Amazon has temporarily suspended reviews of the highly-anticipated prequel series The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, after it fell victim to so-called 'review bombing'.
The critical response to the mega-budget series has been largely positive, with the show earning a respectable 84 percent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, and many praising its 'stunning imagery' and 'compelling' plot.
Advert
However, just days after the first two episodes hit screens, its audience score came crashing down to a measly 35 percent.
It's thought 'review bombing' is responsible for the plummeting score - where users purposely bombard the show with negative reviews in order to make it less popular.
As a result, Amazon reportedly stepped in and paused reviews on its site for 72 hours to 'help weed out the trolls' and 'ensure each review is legitimate'.
Advert
An Amazon Prime source later told The Hollywood Reporter that it rolled out the policy across all its shows over the summer.
The news comes following a backlash surrounding the diverse casting in the show, with many die-hard fans claiming that J.R.R. Tolkien intended Middle-earth to be populated solely by white characters, and that the move was politically motivated.
However, executive producer Lindsey Weber was quick to shut this down, explaining that 'Tolkien is for everyone'.
"It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien's work would reflect what the world actually looks like," she said.
Advert
"His stories are about his fictional races doing their best work when they leave the isolation of their own cultures and come together."
Arriving two decades after the original trilogy, Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events that played out in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and marks the most expensive show in TV history, racking up a staggering estimated $715 million.
"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," its official synopsis reads.
Advert
"From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."
Episodes are released weekly on Prime, with the finale of the eight-episode stint set to be released on 14 October.
Topics: Amazon Prime, Lord Of The Rings, TV and Film
Chloe Rowland