be thinking: they should renew The Wheel of Time for as many seasons as Judkins wants as fast as they can. Why? Let's look at what makes the show a good prospect:
The notices
If Amazon and Sony were basing their decisions purely on how much people are enjoying The Wheel of Time, it would be an easy call to renew the show. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season is certified fresh with 81% positive reviews from critics and 61% from audiences. For season 2, that rose to 86% and 81% respectively. And for season 3, the numbers were up to 97% and 82%.
If you look at how fans are rating episodes on IMDb, you'll see a similar pattern: season 2 is rated higher than season 1 and season 3 is rated higher than season 2, with "The Road to the Spear" being the first episode to get average ratings of over 9/10; the season finale has now joined it. We ourselves have noticed a definite uptick in the depth, richness and quality of this show. If that pattern continues, The Wheel of Time will be winning Emmys for Amazon in season 4.
Unfortunately, good press isn't the only thing studios look at when deciding whether to renew a show. It's not even the most important thing. How much are people actually watching the show?
The Wheel of Time is a good investment
It's hard to come by exact viewership figures for The Wheel of Time, because Amazon doesn't make that kind of stuff publicly available unless it suits them. We have to work through proxies, like looking at the daily Top 10 lists on the Prime Video homepage. During this third season, The Wheel of Time has rarely if ever claimed the number one spot on the homepage, although it's pretty much always been near the top. However, in dozens of countries around the world, the show has claimed that number one spot, including in countries like India, which is the most populous nation in the world. Viewership for The Wheel of Time may not be astronomical, but it's healthy.
But let's talk about the only thing studios really care about: money. Again, we have to go through proxies in lieu of Amazon and Sony releasing the info themselves. According to data from Parrot Analytics, obtained by The Wrap, The Wheel of Time had brought in around $360 million in subscriber revenue by the end of 2024, after its first two seasons had aired. According to WoT Series, which consulted financial filings in the UK, those first two seasons cost around $139.7 million dollars and $124.1 million dollars to make respectively, for a grand total of $263.8 million. Subtract that from $360 million, and we see that Amazon and Sony made a profit of $96.2 million on the first two seasons of the show.
We don't yet have data — even proxy data — on the third season. But at the moment, it looks like The Wheel of Time is a profitable show, which is what studios like to hear. And my hope is that the uptick in quality in season 3 will push those numbers higher.
That brings me to my final point: The Wheel of Time is a legacy show. Amazon and Sony have on their hands a partly finished adaptation of one of the biggest, most beloved high fantasy series ever written. If they allow Rafe Judkins to adapt the whole thing, they will have accomplished something almost no other studio would even dare to try, and the fans will reward them for it. Think about how people still watch Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy or the original Star Wars movies to this day. They show them to their children, who keep the love alive. The Wheel of Time could have that kind of long tail. But Amazon and Sony have to be willing to see it through.
There's nothing to do but wait, and to yell: Amazon and Sony, do yourself and the fans a favor and renew The Wheel of Time!
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.