EXCLUSIVE: Has 007: Road To A Million misfired in its pursuit of ratings gold? Amazon Prime Video‘s lavish James Bond spin-off failed to make its mark on a list of the 50 most-watched shows in the UK.
By Amazon’s own metrics, the Brian Cox-fronted game show has rated No1 in 27 countries on Prime Video, but independent data in the UK suggests the format has not been a soaraway success.
Barb, the UK’s official TV audience research body, publishes a weekly list of the top 50 highest-rated shows. Its most recent ranking did not feature 007: Road To A Million after its premiere on November 10.
The most-watched show of the week to November 12 was Strictly Come Dancing with 8.8M viewers, while the show in 50th position was BBC police documentary The Met with an audience of 2.7M.
This means that 72 Films-produced 007: Road To A Million entertained an audience of fewer than 2.7M people, putting the show behind other Prime Video brands. A precise figure was not made public.
In February, Clarkson’s Farm’s Season 2 premiere audience of 4.3M meant it became Prime Video’s most-watched original show in the UK since the streaming records began.
Episodes two and three of the Jeremy Clarkson show were watched by 3.8M and 3.3M respectively, meaning they also beat 007: Road To A Million. Elsewhere, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power launched in September 2022 with 3.2M viewers.
Prime Video has yet to confirm if 007: Road To A Million will be renewed for a second season, but producers have started casting, noting that filming is “due to take place throughout 2024.”
The James Bond game show has a 45% score on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it has garnered a green splat to indicate its “rotten” status among critics.
The Guardian gave the show one star and branded it “shoddy, boring and soulless.” The Daily Telegraph was more upbeat, declaring the show to be “surprisingly fun” in its four-star review.
Amazon Prime Video declined to comment.