The finale of the first season of Game of Thrones has set a series high in ratings! James Hibberd reports that the initial viewing attracted 3 million viewers. The encore added the usual 900k netting a total of 3.9 million for the night.
After a relatively average launch of 2.2 million viewers, Thrones continued to edge higher in the ratings all season. With its season finale, Thrones hit a number HBO has been targeting: 3 million viewers. Adding the show’s repeat at 11 p.m., a total of 3.9 million viewers tuned in. The show continues to average 8.3 million viewers when you include all repeats, DVR and On Demand viewing.
Guess those readers pledging they would stop watching after Episode 9′s shocking event couldn’t stay away?
And in the UK, Digital Spy reports that the episode drew 667k viewers on Sky Atlantic, to end up as the second highest episode to date (the premiere delivered 743k). The UK numbers have been up-and-down all season, so I never know what to make of them, but the good news is even the lows have been higher than just about every other Sky Atlantic show.
UPDATE: TV by the Numbers reports that the exact number of viewers for the initial airing was 3.041 million. So we legitimately crossed the 3 million mark! The show also scored a season-high 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo. Check out their post for a handy chart of the season long ratings trend.
Winter Is Coming: A strong end to a season that saw some steady ratings growth. We didn’t quite beat Boardwalk Empire‘s season finale, but we were close. This number, plus the increasing amount of critical raves and general buzz about the show, gives me great hope for some stellar DVD sales and a strong opening number for season two. Congrats to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for delivering a show that is resonating with viewers!
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207 Comments
BOOOOOM !!!! LOVIN IT !!!
Was hoping for this number, but i didnt dare to expect it. Awesome. HBO should spend a little more on s2, i want an epic Blackwater and no shortage of drakes and wolves.
Holy seven !!! First comment too!!!
ptzQuote Reply
Yes !!! It hit 3 million ! :D
Alwyn JosephQuote Reply
Rock on ! Can’t wait for season 2!
CajunmanQuote Reply
Hit the 3 million mark, woo hoo!
ToddQuote Reply
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
EleanorQuote Reply
Can have graphs?
BenQuote Reply
Awesome!
Season 2: 50 MILLION VIEWERS!
I may have exaggerated.
John EngedalQuote Reply
great news! cant wait for the bluray extras., deleted scenes, and commentary!
Jack SlapQuote Reply
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s151/game-of-thrones/news/a325993/game-of-thrones-soars-past-600k-for-sky-atlantic.html
Good UK ratings too!
HodorQuote Reply
WOOOOOOooooo
userjQuote Reply
Fantastic.
I never saw why people were panicked for the ratings after Ned’ death. It’s the kind of thing that attracts viewers.
The weekly average number won’t be relevant until next week, will it? I mean, it’s only including Sunday and Monday at this point. Though I don’t suppose there will be a press release.
GoT is up on Comcast on Demand until mid-July; it’ll be on HBO GO forever and imagine a few other cable/satellite providers will have it on for a while as well. I wonder how high it will increase with a second wave of people hearing about it, reading reviews and watching from the beginning?
AlanQuote Reply
And Boom goes the dynamite.
Now time for Casting speculation :D
SuperdeluxeQuote Reply
hooray!!!
OracleQuote Reply
WE JUST NEED THOSE DVDS OUT ASAP!
Jack SlapQuote Reply
Soon HmR will give us lovely coloured line graphs and the joy will be complete!
EleanorQuote Reply
*Spoiler Alert*
Very good news, to come close to Boardwalk Empire is impressive. I think we’re good for a Season 3: Storm of Swords. However, if Season 4 follows Feast for Crows, it’s going to be challenging for viewers to stay on. Season 4 will have to mix in some of Dance with Dragons, people aren’t going to wait two years for Snow, Tyrion, Stannis, Dany etc.
I was very impressed with the CGI on the dragons, with HBO HD they looked so real I could reach out and pet the one on her shoulder!
The key to Season 2 & 3 will be the casting of Brienne & Stannis. I would love to see Hugo Weaving, Jeremy Irons…somebody with a powerful presence take on Stannis to make up for the loss of Sean B.
Looking forward to Season 2: Clash of Kings, lot of great stuff coming up in that one!
JoeyQuote Reply
HBO would be silly to not get this DVD out for this holiday season. I know this is not their normal practice, but they should continue to ride the wave of popularity due to book sales currently being so high, ADWD coming out soon, etc. There will not be another book released for quite some time and this may be the only time it happens during the series’ run. People are balking at the wait for next season, give them something midway to look forward to.
Ok, I am probably just saying all this because I really really want it right now :(
ChryseeQuote Reply
I would by the DVDs immediately
darkulQuote Reply
Awesome, season 2 premiere should be big.
Off topic, but whatever happened to that scene with Ned and the Mad King that we got one frame of in one of the trailers. Saving it for a certain Jaime scene in season 2 I hope.
Brad VillaneQuote Reply
3 million mark hit…check. Buzz from critics and rabid fans…check. Major casting news to build for next season…___. <–Check here please.
Luke-WarmHandsQuote Reply
George also has to start writing for Season 6, he only has a few short years.
Season 2: Films this summer/fall
Season 3: Films summer/fall 2012
Season 4: Films summer/fall 2013
Season 5: Films summer/fall 2014
Season 6: Films summer/fall 2015
Season 7: Films summer/fall 2016
So if we make it to Season 6.. The Winds of Winter needs to be published by Spring 2015, and Rite of Spring by Spring 2016….
He might get out Winds of Winter by 2015, he’s got a few chapters done. But I’m doubtful we’ll see Rite of Spring by 2016. At least he has the pressure of the show to ‘git ‘er done’ as they say.
JoeyQuote Reply
Jeremy Irons is in Borgias isn’t he? And isn’t this the younger brother of Robert? Both of them look older than Mark Addy.
SuperdeluxeQuote Reply
In for updated graphs please
adayneQuote Reply
If it would be the only time a book came out during the series that would mean we won’t get past season 5. I think if we get Season 3 and they don’t botch it by trying to compress it into 10 episodes, we will likely get the whole story. This will be a great ecouagement for GRRM to hurry up…
Chris77Quote Reply
^Rite of Spring? Sounds like a magic the gathering card.
CharlesQuote Reply
Does anyone know if there’s any plans to show GoT on the UK’s terrestrial channels i.e. BBC1, BBC2, etc…?
DrNickVCQuote Reply
A Dream of Spring
The Rite of Spring is Stravinsky.
Unfortunately I doubt it now that Rupert Murdoch has his hands on the show with Sky Atlantic.
EvilPicnicQuote Reply
We win!!!! NErds rule!
TastesLikeTheSeaQuote Reply
Hehe it’s ‘A Dream of Spring’
JoshQuote Reply
Josh,
One thing I never got, does this mean the Winds of Winter is going to span multiple years? I always thought the longer the summer, the longer the winter.
Ryan JohnQuote Reply
Joey,
If we get a season 4, it will be a mix of AFFC and ADWD, no other way to do it.
morbiczerQuote Reply
@Ryan John,
That’s possible, but there’s also no reason to expect that winter will actually be done by the end of the series. A DREAM of Spring does not necessarily denote the arrival of spring. Or maybe the winter will be prematurely shattered if the Others are destroyed.
Towers RiceQuote Reply
ptz,
It will be a difficult task, highly improbable as well in terms of satisfying how much viewers and hardcore fans would want to see. I think the writers on the show is emphasizing characters over all else, something that they have been marvelous with. However, with every episode, the richness of the world seems to become less and less pervasive. And I think this limitation will continue to strain the series as viewers become more and more familiar with the landscapes, and as the producers struggle to show something new and exotic. We will see in Daenerys’ journey in season two if this is true or not. Nevertheless, this is still a pretty god dam show in television history.
TempestQuote Reply
storm of swords will likely be 2 seasons and the combination of Feast with Dance another 3 considering the size of Dance. or perhaps they’d do 2 seasons and move somethings to the second half of Storm if they feel there’s not quite enough to justify 2 seasons.
…and i’m sorry, but anyone who thinks they’d film Feast as one season and then Dance as another is a moron.
Ashley BlackwoodyQuote Reply
I’m part of the people who believe GRRM has quite a lot of book 6 already pretty much written. He says he has removed about a 100 pages from Dance already to the Winds of Winter but I’d bet he has many more half written pages that he just needs to rewrite and put in form.
Though maybe it’s just a foolish hope…
AshaïeseQuote Reply
Amazon.com has the 1st season DVDs on sale for pre-order but don’t have a release date yet.
John WQuote Reply
Updated the post with the following info:
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Well, the season ended with the right messages being sent to HBO brass regarding ratings, we already know that international orders are high and we can safely spume that the DVD/Blu-Ray sales will be in the top echelon of HBO’s offerings — right up there with Band of Brothers. I suspect that the disc sales on Game of Thrones will be substantially higher than either Boardwalk Empire and True Blood. That is the “bonus” in terms of sales that a company like HBO gets when producing a series which is faithful to the bestselling fantasy book series of its day.
So all that’s extremely good news. It doesn’t hurt that the critical reviews have been excellent. Without a couple of regrettable reviews on Metacritic, which are mainly there as a result of the prejudices that a very few reviewers had with fantasy as a genre, GoT would now be in the “universal acclaim” category (it’s just on the border right now). Critical praise among those who don’t knee-twitch against the genre have been extremely high and the buzz in trade papers like The Hollywood Reporter and Variety and mainstream mags like EW and E! have been great too.
While awards have not yet flowed to the series, there is time for that and good reason to hope, too.
So, if you are HBO? This is all extremely positive stuff.
If there is one weak link in all of this, it’s arises when considering the writing for the series. Which is not to say that I think the series is poorly written, that’s not what I mean. What concerns me is that the writing on the series has essentially been that of D&D and GRRM. The number of other writers they have been able to use during Season 1 was extremely limited.
The problem is, D&D had a LOT more time to write Season 1 than they will have to do Season 2. And that time pressure on writing will only increase on a go-forward basis with the series. This is especially troubling given the other responsibilities D&D have as Exec Producers and showrunners. That is one of the issue with expending to even twelve episodes. Never mind the budget — it appears that the writing assets simply aren’t there (yet) to do it with the confidence D&D would prefer to have. Add in battles and CGI and increased acting budgets — it’s a real challenge for them.
I hope that as Season 2 comes together and they consider a Season 3 to be a strong likelihood that the writing staff will be expanded. Being able to add even two or three writers who “get” the source material and understand how best to adapt it would be a great addition to GoT.
And the more I see people writing in a manner so as to suggest A Storm of Swords can be done in one season of ten episodes, the more I want to reach though the screen and strangle people. It is not possible to do A Storm of Swords in ten episodes — or in twelve. You would need a minimum of eighteen to do it even close to properly. It’s just too big a tale — with too much combat and too many characters, to pull off in 10 or 12 episodes. Won’t happen.
I’d be MUCH happier with the announcement that A Storm of Swords will received essentially 2 seasons of 10 episodes each. If they choose that route? I’m MUCH happier than with one season of 10 or 12 episodes. Shuffle material from ACoK and AFFC as is necessary to make it all work out.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
I’ll go out on a limb and say that this show has more going for it than Boardwalk Empire at the moment. Just based off of personal opinion, I wouldn’t be surprised if this ended up surpasing BE in the ratings next season.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
HBO is pretty horrendous when it comes to DVD/BD releases – anyone who thinks this will be released during the holiday season is kidding themselves. It will come out about a month before the season 2 premiere.
ChampQuote Reply
Season 1 = Book 1
Season 2 = Book 2
Season 3 = Book 3 (first half)
Season 4 = Book 3 (second half)
Season 5 = Books 4 and 5 (first half)
Season 6 = Books 4 and 5 (second half)
Season 7 = ?
I just hope we will – at the very least – get up to season 4 to complete ASoS.
My problem is how D&D will find a way to explain the growth of the kid actors (Bran, Arya and Sansa; Rickon being a little less of a problem).
IcegazeQuote Reply
What is there to explain? Kids grow. It’s not really a big deal.
ChampQuote Reply
John W,
Everyone go pre-order them NOW!!! We could get em trending on Amazon before there’s even a release date…
Luke-WarmHandsQuote Reply
dizzy_34,
It’ll be interesting to see how Boardwalk’s second season performs in the fall. Its viewer base remains much higher than Thrones (10.5 million to 8.3 million), but its overnights didn’t grow at all during the first season. And Thrones did much better in terms of search frequency, twitter and all that.
Which is simply to say: if Boardwalk’s ratings go up, I expect Thrones will go up even more.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
The exact ratings viewer figure is actually 3.041 not 3.014 million.
RitariKnightQuote Reply
Steel_Wind,
From what I’ve read, it sounds like the small writing staff is D&D’s decision, not HBO’s. They haven’t even brought Jane Espenson back yet, despite her episode being one of the best. It could be that’s due to budget crunch, but it also seems possible that they’re more comfortable doing the writing themselves than managing a writing team.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
Happy to see the +3 number which is a ‘magic’ threshold that garners interest. Didn’t think we were quite going to break it, and it sounds a lot better than 2.9 even though the meaningful difference is marginal.
Also nice to see that Google Trends shows a lot of GoT searching going on, and actually compares pretty favorably to the darling True Blood: http://www.google.com/trends?q=game+of+thrones%2C+true+blood&ctab=0. I know that’s a pretty fuzzy metric but it does indicate there’s a lot of buzz out there.
James BrookesQuote Reply
I am pleased. This is a very promising trend for what really matters. (Apart from the number of people subscribing bc of GOT – which we may never know) It will be very interesting to see the number of DVDs the show can sell. I have high expectations, but you never know, i guess. And also the ratings of season 2 – i really hope the ratings will continue to rise, and that we can beat Boardwalk empires season 2.
I expect a season 3, but until next year, we can’t really consider it a lock.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Season 1 = Book 1
Season 2 = Book 2 with few added scenes for Robb, Jaime and Stannis
Season 3 = Book 3 (first half)
Season 4 = Book 3 (second half) and parts of Iron Isles & Dorne stuff from book 4
Season 5 = Books 4 and 5 (first half)
Season 6 = Books 4 and 5 (second half)
Season 7 = ?
That’s how I would do it. Getting books 4&5 into two seasons might be too tricky since book 5 alone is as long as book 3. Hence I would try to fit Tywin’s funeral, some of the Dornish & Iron Isles chapters from book 4 into Season 4 that covers the 2nd half of book 3.
Anyways back on topic: Sweet, 3 million! :)
FlourideQuote Reply
dizzy_34,
I saw Boardwalk Empire from beginning to end and it had a great premiere but it didn’t build on it. Game of Thrones, on the other hand, had a great premiere and got better and better with each subsequent episode, IMO.
The last show that had such a great 1st season was Lost.
John WQuote Reply
Sorry, the exactly number is 3.041M, not 3.014M, you got it wrong
TJeffQuote Reply
Flouride,
SPOILERS!!!
KnurkQuote Reply
Flouride,
We’ll never be completely safe from spoilers, i guess. Glad i’ve read the books, this is like a minefield.
sjweningsQuote Reply
On topic: great, great news! I predicted a 3.1 two weeks ago for the finale, and as usual I was a 0.1 too high! Very good in the demo too, which is important because these are the people who spread the buzz.
HBO would be mad to not put this series out on blu-ray before the holidays. But as said in this thread, they have proven in the past to be mad with releasing their shows on dvd/blu-ray. Is this because they are afraid people will only buy the dvd/blu-rays instead of subscribing to their channel?
KnurkQuote Reply
Awesome news!!!
I just hope HBO gets the season out on DVD & Blu-ray ASAP. I know a lot of people are drooling to watch the show (I have several friends who don’t have HBO and they can’t wait for the DVDs!). Not to mention fans like me who want to buy the DVDs and re-watch it all start to finish.
:)
Grant GouldQuote Reply
EvilPicnic,
That’s a shame. It’s sad that such an amazing show will go unwatched by the vast majority of the UK viewing public.
DrNickVCQuote Reply
people dont be to focused on book – season thing.
the creative team will & should look at what works on Tv and what doesnt.
HBO whats it that way.
As for the show catching up with martin:
It has been sayed before, starting with book 3 we will see 2 or even 3 seasons per book. So I would guess martin has maybe even 7 to 10 years to finish and who says the first season of the last book cant come out before book 7 is out?
question: I have only read book 1 and spoilered myself some things from later books. After what happen in book 1, especially with what Mirri said in the book, can Dany get children again? Does she still have/get moonblood?
Michael TschuertzQuote Reply
Icegaze,
Pretty sure by the end of Feast, they are all a few years older. They increased their age anyway for the HBO series.
JoeyQuote Reply
Joey,
I’m predicting the The Winds of Winter will be released in the Summer/Fall of 2014. That should give GRRM a few years to knock out A Dream of Spring which could then be released a few months before the premiere of the final season on HBO. It’ll work out!!!
MrGigglesQuote Reply
Actually, given that GRRM has said that there IS an actual magical reason that the seasons are so long, and that it is abnormal I’d say that it’s a pretty strong chance that the seasons will be made normal by the end of the series. and since The Others sleep/reside up in “The Land of Always Winter,” they are probably directly related, and that’s probably where the wall/Bran’s storylines are going.
ShannonQuote Reply
Champ,
HBO has actually stated they’re really going to try to get the Blurays out by holiday season. So, it’s not exactly delusional. Granted, not guaranteed, but definitely not delusional.
C2Quote Reply
C2,
they did? Where did you read/heard that?
KnurkQuote Reply
Knurk,
Aww fuck me. I reviewed it once for spoilers went, yea it’s good to go. Then added the spoiler line there…
FlourideQuote Reply
Knurk,
Per this:
http://hbowatch.com/what-to-do-when-game-of-thrones-ends/
Watch the show on BluRay or DVD this Holiday- Of course you’ll always have access to the show via On Demand services such as HBOGo, but you know you’ll be buying that Game of Thrones BluRay special edition if only to get access to the special features you won’t find anywhere else. We’re speculating when we say they’ll be available in time for Holiday 2011 but we think it’s a fair assumption to say that HBO enjoys making money and can see the benefit of releasing these episodes while the blood still runs warm and certainly before the next season ramps up. Expect a full video release in Q4 of 2011 and hopefully we’ll all be treated to some behind the scenes action that we haven’t already seen in the featureettes available online.
C2Quote Reply
That’s not an official HBO site.
ChampQuote Reply
Champ,
Ah…you’re right. My bad.
C2Quote Reply
I’m glad to hear this. We not only love the show, we are invested in its success and we want it to be a great hit.
Winter is Coming.net is the best thing that could have happened to this show to help promote it and get all of us rabid fans in one place.
Thanks, Winter et al!
HollyoakQuote Reply
Sounds like Stravinsky to me.
HollyoakQuote Reply
With respect to ASOS it’s important to remember HBO doesn’t have to stick with a “one book, one season” rule; from what I understand, True Blood seasons feature parts from multiple books in the series. HBO could keep the 10 episode precedent but split ASOS into two seasons for instance; I think the novel could be done in 20 episodes. They would probably have to do the same for AFFC/ADWD since I doubt dropping all the major characters for an entire season would be feasible for television.
More Rice CooksQuote Reply
I’m sorry, but you people are mad in assuming that book 3 and beyond will be split into 2-3 seasons a piece. First of all, TV series very rarely run for 7+ seasons. Secondly, we have quite a few child actors who will age far too dramatically when splitting books over multiple years.
I anticipate something much closer to this:
Season 1 = Book 1
Season 2 = Book 2 (with some minor Book 3 inclusion)
Season 3 = Book 3 (14 episodes, due to a strong season 2 – that will allow HBO to provide D&D with a bigger budget)
Season 4 = First half of a blend of Books 4 and 5
Season 5 = Second half of a blend of Books 4 and 5 (with some minor Book 6 inclusion)
Season 6 = Book 6
Season 7 = Book 7
Obviously it’s impossible to truly guess what will happen with books 6 and 7, considering we don’t know the length of either – but it’s a safe bet.
The show will not run for a decade, and we will be graced by the gods (Old and New) to even see it run as long as I hope for above.
adayneQuote Reply
Another thing worth noting…Game of Thrones blasted past Boardwalk Empire in Facebook fans in a much shorter amount of time. Granted, alone it doesn’t mean much. But I think combined with the increasing ratings, it shows that this series has been gaining serious momentum (and buzz) whereas Boardwalk started high and trailed off. Better to stark low and build, I say.
Brandon StarkQuote Reply
Worldwide? Mayhaps…
We all know, it is known, that certain scene with the Mad King and Brandon Stark was filmed…Where the hell is that scene?
Iker GernikaQuote Reply
^ And imdb votes :P
Not that it matters.
Alwyn JosephQuote Reply
adayne,
Agreed. This is probably the way each season will shake out. The good thing about GOT is that it’s already mapped out. The writers don’t have to make it up as they go along, like Lost, Smallville, or some other show that ran for multiple seasons.
MrGigglesQuote Reply
Off-Topic:
As season 1 is over I guess it’s time again for crazy theories, gates and what not…
This could be a spoiler for readers and non-readers of the books. It’s probable nothing, but it’s making me nuts, so I have to ask.
Could it be, that Barristan Selmy was killed? Because this head looks alarmingly similar to his if you ask me.
The screenshot is from this behind-the-scenes-video. CLICK
AbyssQuote Reply
Yes, I think they can and will cram S3 into a (possibly slightly extended) single season. I actually think they could do it in 13 episodes, maybe even twelve.
As I’ve said elsewhere, book two may technically be longer than the first, but in terms of plot, it’s actually surprisingly sparse. You need several episodes to set up Dany’s relationship with Drogo, for instance, but showing her crossing the red waste is really only a few minutes of screentime. That’s one of the advantages of film over a book–you can convey certain things very quickly, visually, and the audience can fill in the gaps. It’s character introductions, shifting relationships, and historical exposition that eats up screentime, and there’s very little of that in book two compared to book one. Arya, Dany, and Jon don’t actually *do* much in the second book, compared to Robb or Tyrion.
For this reason, I’m of the opinion that some of book three will be moved back into the second season. In particular, I’m increasingly convinced that the battle on the Fist of the First Men will be the climax of season 2, rather than occurring early in S3. After all, it gives a lot more heft to the Night’s Watch plotline in book 2, which otherwise is pretty thin, and the only reason it wasn’t in book 2 was because it didn’t really work with the POV characters that had been established. Likewise, Jon’s election to Lord Commander could easily be pushed back to S4, where, again, things are likely to be a little thin for his plotline. There are other things that could absolutely be moved from book 2 to book 3, too (some of Dany’s story among the Ghiscari, maybe?)
And then there’s the fact that, as hefty as book 5 is likely to be, book 4 is actually really lightweight and can easily be hacked down. So seasons 4 and 5 are likely to consist of a lot more of book 5 than book 4.
PranksterQuote Reply
Regarding adaptations, and season= book and what “HBO” does best, etc..:
There is one thing about this series which D&D understand and have each confirmed in interviews and that’s this: In Game of Thrones, the “main character” is the story.
The story is foremost. Not an actor, not a role, not a battle, the VFX — not even the sex. The story is the REAL star of the series.
As for most series not lasting as long as it might take to do ASoIaF, well — that’s for the very good reason that there simply is no other series like this one. No TV series has ever tried to faithfully adapt a strong seven volume projected epic, consisting of 1,000+ page novels, and translate them faithfully to the TV screen. True Blood, for example, is most certainly NOT a faithful adaptation of the novels.
This isn’t Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H* or even Stargate or ST:TNG. All of those series were written by the seat of the pants without a clear direction for where the story was headed. None of them had before a single frame of photography was captured, a beginning, middle and an end.
Arguably, ASoIaF doesn’t have the end yet, either. But the author at least knows where it’s all going.
So if the viewer interest is there, and the profits are there, there is absolutely no reason at all as to why GoT could not go the distance to 8, 9, or even 10 seasons. The fact that the length of a series for that duration is rare is no REASON in support of why it cannot be done. It certainly CAN be done. If the bums in the seats remain in the seats, week-to-week, year-to-year? It will happen.
And then, perhaps, regarding some other series at some vague and uncertain date in the future — a discussion will be had on the Internet and posters will explain how it was that Game of Thrones was a unique adaptation of a unique series of fantasy novels. They will explain that the longevity of GoT was due to the unique nature and quality of its story arc which was always known form the word “go”. And those posters may comment on how ridiculous it is to suppose that this “new” property, whatever it is, will be as successful as GoT.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Prankster,
Well thought out – could definitely see those things happening.
adayneQuote Reply
I think we’re more likely to see additional episodes added to seasons rather than books split drastically.
An issue is going to be how long the actors are signed for, especially Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke. If they turn into breakout stars, re-signing them for additional seasons and working around filming movies could be a problem. They’re going to want their GoT commitment done as quickly as possible since it would also hinder them from signing on for feature films if they have a long term tv contract.
With the kids, I think aging is less of a problem. Bran will almost always be seated. While Hodor carrying around a 6’3″ 18 year old boy wouldn’t look right, people tend to determine the ages of characters by their relative heights and how youthful their face looks. Shorter actors, like Daniel Radcliffe, seem younger. Maisie Williams seems far younger than Sophie Turner because Sophie is so tall. Unless Maisie has an unexpected growth spurt, actors like Rory McCann will still tower over her.
I also suspect that HBO will have no problem with the Stark girls growing up and being romantic leading ladies rather than children. What happens with Sansa in Book 3 will be filmed completely different if Sophie is 18 then.
StaciaQuote Reply
Abyss,
No way in Hell.
He’s confirmed to be a POV chapter in Book 5. WAAAAYYYY too important a character to kill off this early.
C2Quote Reply
I wouldn’t be averse to Martin releasing book 7 AFTER the last season of the series has aired. He already gave D&D a preview of DwD. He could give them his manuscript for 7 before it’s done. Novel would still be considered canon, but TV gets a little freedom to work with the material. As long as it ends at the same place, I think it would be cool.
ScottsdaleSamQuote Reply
Seeing as it was always George’s intention to deliberately “age the characters” up — including the kids — I don’t see how that is a problem provided that the passage of time within the context of the story as shown on TV is in synch “enough” with the perceptible aging of the characters that it works.
An 18 yr old playing a 10 year old is impossible. An 18 yr old playing an 18 yr old who once used to be 10 is ok. It isn’t shocking that the child actors from Harry Potter grew up. It shouldn’t be shocking to GoT viewers, either.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
To those saying this could go beyond 7 seasons…you are forgetting one major thing…actor salaries. Actors on hit series typically get into negotiating battles and HBO doesn’t have the financial means to do a heavy CGI series AND pay multimillion dollar salaries. Also..don’t forget they are paid by the episode..not season.
greenie88Quote Reply
Steel_Wind,
Time passes, characters age – yes.
But splitting books 3, 4, and 5 into multiple seasons leaves those same characters aged well beyond where they are in the books. Granted, they already appear to be based on casting choices, etc – but if multiple book splits happened you would run into 19 year old arya where she is only 13 in the books, etc.
That’s all im saying
adayneQuote Reply
Age in the books doesn’t really matter since the characters in the show are ACTUALLY already older than their ages in the book. It is not just casting older actors. I don’t think it will be much of an issue.
JamieQuote Reply
C2,
I know, they would be manic to do that, but who was the owner of this head than? – His long lost twin brother, Sami Selmy the coward or what?^^
AbyssQuote Reply
greenie88,
I’m not forgetting anything. I’ve cross-examined producers on their production budgets and litigated profit calculation from film and TV — I’m familiar with the business of entertainment.
There is enough time available for any actor on the series to do a film (maybe even two, depending on) in the off season of the series. I’m also not forgetting that the quality of the product and the cachet and prestige that goes with starring in a top rated, critically acclaimed, big budget HBO series is very different than wanting to get out of doing another season of network TV, one hour drama like yesteryear’s St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting, E.R. or Lost.
There is a reason that Hollywood “A” list talent like Steve Buscemi and an Oscar winner like Anna Paquin are doing a HBO series for a living. They like the quality of the work, they LOVE the security of not having to worry about where the next gig is coming from and they enjoy the people they work with. HBO is not network television.
Again, the story is the star — not an actor. If it turns out in the future that some actor thinks they can’t be replaced in the epic? My guess is that they will find out very quickly that they can, in fact, be successfully replaced.
In the end, these are nice problems to have and none of them are insurmountable.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Abyss,
Lol, could be :P. I’ll admit there’s a resemblance, but I would guess it’s more along the lines of “let’s throw on a random prop head”.
That being said, if by some huge blunder on their part your theory is true, I’ll be pissed!
C2Quote Reply
greenie88,
I’m not concerned about the kids aging up but your point about salaries is exactly right. James Gandolfini eventually pulled in about $1 million per episode of the Sopranos. While I don’t think anyone in GoT will approach that level, if the series is a long-term success the budget will have to go WAY up to accommodate actor salaries.
For that reason, I think those hoping for a longer season, better battles and special effects should be prepared for disappointment.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
Steel_Wind,
the story may be the star, but it will not have the same impact without the proper actors guiding it forward – most of your actors may be easily replaced, but some… not so much:
you will not be able to easily replace dinklage
you will not be able to easily replace williams
adayneQuote Reply
YEAH!
It is much, much more than I dared to hope :)
The RabbitQuote Reply
You think Peter Dinklage is going to want to quit doing the most important role he will ever do in his entire career?
Because there are just Sooooooooooooooooooooo many quality roles for dwarf actors in Hollywood, right? C’mon.
And yes — you probably could replace Maisie Williams. I’m not saying I would want to, but possible? Oh yes. Very. Before three months ago, you had barely heard her recite a single line. Now she’s irreplaceable? I wouldnt’ bet on that.
In any event, being a prophet of doom yields little. The series will go as long as there are eyeballs wantching it and profits being extracted from it. To mutter about the possible unreasonable salary demands of actors in Season 8 at this stage is just tilting at windmills.
Me? I’d rather tilt at The Mountain, thanks. :P
Steel_WindQuote Reply
It is a season finale…People who watched this far would watch pretty much no matter what to see what happens. It is next seasons’ early ratings that will be make or break.
The Non-ApologistQuote Reply
There is a ton of Arrya/Jaime/Brienne/Bran wandering that could easily be compacted to a few scenes from the books. Considering how much of book 2-4 is “countryside wandering”, I think the fear of fitting books into seasons isn’t as hard as one would initially think.
Heck, skip the Dorne sections of book 4 and things get smaller fast.
Khal ZhenQuote Reply
really? … you just proved my point with that sentence.
also, you speak as if we are re-casting now after season 1…
4 or 5 seasons down the line, those characters who are still with us, will be adored – williams especially.
adayneQuote Reply
ScottsdaleSam,
This will never happen.
morbiczerQuote Reply
there is also a major difference between someone being a prophet of doom, and someone who is merely advising not to expect 3 seasons per book – lol.
adayneQuote Reply
let’s sure as hell hope not
adayneQuote Reply
OT but the number one radio station in my city (a very large north Texas city) is considering doing a Game of Thrones segment weekly in season two because they are that enamored with it. Calling it every bit as good as The Wire. Word is Spreading.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
Can we get a HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLZ YEAH?! :)
kerningQuote Reply
about the actors resigning im pretty curious how their contracts are worked out. I mean if i were a hbo/tv company exec, and id want to start a show that hinges on some characters and that i was hoping would last for multiple seasons, i would add some clauses there that you have to stay with the show for as long as it lasts etc.
i mean its not going to be the young and the restless but having to change your dany cuz emilia clarke wants to do transformers 5 wouldnt be cool at all. (random example is random).
So id like someone with some insight to let us know how these contracts are fleshed out, cuz i doubt hbo would take the risk to sign these new actors, propel them to startdom and then after 2-3 years have to struggle to keep them in the show that made them famous. i asume there is a legislation to these kinds of contracts where neither the actors nor the companies can abuse each other.
ptzQuote Reply
These numbers are only very vague and with the “dark numbers” its a lot higher. All the viewers over there in Europe (without access to HBOgo) surely have found a way to watch the show… ;)
andyQuote Reply
I’m calling it: there WILL be a Season 3. No doubt. This show has already become a huge success for HBO, at home and abroad. Word of mouth continues to spread, and the DVDs will add to that.
I’m also calling this: the direwolves and dragons in Season 2 will be almost non-existent (showing up only when absolutely necessary). I’m okay with that, if they look good and if it means more seasons.
LexQuote Reply
RE Aging of the child actors…
I don’t think it will be much of a problem
Jon and Rob are men already.
Dany is a woman not a girl.
Sophie Turner has already hit her growth spurt, but age is not really a factor in her story. (a 20 year old could easily play a 17 year old, happens in every highschool tv show)
Maisie/Arya’s story is so adult, that seeing a 16 or 17 year old girl go through it would make more sense.
Bran, the only problem would be him if he gets big is traveling, and you can always add a horse to his story, with Hodor to take him down and put him places.
But unlike shows like Lost, this does span years, the children will and should be aging accordingly, about 1 year per book I believe, so it fits fine.
The DarkStarQuote Reply
Khal Zhen,
I don’t understand why people keep wanting to cut Dorne like it’s superfluous. It’s fairly obvious to me Dorne is Dany’s only true ally in Westeros..
greenie88Quote Reply
More like half a year per book.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Whos cares about “dark numbers”? You can see them as readily as you can spend “dark money” — which is to say, not at all.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
My guess is that they would kill off characters rather than recast, unless absolutely necessary. Other series have deviated from the books they are based on. Or, at least, the producers can say that once contracts are up and being re-negotiated.
The producers know the end-game and what characters absolutely have to be around then. But any other characters can likely be taken out earlier and their later parts replaced with another character or removed.
But we’re really getting ahead of ourselves. If the series is going to last 7+ Seasons, this time between the first and second seasons is crucial. If there is a huge season 2 premiere, they’ll get the renewal for Season 3 immediately afterwards, hopefully with a higher budget and more episodes.
The number of viewers for True Blood doubled from an average of about 2 million the first season to an average of 4.8 the second and keeps growing.
GoT getting some Emmy and other nominations will help, but getting the word of mouth out about it is key. DVD sales need to be huge.
StaciaQuote Reply
DrNickVC,
The only way to watch this show legally in the UK has been with a Sky subscription, which around only 14% of the UK population have. I have spoken to many people here about this show, and all but one of them (who has Sky) have been watching it religiously online every week.
Games of Thrones has a huge following here, (well within my circle of friends anyway), but of course those figures won’t show up on any ratings. What will make a difference tho is the DVD/BR sales, I predict and hope they will be very strong in the UK.
ButterBumpsQuote Reply
I’ve always been a little annoyed at the decision to show GOT on Sky rather than… BBC? Whatever big channel that was considered.
But yeah, the UK DVD-sales should be very high. Downloading is a huge thing ofcourse, and with the impressive ratings sky got, it should translate to a HUGE UK audience. And luckily theres still people buying DVDs. Especially when it comes to series and DVDs that have a bunch of extras on them – which GOT definitely will.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Ashaïese,
Thats what he said when he finished a Storm of Swords… and 5 years later…
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
I don’t think he said ‘magical’. Only reason. Remember, GRRM is a science fiction writer.
Fabian SchneiderQuote Reply
Ashaïese,
Thats what he said when he finished a Storm of Swords… and 5 years later…
5 years? Make that 11! But I guess you mean that he said this when he finished Feast for Crows, in which case it is 6 years. :)
morbiczerQuote Reply
This is correct. Not going to run forever. Also, its possible we get like 2/3 of ASOS in Season 3, then 1/3 of ASOS and the first 1/2 of Books 4 and 5 for Season 4, etc, or something similiar to that.
Ryan EQuote Reply
I’d like to point out (hope it doesn’t happen of course) that HBO has recast before when actors are needed to depict a certain age. It happened in Rome to that…general guy (memory’s fuzzy). And I seem to think someone else, but I could be wrong.
kerningQuote Reply
kerning,
Octavian you’re thinking of. I didn’t much like the recasting, but the way they handled it was exceptional. It was immediately obvious who the new guy was supposed to be, even though no one said it (immediately) and he didn’t even look much like the old actor.
GaRQuote Reply
I’m pretty sure GRRM himself has said he wishes he had more time passing in the books and that he like it to be more like ~1 year per book. This, I believe, was said at the same time as his discussing aging up the children and how he actually liked that better at the age they were for the HBO show and it made more sense. So I don’t think there will be any problems with the ages. Especially since I think anyone expecting them to split books up into multiple seasons is crazy. Even with a hit show we will be lucky to get 7 seasons to complete the story where 1 book = 1 season (with minor overlapping).
JamieQuote Reply
WiC, stop talking about DVD sales, I want it on BLU-RAY!
HostylQuote Reply
Hostyl,
You can sign up to be notified for when the Bluray will be released via Amazon.
I’ll def be picking it up day 1.
C2Quote Reply
Jamie,
It’s close to a year per book. aGoT starts in early 298AL, aCoK covers most of 298AL, aSoS covers a relatively short amount of time, much of it overlapping aCoK and extending only until early 300AL. aFfC goes from roughly late 299 to late 300.
So that’s three years for four books. The first half (or so) of aDwD is suppose to be concurrent with aFfC, so 300AL, and then extending on for I don’t know how long. No more than a year, I’d think.
http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/31411-global-timeline/
::edit::
GRRM’s comments indicate that he wishes he’d had the younger characters older at the start of the story. That would have prevented the five year gap problem that resulted in the massive delays to Feast and Dance.
GaRQuote Reply
What HBO should do in the interim is have an hour long special (replete with the graphics from the opening credits) that summarizes the history of the seven kingdoms, the beefs and a summary of the houses.
RNCQuote Reply
I got very confused with the Octavian recasting, because I thought one of the really cool things about the original actor was that he had the look and the arrogance ready to pull off a nineteen-year-old imperator.
But then he was recast for age reasons?!
EleanorQuote Reply
And if GoT picks up a Emmy, Sag or Golden Globe, that will help that process even more.
SuperdeluxeQuote Reply
Eleanor,
I think Max Pirkis wanted out, and wanted to focus on his studies or something. Anyhow, I think we need somewhere between 3,3-3,5 million american viewers for the season 2 premiere before we can take anything for granted. The show needs to grow, and especially in the US.
Petter Kristian VikestadQuote Reply
On topic: Great news Maybe we get a little extra push on the total numbers, for people who waited till all episodes where out on HBO go.
On the shooting time: Even if HBO decides to split season 3 in two it doesn’t have to say they’ll split the shooting of it in two as well.
Lord of the rings taught us that shooting several movies at once is one of the best ways to keep the budget low. If I remember corectly True Blood got both season 3 and 4 green lit at the start of season 2.
Might be the best way to this
MikeQuote Reply
The only child actor for whom age is a consideration story-wise is Sophie Turner. In the book, there was a big hoopla about Sansa’s menstrual cycle. She had her first period in Book 3, which meant she was ready to marry Joffrey, so she completely freaked out, started burning her sheets, et cetera.
It’s not really a huge deal, but if there’s a third season in two years, it would be strange to see a 17-year-old playing that.
LabradorQuote Reply
I think people are way too hopeful about having multiple seasons for one book. Book 2 could easily be done in one season, and I even believe they’ll include the beginnings of book 3 as well. At the end they could include The Fist, the first part of Jaime’s journey (they could chop his hand off in the S3 premiere), Catelyn being confined, Tyrion waking up after his injury and speaking with Tywin, Arya, getting captured by the BWB…Maybe more?. This could all be feasible to include by the end of the season, in my opinion.
Now, with book 3/4/5 things start to get complex. Remember, (book 3 and 4 spoilers) much of what happens in book 4 runs concurrently with book 3, most notably The Ironborn story, and the beginnings of the Queenmaker plot. And of course, book 5 will run concurrently with some events in book 4..…And I’m way too lazy to sift through this mess properly. But the point is that it won’t be as simple as doing 1 book per season past book 2.
LugezQuote Reply
Labrador,
What you’re referring to happens during the Battle of the Blackwater, which will be filmed in a few months’ time, when Sophie Turner is still 15. I don’t think you need to worry!
EleanorQuote Reply
I started the books by mistake a few years ago and I have made at least 10 people read them since then. All of them have been following the series online, but in my country we usually have to wait five or six months until some TV network buys the series.
I feel bad because there is a lot of people in our situation, whose numbers don’t show on any charts. I will certainly get the DVDs as soon as they are out.
AegonQuote Reply
It deserves it’s ratings.. It’s a great show and nothing can top that!
Omar BibarsQuote Reply
I will continue to tell everyone about this show. It is the best thing out there right now!
herQuote Reply
We’ll see what happens in the second season. People say that the show exceeded expectations because no one thought a fantasy genre would be popular in USA. However this might not be true, this show for the most part didn’t felt like a fantasy genre, so I hope that some people don’t get thrown off because of the dragons, wolfs, and mystical creatures next season…then again true blood is basically a fantasy genre and that doesn’t seem to matter one bit, so I hope it’s the same for GoT.
Flow101Quote Reply
Oh, yes, that’s who it was! I was also very jarred by it–there was so little similarity. I did eventually get used to it again, but it was definitely one of those moments that took you outta the show for a stretch.
kerningQuote Reply
kerning,
What affected me more was how the new actor was playing crazy Octavian, as opposed to smart and awesome Octavian from the first season and a bit.
GaRQuote Reply
Man! I love it when famous YT’s talk about Game of Thrones!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFBPitUObCQ
Buzz!Buzz!Buzz! :D
N E X TQuote Reply
Abyss,
I don’t think the resemblance is that strong; my guess is it’s some anonymous member of the Stark household guard (there were a lot of people killed that day).
Tom HiltonQuote Reply
N E X T,
Am I missing something? Looked to me like that was a clip about that Jackass guy, which I didn’t bother watching because I couldn’t possibly care less about anything than I do about that story.
Tom HiltonQuote Reply
Tom Hilton,
Ok just the first 20-30 secconds are about GoT (I stopped right there and wrote the comment ;D )
but still.. in the way he mentioned it, it could lead to interest ^^’
N E X TQuote Reply
Abyss,
you’ll have to read the books to find out!
Jeff CaryQuote Reply
Joey,
Book 3 = season 3 & 4.
And probably…
Book 4 & 5 = season 5, 6 & 7
So, keep cool.
LoickQuote Reply
I would be very interested to see if the reviewers who were negative early, like that Lady from the New York Times, I can’t remember her name now, but her and the others who complained it was the latest boob fest for nerdy guys have a different opinion now that the series is over. I wonder if they watched any more episodes, and if they did, if they changed their minds. If anyone sees reviews or such about it, let me know.
purplejillyQuote Reply
I hope they don’t spread out the books over too many season. If the show gets canceled before the final season that would blow super hard. I think that expecting more than 8 seasons for the whole series is ridiculous, and 7 I think is still going to be tough even though the series needs it.
S1=B1 and beginning of B2
S2=rest of B2 beginning of B3
S3=most of B3
S4=end of B3 and half of B4/5
S5=other half of B4/B5 maybe beginning of B6
S6=most B6
S7=end of B6 and all B7
That’s what I expect. Hard to call the last 2 books but that’s my guess.
TayleronQuote Reply
I have heard D and D and GRRM state that the AFFC and ADWD material will indeed be spliced together into one big story, so at the least Season Four of GOT will be book 4/5 and Season Five will be book 4.5/5.5. Or at least that’s how I understood it.
John RoyQuote Reply
Considering Gina Bellafante (NYT) just came out all praising The Killing’s season finale, unlike nearly every other reviewer, I imagine she would still be hating on GoT just to be contrary.
Beth CrewQuote Reply
Every one has to cool it on figuring out how many seasons there will be and thinking each book will get split into two and all that. How many TV series last a decade these days? Let’s hope season 2 does well enough for season 3 and go from there. If it does, I suspect the producers will deviate from the books, go at their own pace, and possibly finish the series before Martin does (who I doubt will actually finish it at all).
Brandon StarkQuote Reply
GaR,
Oh don’t get me wrong, that was part of what I mention as lacking similarity–I much preferred Octavian 1 (and it was especially weird, because his family would just treat him like the same person) also due to acting.
It would be a crying, crying shame to replace any of these charming, talented kids on GoT!
kerningQuote Reply
Rome covered a lot of time. Little Octavian had to become an adult by season 2, so they couldn’t wait for the actor to grow up, hence the new one. And he acted different because his personality had changed by what he had seen and done in that time. He had become a military leader and adult and became far more ruthless.
Brandon StarkQuote Reply
wthis just made my day ;)
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
kerning,
Yeah nah, we’re on the same page :P
GaRQuote Reply
Beth Crew,
Hahaha, I saw her review of the Killing, which made it clear that she didn’t actually watch the end of the Killing, just like she never watched Game of Thrones. She really deserves to be fired.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
So how long before we see seaon 1 on dvd/blu??
HildaQuote Reply
I’ve discovered a discrepancy. Hibberd reports an average of 8.3 million in the report above, but Rick Porter of Zap2it reports an average of 8.9 million . I’m leaning towards Porter’s report over Hibberd’s because the 8.3 number doesn’t make sense. It is identical to the number reported after Episode 8 despite the fact that we know for certain that viewership has increased dramatically towards the end of the season.
If the average has indeed increased to 8.9, that means that the latter episodes are averaging well over 10 million viewers.
SergioCQHQuote Reply
I’ve read somewhere GRRM wouldn’t sell the rights of his books unless HBO made the viewers wait 5 years untill the blu-ray release.
KnurkQuote Reply
All my HBO buddies from all the watercooler talk through the years LOVE GoT. We discussed TB, BE, Sopranos, Entourage…. None were as excited about a show as they are about GoT right now. Its the TV and book equivalent to crack.
This show will be huge.
PeepinQuote Reply
PeepinQuote Reply
It’s a joke, a very bad joke.
SergioCQHQuote Reply
SergioCQH,
please note that my terrible joke sprung from the 100th request when the dvd’s are getting out, the answer has been given 99 times already all over the boards.
Back on topic: the 8.3 and 8.9 discrepancy is huge, who the hell are their sources?!
KnurkQuote Reply
My gut feeling is that unless Season 2 is a big disappointment, we will see Season 3, 4 and 5 of GoT finished, covering Book 3, 4 and 5 (with different mix of all 3 books like others have suggested).
The way D&D handled their budget restraint in Season 1 and the confirmation of 10 episodes in season 2 leads me to believe that D&D will do whatever it takes (trim storylines, reduce battles and CGIs) to get to Book 5. After that, the story would turn more magical and fantasy – special effect heavy. Depending on the popularity of the show and the economics of pay TV at that point, they may not be able to convince HBO to put in enough resources to make it worth while. (I know this is too doom and goom but 6 more years in this uncertain world is a lot to ask.)
There are just too much piracy in this world and too many persons willing to get a free ride to support a great CGI heavy TV series, let along one that will last 8 to 10 years as some readers have fantasied about.
SugarVampireQuote Reply
Awesome news! I was hoping we’d get 3 million…now time to speculate…how many do you think we’ll get for next years season 2 premiere? 4 million? 5 million? After word of mouth, DVD sales, and watching On Demand next spring in the run-up to season two, I hoping for 5 million!
and goddamn, did you notice all four books (mass market) are in the top 20 on the NY Times Bestseller list? Crazy!
http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/mass-market-paperback/list.html
metalgoddessambQuote Reply
You people talking about cutting Dorne are friggin nuts! lol
TrollsbaneQuote Reply
Trollsbane,
Agreed. If we get that far, it would be a travesty not to see Arys Oakheart’s final moments =]
Anthony CordiscoQuote Reply
So, my Roommate finally cracked and is now reading AGOT. After the last episode she realized she couldn’t wait 10 months lol
Phoenix_TornQuote Reply
5 million would be True blood level. (right?) I don’t think GOT will ever get that popular. 4 seems doable. I’d be very happy with that.
sjweningsQuote Reply
OT, but I made a video tribute to Jon Snow and The Wall, using online fan art and Ramin Djawadi’s awesome music.
LexQuote Reply
What they will probably do is put Storm at 13 episodes with Feast and Dragon being mixed into season 4. And you can bet for certain things to be cut from Feast and Dragons, wherever, non-viable stuff happens. I think the Ironborn play a huge part in Dance but I think Dorne will be cut out.
RemyQuote Reply
Here’s a web cam video interview with Sean Bean goes for about 10mins, he seems to have really enjoyed being apart of the series.
isenriverQuote Reply
Yeah, cutting Dorne is a terrible idea.
And with ictarion and Quentyne Martell off to meet Dany in the East in book 5, I’m pretty sure the reasons why they go there and the scenes where you learn them are important to Martin’s story
John RoyQuote Reply
What? Boardwalk Empire gets more viewers than Game of Thrones? Talk about a slap in the face. That show is as flat as a window and I seriously had to force myself to watch the entire season, don’t know why I did it.
GhostQuote Reply
isenriver,
Really good interview of Sean, one of the best I’ve seen.
Ghost,
Got has a high potential audience, but also has a pretty high stigma to fight against. With no high stigma, and probably an even higher potential audience, boardwalk will of course do better. And with HBO shows, almost everyone slogs through to the finale. The real measurements will happen in season 2.
salukQuote Reply
hi guys quick question from one that have not yet seen all episodes (showing ep 8 now in Norway). I have tried to stay away from WiC for a while, for obvious reason…
But now I have to ask: are the events of the tower of joy in the next 2 episodes?… I now Ned’s losing his head soon. And although I can imagine how difficult could this be for TV: show what happened without actually showing too much… but then, “not knowing” (but knowing one does not know) is so huge, i cannot understand how it could be left out. But the way is going i’m afraid is being left out.
If it is not on the next 2 ep, does anybody knows if it will be on the DVDs?
Richard StraubQuote Reply
I can shed some light on the fluctuating UK ratings.
Game of Thrones is being shown on Sky Atlantic which is only viewable if you have a Sky Subscription. Sky Atlantic is exclusive to this subscription so if you have any other TV subscription such as Virgin or BT Vision then you do not get Sky Atlantic. Sky have been at loggerheads with Virgin over a deal to show Atlantic and are yet to come to a satisfactory arrangement. BT Vision are in the same situation. Sky equipment has a record feature (something like Tivo) and people often record things to watch them later (often so they can skip through the adverts) – in fact I cannot remember what the last programme I watched (unless it is was a live event) at the same time it was recorded. ue to the massive storage space on these Sky Boxes – especially the HD ones – it is entirely possible to record an entire series or be a few weeks behind before watching them – I only finished Boardwalk Empire last week and that was shown before Game of Thrones started. Game of Thrones also is repeated a few times during the week at different times – including one at 12.00 Midnight. People merely record the one of the broadcasts – to watch at a later date. So whilst I imagine everybody watches it at one time or another – the ratings do not count so much as to who watches the programme live. My fiancee for instance didn’t start watching it until 9.40 on Monday night when the broadcast was at 9.00 (Oh you can start watching a programme before it’s finished recording) – Although I watched it on Monday night – even later – the rest of my family didn’t watch it until last night. So you see – ratings are not the be all and end all in the UK. Sky, Virgin and BT Vision are all able to record shows, but only Sky subcriptions get Sky Atlantic – if Game of Thones makes it onto one of the free to air channels it will be incredibly popular. I also know some people who have downloaded the show to watch it – and no this does not affect ratings as he is a Virgin customer and would not be able to see it any other way. He has been so impressed he has bought the book for his Kindle and my fiancee is now reading A Game of Thrones (my copy, I might add) – the UK audience is very much there, but we are not slaves to the ratings war.
The Red AvengerQuote Reply
Damryn of Dorne,
Complaining Oh my sweet summer child. What do you know of waiting? Waiting is for the long night, when GRRM hides for years and children are born and live and die all before the next book comes out.
Leonardo CruzQuote Reply
Amazon sent emails out to anyone who was “watching” the Game of Thrones DVD page and has the DVDS and BluRays available for pre-order.
As always, Amazon makes dates and prices up and this doesn’t mean its coming anytime soon, or that these prices will stick.
However, pre-order numbers are used to gauge interest in products.
stevelabnyQuote Reply
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/ref=pd_dp_ts_b_1
The book set is #1 on Amazon. I don’t know if that’s good for the tv-show or not. But there’s a lot of buzz going on about the show right now, that’s for sure.
johnQuote Reply
john,
Check out the top 10 books on Amazon.co.uk :)
JamieQuote Reply
It seems the new Miss USA Alyssa Campanella is a big fan of GOT. She mentioned being Obsessed with it on her twitter account. Going by some of her recent photo spreads I’d say she’d make a pretty nice Mellisandre too :P Though I do suspect she’s short on the necessary acting skills. Not to mention the no-nudity and shadow-demon-birthing clauses that are probably in her new contract….
MotzQuote Reply
I think it’s a given (the producers have more or less confirmed it) that the seasons will all be 10 seasons long, and that ASOS will be split in two seasons. And given that AFFC and ADWD combined will be longer than ACOK + ASOS, we could expect three seasons for these too.
The think is that would mean that we would need seven seasons to reach book 5. And the whole show would last between 9 and 10 seasons. What are the odds that an HBO show reaches that far?
IMHO, I would prefer it if they cut HUGE parts of the story, starting with ASOS and cotinuing from there, in order to try keeping the show to seven seasons (which it’s already difficult, but at least possible). If prefer to watch the whole series with a reduced scope than a severed story.
KateQuote Reply
Jamie,
check out the top 10 books on amazon.de ( http://www.amazon.de/gp/bestsellers/books#1 )
ok.. “only” #4, but come on – its a freaking english book in the german amazon store nearly on the top, i dont think thats very common… and dance of dragons is #30 overall (although its not even out.. #2 at pre order charts). im sure GoT will get huge ratings in germany too.
this is madness!
Mario MjoedQuote Reply
Mario Mjoed,
In Canada, Amazon.ca is even more “George RR Martin heavy” than on Amazon.com. Check it out: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/ref=sv_b_3
#1: Boxed Set of ASoIaF
#2: A Dance with Dragons (#2 and it’s not even available yet!)
#3: A Game of Thrones
#4:A Clash of Kings
#7: A Storm of Swords ; and
#11: A Feast for Crows
So GRRM currently holds down 6 of the top 11 spots on the Amazon.ca bestseller list. Bantam/Spectra and GRRM are LOVING HBO’s adaptation of the series right now!
And for the record, Charlaine Harris also experienced a significant bump in sales of her Sookie Stackhouse novels (which were never the bestsellers that ASoIaF already was). But Charlaine Harris’ “bump” was nowhere NEAR as large as GRRM’s has been.
Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of boxed sets are not being purchased by people who have already read the books. Those are non-book readers buying the books for the first time. And those new readers will proselytize over the next nine months with friends, co-workers and family members, too. That’s been the Word of Mouth effect on the series that has been at work building the audience for the books since 1996.
Between all these new book readers and the Blu-Ray for Season 1? I predict Season #2 of Game of Thrones will pass Boardwalk Empire’s numbers for its Season #2. I’m not saying Season #2 of GoT will open with True Blood’s ratings (though it is possible, I suppose) — but Boardwalk Empire ? Yup. I’m saying it right now – Game of Thrones Season #2 will beat the ratings for Season #2′s of Boardwalk Empire when the final numbers are in, one year from now.
That’s my bet and I’m sticking to it.
All-in-all, it is a great time to be a fan of ASoIaF!
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Woot?!? When, were?!?!
Pau SorianoQuote Reply
Do that and we will have a severed story. GRRM needs time to finish the last 2 books. I don’t see him finishing book 7 in the next 5 years. Granted book 4 and 5 took longer because of struggling with the “Middle” section of trying to get everyone pointed in the right direction for the rest of the story. And we all hope he finishes the final books quickly, but what we mainly want is quality. Forcing him to finish faster because the show catches up with him will only hurt the series, not help it.
As long as the show is bringing in money, HBO will want it to last as long as possible. I don’t see a problem with 10 seasons. Many of us have parts we just could care less about. Mo Ryan doesn’t like the Dany storyline in the books. Many don’t like the Dorn stuff in AFFC. Me…I can’t stand the Iron Islands. But I know many love the Iron Islands. But I have faith there is a reason those chapters are there and you can’t just eliminate them without hurting the story.
fuelpaganQuote Reply
No and I don’t think anyone knows yet, but probably no.
Pau SorianoQuote Reply
Steel_Wind,
Good news for Bantam/Spectra. And I’m sure GRRM is loving it right now. But 3 years from now when Winds of Winter still hasn’t been published, George is going to have to enter the witness protection program in order to finish the series.
That’s why I tell my friends to read them a year apart. Although they never seem to listen and end up in agony waiting for the rest of the story like the rest of us.
fuelpaganQuote Reply
Loick,
umm… nice wishful thinking but no… There is not enough going on in Book 4 to fill more than 5 episodes at most
RemyQuote Reply
Kate,
Don’t get your hopes dashed when 3 seasons of feast and Dance doesn’t happen. Your only going to see vital parts to the story and both Feast and Dance alone are not going to be more than a single season together.
RemyQuote Reply
It’s number 1 on Barnes & Noble.com also! (I know, I work for them and have been doing many ship to home orders in store.) The price for the 4 book box set is amazing on B&N-$19.78, $3.99 shipping verses $36.00 in-store. and if you are a B&N member, shipping is free. So you can get it delivered to your door for under $20.00!
metalgoddessambQuote Reply
If I’m remembering correctly, GOT ratings for season one have beat True Blood’s first season ratings. TB, mostly through word of mouth, had a strong second season. So it isn’t too far fetched that GoT could catch up/beat TB in it’s second season.
metalgoddessambQuote Reply
I agree. As much as i like Feast, theres simply not that much happening. If they keep the pace of this first Season, covering the events of that book would probably take only 5 or 6 Episodes.
I also don´t think that they´ll need two full Seasons for ASoS. Since ASoS – in terms of manuscript pages – is “only” 35-40% longer than AGoT, 1 1/2 Seasons seems much more appropriate.
CookieQuote Reply
Didn’t George say A Dance with Dragons is a monster – the size of A Storm of Swords which would make it even bigger than A Feast for Crows. So if events happen at the same time as Feast then the whole part of that story will be over 2000 pages long which would need at least 3 seasons surely, maybe 4.
The Red AvengerQuote Reply
BE is a great show. I couldn’t disagree more. We must have different tastes.
TomQuote Reply
I think this is about right, although I think they’ll end up doing 8 seasons due to the length of books 5-7. I could see them playing fast and loose with book/season boundaries before I see them committing to major season count extensions. Even Sopranos got no more than 14 at its peak, right? And the per-episode cost is going to mount as we progress, due to actors’ compensation as well as a somewhat higher CGI load. I don’t think CGI will get really bad until S7 or S8 though. Dragons are expensive but they are like the S1 direwolves – a little seasoning can take you a long way. Battles are more the issue, and you can count up the battles in ACOK and forward and draw your own conclusions there.
I did see a reference to cutting Dorne. No way in a million years. Careful readers will know that that will create too many structural/plot problems down the line. I don’t see any kingdoms being cuttable — there are too many interconnections in the plot and characters. And they are introduced at a gradual enough rate that the CGI team can keep up. Just like Riverrun didn’t make S1, I expect that they can move things around a bit to introduce 2-3 new locales each year and be OK. They might prune an event or two in kingdom storylines, but they won’t axe entire locales. Plus, series like these are a bit of a travelogue – you need a couple of new locales each season to keep things fresh.
On the original ratings note: 3M is a great sign. Looking at True Blood, which I maintain is the most valid comparison point (because of otherworldly subject matter + a supporting book series), they doubled between S1 and S2. I foresee similar for GoT. I’d be greatly surprised if the S2 premiere drew less than 5M. There are an awful lot of new bookwalkers, and the DVDs will bring new converts as well, particularly if HBO can get its act together and get them out for the holidays. I know I’d gift at least two sets of them if they were available. Multiply that by a few 100K and you get a lot of new viewership.
There’s also HBO GO to consider. These will be available to every iPad owner who subscribes to HBO, and I bet a few 100K get around to seeing them there and becoming fans.
I honestly could not be happier with the way this turned out. Like LOTR, I think HBO took a huge chance here, but did it right and stuck with its plan and it is going to surprise a lot of people with the ultimate level of success of the project. As a bookwalker, the show has brought me new insights I did not expect. Kudos to all involved.
scryerQuote Reply
We can’t determine the density of ADwD until it is released, but my guess is that 2 seasons could cover those two books.
The reason why is that many of the events in AFFC will not even be shown in the TV series. It is a novel that deals with many smaller issues in the series at a level of granularity (and through an inner monologue) that adapts poorly to a visual medium like TV.
With 5 or 6 episodes based upon AFFC material and 14 or so for ADwD spread across two seasons? My guess is that should be adequate to tell the tale. If not, expand each season to twelve episoders and I’m damn near certain as can be without reading ADwD that it is possible to do both books in two seasons of 20-24 episodes, in total.
All bets are off until we read ADwD, but that’s my guess, right here, right now.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
I believe HBO should keep the GoT news media meter constantly peaking, don’t let it suffer a substantial drop. The way to accomplish this is by releasing big casting news this week and every week until production starts up again in a month.
So Dan and Dave, give us Stannis this week, Mel next, then Davos and Brienne the following.
tysnowQuote Reply
RE: Cutting Dorne
They could very easily cut out all of the Dorne scenes from AFfC and simply tell us about the drama surrounding Myrcella through exposition.
If it comes down to showing more of Jon, Tyrion, Jaime and Dany OR Prince Doran, Aerys Oakheart, and Hotah, which one do you prefer?
NOTE: Depending on where they go with this whole Quentyn thing in ADwD, I may have to ammend this.
shadallionQuote Reply
shadallion,
Uh, I want some Norvashi longaxe action
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
My guess is AFFC and ADWD are combined into two seasons or perhaps one and a half – depending on how much overlap and extraneous characters are in ADWD.
AFFC was my least favorite book. Parts of it drag on with little happening and it features so many secondary characters. I’d be afraid if they did a season entirely based on it, it would lose viewers, especially dragging on without providing resolution to key issues like Lost did.
By the point the series gets to Season 4 or 5, there may be a lot of piecing things together from various books and writing new scenes.
I have high hopes for ADWD, but the multiple POV prospective might not exactly work for a TV show. For example, if ADWD reveals that Jeyne Poole is the Fake Arya and the Arya chapters are really Jeyne , the producers are likely to pick one prospective that works better on TV – perhaps an episode where it’s said Arya has been found and marrying Ramsay Bolton that will be good promo fodder, but then keeping the mystery of who she is for several episodes
StaciaQuote Reply
The Red Avenger,
Don’t get your hopes dashed when they move stuff around and into one season. It is not feasible, due to actors pay going up with each season they negotiate. Also from reviews, the story doesn’t move forward as much, it looks like things are being set up for Winds of Winters.
RemyQuote Reply
We will go on watching and obsessing over GoT and other fanciful fineries..
Right up until the time the NWO* world conspiracy hits home hard and personal .
Hopefully that’s after season 3!
Am I right? :p
Now playing in Greece, Iceland, Portugal, U.K. and of course throughout the U.S.
Just back from their Third World Tour ;)
AlcibiadesQuote Reply
Latest Google trends. As expected, another increase over episode 9′s peak.
http://www.google.com/trends?q=boardwalk+empire%2C+Game+of+Thrones%2C+true+blood&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=1
Johan SporreQuote Reply
Hmmm I was with you until you said Aveo Hotah. Love that guy.
Shock MeQuote Reply
Also those suggesting that AFFC+ADWD can be done in a single season: remember that those two books combined are longer (in pages) that ACOK+ASOS.
That’s not to say it can’t be done. Perhaps the five year gap that didn’t work in written form will work in tv!
Stacia,
Jeyne Pole doesn’t “exist” in the show’s continuity.
KateQuote Reply
I agree – indeed, after finishing season 1 of GOT, Aidan Gillen has managed to fit in a 6-part TV series for RTE (Love-Hate) and is now doing a film with Gillian Anderson and Clive Owen (Shadow Dancer). He’s also managed to get around numerous film festivals with his film Treacle Jr, and has done umpteen PR gigs for his film (done last year) with Jason Statham (Blitz). So there’s plenty of time for other gigs as long as it’s properly thought out by the actor and their management.
silverjaimeQuote Reply
Kate, Jeyne can exist, she just hasn’t been named. There’s no way they’re going to pay an actress to play her during season 1. The girl who was sitting next to Sansa at the banquet in the first Episode when Arya started the food fight could be Jeyne.
But paying an extra was far cheaper than having to go through casting the role and then hoping the actress is available in two or three years would never be worth it.
I don’t think it’s necessary for people to recognize Jeyne. She’s just some girl who was friends with Sansa and taken at some point perhaps from Winterfell
StaciaQuote Reply
Johan Sporre,
And here it is compared to The Walking Dead:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=game+of+thrones%2C+the+walking+dead&ctab=0&geo=all&date=ytd&sort=1
I suspect that’s more a reflection of audience intensity rather than size, but still impressive.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
don’t know if this was posted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgwfvJ9fWcs
But it’s basically GRRM saying if GoT gets a True Blood kind of jump from season 1 ending to season 2 premier we get seasons 3 and up, and the ratings went up for the finale, witch is good
quick Google search pointed out that would have to be 3.7 mil + … so yeah, not out of the realm of possibility, but not easy
FishQuote Reply
Fish,
awesome news.
she actually is mentioned in one episode, I’m quite sure of that.
KnurkQuote Reply
So it is that after 10 fantastic weeks “Game Of Thrones” Season One is ended! Now my Sundays will fell a helluva lot emptier! But for its run, and boy what a run it has been, the show did wonders for my imagination and the desire to see a quality, uncompromising, original and overall fantabulous TV series, that pretty much blew everything else out of the water and created a new standard of excellence I wish a lot more TV shows will aspire to (and fortunatelly in some cases they do, but still to few).
This’s show’s success represents for me not only a triumph as a fan, but a victory for the fact that creativity, intelligence, entertainment and all other elements need not be mutually exclusive within a TV series. They can ALL be part and parcel of making TV history. A show can be sexy and tantalizing, but also serious, brutal, playful, hearbreaking, witty and everything else that makes not only the world of ASOIF/”Game Of Thrones” so palpable and believable, but also our own lives, our own world.
Each scene in the final episode had its own lyrical prowess, a poetry for the soul and mind, all together weaved into an amazing tapestry of sights and sounds. I could discuss each one of them at length, with its own personal significance, my own take and understanding attached to them, but I think that my words cannot do justice in the least to what I have been priviledged to see over the past 10 weeks.
I would just like to say, for my own ego, that the scenes toward the end with Jon Snow, hearing the Oath again, getting another glimpse of The Wall and finally seeing the Night’s Watch ride out beyond The Wall, brought a tears to my eyes and I’m not ashamed of it in the least, because it reminds me how lucky I have been to be part of this whole journey. Let’s hope for more chapters!
PS My mother, LOL, who is hardly swayed by “fantasy” (she always makes the air quotes for some reason), and has only previously been wowed and floored by “The Lord Of The Rings” movies and books, cannot stop talking about “Game Of Thrones”, especially Dany and the final “rebirth” scene. I hope that Emilia Clarke won’t mind having another (slightly older) die-hard fan among what is sure to be a huge legion of fans!
loco73Quote Reply