Amazon's Lord of the Rings prequel series is looking even more like the most-expensive TV series of all time

The A.V. Club

When Amazon's deal was announced the price tag for the rights alone was said to be around $250 million. Add to that two seasons worth of production and marketing costs, and Amazon's outlay doubles to at least $500 million, inching closer and closer to The Hollywood Reporter's prediction in November that the series could ultimately hit $1 billion.