Amazon's 'The Wheel of Time' was the biggest new series in the US last year

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• "The Wheel of Time" was the most in-demand new series in the US that debuted last year.
• In its first 30 days of release, it was bigger than other new shows like "The Book of Boba Fett."

"The Wheel of Time" was a huge hit for Amazon last year, as the company invested heavily in genre TV.

The fantasy series, based on the "Wheel of Time" novels by Robert Jordan, was the biggest TV debut for a new series in 2021 among US audiences, according to the data firm Parrot Analytics.

The company said that "The Wheel of Time" had the greatest average audience demand in the US in the first 30 days after its premiere of any new series last year. The show was 43.2 times more in demand during its first 30 days than the average series in the US, ahead of other new shows like Netflix's "Arcane" and Disney+'s "The Book of Boba Fett."

Parrot Analytics measures audience demand, which reflects the engagement with and interest in, or overall popularity, of a series.

The success of "The Wheel of Time" is a positive sign for Amazon's next high-profile fantasy series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," which debuts in September.

A lot is riding on the "Lord of the Rings" series. Amazon is spending $465 million for just the first season, including $250 million for the rights, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Amazon has also found success in other genre TV shows with the mature superhero series "The Boys," which returns for its third season this year; the sci-fi series "The Expanse," which recently wrapped up its final season; and "Invincible," an animated superhero series that's been renewed for a second season.

It was also in talks for the rights to a "Mass Effect" series, based on the hit sci-fi video-game franchise, Deadline reported in November.

"The Wheel of Time" boosted Amazon Prime Video's platform demand share in the US for original shows in Q4 2021. Prime Video narrowly surpassed Disney+ in the quarter with 8.9% of the demand share compared to Disney+'s 8.1%.

Netflix was still dominant with 43.6% of platform demand share, though its market share has decreased in recent years as more streaming competition emerged.

Below are the top 10 biggest series debuts of 2021, based on audience demand in the US during their first 30 days of release: