Much like the successes of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings in 2001 led to a rush of big screen fantasy and YA adaptations, the popularity of Game of Thrones in the 2010s led to a TV arms race. Every network and streamer wanted to find, if not the next Game of Thrones, then at least their version of it. HBO itself, Netflix, Starz, and later the likes of Disney+ all tried it, with varying degrees of success, though nothing has truly matched the internet-breaking, watercooler-conversation-starting event that was Thrones at the height of its powers.
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Prime Video has had a few goes as well, but its next big fantasy series could be the one that not only works, but actually redefines the genre on the small screen going forward: Fourth Wing. This is an adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ Romantasy books The Empyrean Series, which takes place at Basgiath War College, where students are split into one of four sections that prepare them to serve in the war going on outside its walls: Scribe, Infantry, Healer, and Rider. As in, dragon rider. It has the makings of a major hit, and one that could last for years.
Fourth Wing Should Run For A Minimum Of 5 Seasons
Fourth Wing‘s story centers around Violet Sorrengail, who is supposed to become a Scribe, but instead ends up becoming a Rider, getting a dragon, and being thrust into a much bigger story than she could’ve ever imagined, one with grave dangers and dark secrets. There’s romance, conspiracy, world-altering threats, betrayal, and epic dragon action. In short, there are a lot of ingredients for a great TV show, and one that could run for several seasons.
Yarros has planned this as a five-book story, with three of them published so far (the most recent was 2025’s Onyx Storm). Though originally envisioned as a trilogy, the author realized while writing the second installment, Iron Flame, that it would need five books in order to tell the story properly. The good news, though, is that she has a lot of it planned out already, with her telling Today last year: “How they start, how they end, how Book 5 starts, how the series ends – that’s all plotted out and done.”
Based on what’s been published so far, one season per book should work in order to fully adapt things, so we are looking at five seasons at the very least. However, it’s not beyond possibility it could actually end up needing more: Book 4 is expected to be longer, since it’s bridging to the final installment, and then it seems likely that the fifth book will be the longest yet. With so much to pack in, and so much to get on screen in terms of visual effects (not least over a dozen dragons), it’s feasible that it might even end up being 6-7 seasons instead.
If the idea of an ongoing book series being adapted sparks any concern, fear not: Fourth Wing won’t repeat the issues Game of Thrones ran into. While that ended up overtaking A Song of Ice and Fire, with George R.R. Martin yet to finish The Winds of Winter (and with another installment planned), Yarros has insisted that the Fourth Wing TV show will never overtake the books. Given three are written and she writes at an incredible pace, that seems a safe bet.
Fourth Wing Could Be Prime Video’s Biggest Fantasy Show
As with the other networks and streamers, Prime Video has had its share of fantasy series in the years since Game of Thrones, but it hasn’t been entirely successful. Carnival Row ended after just two seasons, The Wheel of Time was cancelled after three seasons, and The Rings of Power, while still on track to see out its five-season plan, hasn’t exactly been the kind of hit that justifies the billion-dollar investment made in it.
Fourth Wing, then, could be the epic fantasy series it has been striving for, and delivers the mix of (a lot) of sex and (a lot of) dragons that helped propel Game of Thrones to such record-breaking success. That isn’t to say it will be as big as that, because little ever will be in a more divided streaming landscape, but Romantasy is absolutely huge right now (and there’s no indication that a major drop off is coming), and the genre is shaping up to be a major one in the next few years: like with Thrones, everyone is going to want their adaptation. All signs point to this being the biggest of the bunch.
The Fourth Wing TV show does not yet have a release date.
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