With a premiere drawing in an audience size not seen by HBO for years it should come as no surprise that the show has been renewed for two more seasons.
Michael Lombardo, HBO Programming president, announced today that the premiere cable company offered the show a fifth and sixth season, just two days after the show pulled in 6.6 million viewers for the season premiere of season four. According to last season’s numbers that is an increase of 50% over the previous premiere and 22% more than the season finale.
Lombardo praised the show saying:
’Game of Thrones’ is a phenomenon like no other. [Series creators] David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling.
With George R.R. Martin currently working on the sixth book in the “Song of Fire and Ice” storyline it isn’t unreasonable that the book will release before the show reaches that point, but if Martin doesn’t write and write faster it will be interesting to see what happens with a seventh season.
Are you ready for two more season of Game of Thrones? What would you like to see happen with a seventh season if Martin hasn’t written the book yet? Give your thoughts down below.
3 Comments
Since it takes Mr. Martin a long time to put out each book, it is likely that the series will pass him by before he writes the last book. However, George R. R. Martin is writing some of the scripts for the series, I suppose he will probably provide the producers with an outline of what he intends. The danger here can be demonstrated by the first Kick Ass movie, which was produced before the final issues of the comic book had been written and drawn – so parts of the movie vary widely (and not to the benefit of the movie) from the final issues of the comic. If the producers waited until Mr. Martin pulls his thumb out and finally writes the last two books, the actors will be too old for their roles. I am glad they are going to finish the series, one way or the other.
I doulwn’t worry about the series getting ahead of the books. Martin mentionned more then once that he wrote a story bible with all the plotlines for the producer in case anything like that happen – or if he pulls a Robert Jordan-.
Just imagine if HBO would join the 21st century and offer the show to non-subscribers online, obviously for a fee. Then instead of being the most pirated show on the planet, it could also be one of the most astronomically profitable.