Commercials for Prime Video's The Rings of Power have assaulted viewers with fantasy epicness over the last several months. However, another genre adaptation called Paper Girls was delayed by the pandemic and plunked down on the streamer with little promotion at all. It's no wonder Amazon canceled the show.
The marketing blitz for The Rings of Power was almost too much. The biggest draw the Lord of the Rings series had was how it treated fan-favorite characters. This was not made clear in marketing, which instead showed flashes of scenes with unknown characters and a vague hint that the villain was still the same. Paper Girls, on the other hand, was not a known quantity and could have benefited from a vigorous marketing push. People were going to tune into Rings of Power anyway, and its week-to-week numbers can't matter that much since Prime Video has already renewed the series for Season 2. Meanwhile, the excellent Paper Girls continues to enjoy good word-of-mouth like Polybius, but didn't get the viewership numbers it needed.
Much has been made about how "woke" Rings of Power is because it features prominent female characters and characters of color. Paper Girls gave viewers numerous reasons to watch as its protagonists went on a time-travel adventure unlike any other. They got to meet their future selves, and it wasn't as warm and welcoming as one might expect. There was also a massive time-travel war happening, though it wasn't the focus of the show -- the characters were.
This group of young women talked like kids actually talk. They cursed, they fought and they discussed growing up in identifiable ways. The characters had to face their futures, or in one case the lack of one, which was frighteningly different than what they imagined. There was also a queer awakening story that was executed more competently than Stranger Things. Viewers were forced to imagine how their 12-year-old self might brutally roast them for the adult life they ended up with versus the one they dreamed about. Yet as the time-displaced versions of the characters evolved, the story became about how difficult it is for someone to love themselves.
Paper Girls told a beautiful coming-of-age story with just enough genre action in each episode to keep things exciting. Yet what brought viewers back were the revelations the characters made about themselves and each other, and how those realizations ripple through the group. The young women were not even really friends before the inciting incident -- but they developed a bond fans wanted to see more of. The cast delivered amazing performances, and the visual effects were minimal but impressive. There was also a giant robot at one point. The season had enough thrilling moments for twice the number of the promo spots Rings of Power gets each week.
Hopefully the series' producers can find a new distributor for Season 2, because there is so much more story to tell. Paper Girls didn't get a fair shake to succeed. It was drowned in Prime Video's own marketing for Rings of Power. Viewers missed out on a sweet, exciting series about a group of compelling kids on a journey that could capture anyone's imagination. If this comic adaptation had been given half of the consideration as the latest J.R.R. Tolkien project, it would have risen to similar heights.
Paper Girls is now sreaming on Prime Video.