Tag Archives: Game of Thrones

HBO renews ‘Game of Thrones’ for two more seasons, A&E picks up third season of ‘Bates Motel’

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This week HBO renewed its hit fantasy series Game of Thrones for fifth and sixth seasons. A two-season pickup is nice, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. First, logistically, the sprawling drama is based on George R.R. Martin’s books which will span across seven thick novels when all is said and done; so there is much story that needs to be adapted for the small screen. Second, of course, is the show’s monster ratings. Last Sunday’s season 4 premiere drew in a record-breaking 6.6 million viewers making it the pay cabler’s most watched program since The Sopranos‘ series finale in 2007.

“Game of Thrones is a phenomenon like no other,” said president of HBO Programming Michael Lombardo. “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.”

Also renewed this week is A&E’s Psycho prequel series Bates Motel. The Freddy Highmore & Vera Farmiga show will return for a 10-episode third season in 2015. Season 2 is really starting to unravel Norman’s psychosis and another season of the thriller is going to bring viewers even closer to the serial killer we know he is destined to be.

“The incredible writing team and talented Bates Motel cast has made this series one of the most compelling original dramas on television,” said A&E EVP and GM David McKillop. “The brilliant twists and turns of the past two seasons keep its loyal fan base coming back for more. We are so proud of the show.”

Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9PM on HBO and Bates Motel airs Mondays at 10PM on A&E.

Go inside ‘Game of Thrones’ season 4 with juicy 15-minute featurette

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We are less than two months out from the season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones. To help pass the time between now and then, watch this nearly 15-minute featurette that is a behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming season. You’ll hear from EPs David Benioff and D. B. Weiss as well as the majority of the expansive cast. The stars answer fan questions and a new character, Oberyn Martell, is discussed. You’ll also get an inside look at King Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery Tyrell. A few choice quotes follow.

Fans of Tyrion, beware:  “This is definitely the most dangerous season for Tyrion. It seems like almost every episode he’s in jeopardy of getting his head removed from his shoulders,” warns Benioff.

Benioff on Danyrs’ dragons: “With each season they grow and become more dangerous,” he says. And now? “They’re not babies anymore.”

How does season 4 compare to previous ones? “It’s more thrilling throughout than season 3 was,” says Jon Snow’s portrayer Kit Harington. “There are more climactic events in season 4 than there ever have been before,” shares Weiss. And Benioff adds, “Some of the most shocking and mindblowing scenes of the entire series come at the end of this coming season.”

Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 6.

‘Game of Thrones’ season 4 trailer

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Joffrey thinks he’s won the war. Tyrion’s in shackles. Jaime has a new hand. Arya is ready for a fight. The Wildlings (and Daenerys, for that matter) are still determined they can take the Seven Kingdoms.

“If you want justice, you’ve come to the wrong place,” beams the small but strong Lannister.

Game of Thrones returns for a fourth season on April 6 to HBO.

Comic Con: Relive ‘Game of Thrones’ deaths in a “In Memoriam” clip here

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To remember those we have lost, the nifty editors at HBO’s Game of Thrones put together this “In Memoriam” clip that premiered at Comic Con. Set to Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” makes light of so many of the grisly deaths that have come to pass on Thrones since the beginning. A tag “The North Remembers” concludes the video and we are left with a Spring 2014 premiere to anticipate.

It goes without saying: spoiler alert.

Your first look at George R.R. Martin’s “real” Iron Throne

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If you read the books and watch the show you might have two very different images in your head of how you perceive the Iron Throne. In case you didn’t know, the Iron Throne is the enormous pedestal the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros sits upon when he reigns over the land and its people inside the world of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels and the HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin addressed this matter this week in an explanatory blog post I will extrapolate here. In essence, Martin says it would not be possible to replicate his imagination’s version of the Throne. In his words:

The HBO throne has become iconic. And well it might. It’s a terrific design, and it has served the show very well. There are replicas and paperweights of it in three different sizes. Everyone knows it. I love it. I have all those replicas right here, sitting on my shelves. And yet, and yet… it’s still not right. It’s not the Iron Throne I see when I’m working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It’s not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books… HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court… my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric… The HBO throne is none of those things. It’s big, yes, but not nearly as big as the one described in the novels. And for good reason. We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but not nearly huge enough to hold the Iron Throne as I painted it. For that we’d need something much bigger, more like the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much room.

With the Iron Throne the process has been particularly frustrating. A dozen different artists have done versions of the Iron Throne over the years. Some have been very striking, some less so, but none of them have ever been quite RIGHT. Their versions never quite matched what I saw in my mind’s eye.

Until now. Artist Marc Simonetti “has come closer here to capturing the Iron Throne as I picture it than any other artist to tackle it,” admits Martin. “This Iron Throne is massive. Ugly. Assymetric. It’s a throne made by blacksmiths hammering together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, wrenched from the hands of dead men or yielded up by defeated foes… a symbol of conquest… it has the steps I describe, and the height. From on top, the king dominates the throne room. And there are thousands of swords in it, not just a few. This Iron Throne is scary. And not at all a comfortable seat, just as Aegon intended.”

Above, behold the real Iron Throne, or as close as we may ever see one. A more polished version of this work of art will be featured in Martin’s series companion book The World of Ice and Fire coming next year.

 

‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ parodies ‘Game of Thrones’

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Jimmy Fallon and his talented team at Late Night have a new digital series parodying HBO’s popular fantasy series Game of Thrones aptly titled Game of Desks. Fallon pulls double duty portraying skewed versions of Ned Stark and Daenerys Targaryen here, as does announcer Higgins who plays a convincing Lord Varys and Khal Drogo. From the impressive opening animation to the elaborate set pieces and wardrobe, Game of Desks makes an entertaining Thrones parody that every fan of the show will enjoy watching. Mash play and take it in! Catch some fantastic promotional posters in the gallery below.

[Images via @jimmyfallon]

HBO renews ‘Game of Thrones’ for a fourth season

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No surprise here: two days after airing the season 3 premiere of Game of Thrones, HBO renewed the fantasy series based on George R.R. Martin’s books for a fourth season. As previously reported, the season 3 premiere ranked as the series’ highest rated episode to date attracting 4.4 million viewers.

Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9PM on HBO.

TV reminder: ‘Game of Thrones’ returns Sunday night at 9PM on HBO [Update: record ratings]

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The battle for the Iron Throne resumes this Sunday night at 9PM on HBO. The network’s hugely successful and popular fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its highly anticipated third season promises more surprises and more dragons; just look at the season’s key art above for proof of the latter. Or rewatch the season’s two brilliant trailers if you need to be reminded of the stakes at hand in the upcoming batch of episodes. After the break you’ll find a couple of recap clips that will catch you up on everything Thrones seasons 1 & 2. Directly below you can browse a gallery of 12 too-cool-for-school posters that each feature gritty close-up shots of the series’ main characters including the bastard Jon Snow, the conniving Cersei Lannister, the terrible Joffrey Baratheon, the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister, and everyone’s favorite Imp Tyrion Lannister.

Update (4/1): Last night’s season 3 premiere episode of Game of Thrones ranked as the series’ most watched installment to date. A record-breaking 4.4 million viewers tuned into “Valar Dohaeris,” up 13% from the 3.9 million who watched the season 2 opener last year. That tally is also up 4% from the season 2 finale which attracted 4.2 million sets of eyeballs; that ep was the previous record holder. In total, across three airings on HBO last night, 6.7 million took in the premiere.

Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Game of Thrones’ returns Sunday night at 9PM on HBO [Update: record ratings] →

New ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer ups the ante (again)

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In exactly two weeks time Game of Thrones will back, and if these next round of trailers have anything to prove it’s that the show is ready to elevate to entirely new level of epic. Today HBO released the second full-length trailer hyping the third season of the network’s fantasy series; and if you thought the first trailer was unbelievable, you just wait. Trailer numero dos is thirty seconds longer and manages to pack in more action, more dragons, and a freakin’ bear! The score behind it all, of course, is Daft Punk’s “The Game Has Changed” (how appropriate a title here) as made famous in Tron: Legacy. The marketing gurus behind Thrones sure know how to ignite a fire under a fanboy’s flittering heart.

Game of Thrones returns Sunday, March 31 at 9PM on HBO. After the break, catch two new teasers titled “War” and “The Beast.” Continue reading New ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer ups the ante (again) →