During the 2010s, one television show reigned supreme, and its impact was felt around the world. The fantasy genre made a splash on the global stage as HBO adapted George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice & Fire into the award-winning series, Game of Thrones. Since then, there has been a desire to bring even more fantastical worlds and monsters to life. HBO doubled down on Westeros, with spin-offs like House of the Dragon and others in the works. Netflix went for The Witcher and Shadow and Bone. Prime Video decided to explore the world written about in Robert Jordan’s massive 14-book series, known as The Wheel of Time. Unfortunately, after three seasons, of which the third season was the most critically acclaimed, Prime Video decided to break the spinning wheel and cancel the show.
However, despite ending the adventures of Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) and Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), the streamer is not done with the fantasy genre. According to Deadline, Amazon has picked up the YA fantasy series Powerless, by Lauren Roberts. Prime Video’s adaptation will cover Roberts’ book trilogy, which includes Powerless (2023), Reckless (2024) and Fearless (2025). With titles such as Maxton Hall: The World Between Us and Netflix’s hit mystery sci-fi show, Dark, part of her credits, writer Daphne Ferraro will develop the books for television. Ferraro will serve as creator and showrunner, with executive producers Will Gluck, Madison Jones, Jacqueline Monetta, Alex Black, Jon Rosenberg, and Natalie Sellers. Ferraro and Roberts also executive produce with Gluck’s Olive Bridge Productions (Anyone But You, Peter Rabbit), the studio behind the project.
What is Prime Video’s ‘Powerless’ About?
Powerless will play out in the Kingdom of Ilya, where the Elites are charged with governance with breathtaking powers at their disposal. They lord over those without powers, the Ordinaries, and it’s only when Paedyn Gray, a powerless Ordinary and petty thief from the slums, saves Prince Kai, the cruel King’s second son, does the story get interesting. Paedyn’s father happened to have been executed by the king and, as reward for her service to the crown in saving Kai, she is rewarded with a spot in the kingdom’s prestigious Purging Trials — a savage competition promising glory, riches, and fame. However, surviving the Purging Trials isn’t all that Kai and Paedyn have to worry about, this new constant pull towards each other must be monitored as well.
While Prime Video might have set their sights on Powerless, it won’t be the only fantasy series on the streamer’s books. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is headed into a third season as the story of the Second Age of Middle-earth continues. The decision to cancel The Wheel of Time was mainly monetary and, at the moment, Prime Video has no plans to shop the show around to see if another streamer or potentially even a network would revive the wheel. However, fans of the show seem bent on fighting for the show, and should they manage to get their way, we might see The Wheel of Time spin once more on Prime Video.
A production start date for Powerless has not been announced yet.
Source: Deadline