Patrick McKay, co-creator and co-showrunner of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” says he’s well aware of the backlash the show has taken in its first two seasons.
The show’s first two seasons have often been on the receiving end of criticism from audiences for some of the decisions made, from creative liberties with Tolkien’s work to pacing and inevitable comparisons with Peter Jackson’s film trilogiies.
Going into the third season, those involved have previously teased the show’s time jump leading to a new season that’s much closer to the films, more inline with them visually and also a new ‘jumping on’ point.
Now, speaking with SFX Magazine, McKay acknowledges fan unhappiness with the series. He adds that he and co-showrunner J. D. Payne are sticking to their plans with no major adjustments due to audience reaction:
“We would be bad at our job if we didn’t care somewhat what people think of it, but that doesn’t mean that they’re suddenly in charge. We listen to what people say, and we want people to love it, but we are our hardest, harshest critics. What’s working and what’s not working, we’re going to learn from. We’re getting more confident in our storytelling, and in season 3, we feel like the show has hit its stride.”
Whether the time jump will pay off in increased viewership isn’t clear at this point. Amazon presently remaind committed to its original five-season plan for the show.
The first four episodes of the third season premiere on Wednesday with the remaining four split into double episode blocks on November 18th & 25th.
