“The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” — a fantasy series created by The Daily Wire and now-former CEO Jeremy Boreing — has broken into the top 10 streaming series in the United States.
The seven-episode series debuted for American viewers on Sept. 1 and rapidly rose in the streaming ranks, according to a Sept. 9 report from MovieWeb.
The show is based on the bestselling books by Stephen R. Lawhead, in particular the first two novels, “Taliesen” and “Merlin.”
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Unlike many retellings of Arthurian legends in recent decades, the first season of “The Pendragon Cycle” — available on platforms like Amazon Prime — focuses exclusively on Merlin and his father, Taliesen, before King Arthur emerged on the scene to lead the Britons.
The series also displays the arrival of Christianity in the British Isles, casting the religion in a positive light against Celtic paganism.
The conversion of Taliesin from his Druid training to worship the “Great Light” is heavily featured, while Merlin also invokes the Christian faith to unite the Britons against the invading Saxon tribes.
The show’s success is truly unprecedented, especially when it comes to the wave of counter-cultural conservative projects released by companies such as Angel Studios and The Daily Wire since the advent of 2020s wokeness.
On Amazon Prime, the show managed to rise to number three among all television shows and number four overall — meaning it has been the fourth most-watched television show or movie on Amazon Prime over the last week.
My beautiful friends (and my beautiful detractors!),
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is now #4 Overall and the #3 TV Show on Prime US.
I am filled with gratitude.
The cast and crew thank you all. So do I. pic.twitter.com/lrWU6idfGH
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) September 9, 2026
Audiences are enjoying the new series, which boasts an 84 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
MovieWeb noted that by way of comparison, “The Rings of Power” — a rival fantasy series and prequels for “The Lord of the Rings” — earned a meager 48 percent audience score.
“The Pendragon Cycle” is now “one of Prime Video’s biggest hits,” according to MovieWeb.
I’m thrilled to announce that tomorrow The Pendragon Cycle will begin streaming on @PrimeVideo here in the US.
Watching our show become the #1 Fantasy Series on Prime Video across Europe with virtually no marketing has been enormously gratifying.
We believe we made something…
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) August 31, 2026
FandomPulse noted that “The Pendragon Cycle” is first among fantasy series and third in drama series.
Boreing reacted to the news by saying “we couldn’t be more thrilled” and thanking “everyone enjoying the show.”
The series debuted on DailyWire+ in January before the international rollout on Amazon Prime.
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