The Iron Throne. The Red Wedding. Jon Snow. Winter is Coming. Westeros. Today, these terms and figures are instantly recognizable across the globe, as Game of Thrones is deeply embedded in the DNA of pop culture. However, 16 years ago, if you were to ask a random stranger who Jon Snow is or to name any of the major houses in Westeros, odds are the person you were speaking to wouldn’t have a clue what you were talking about.
This is because in 2010, the franchise’s fandom was far more niche and made up largely of devoted fantasy readers who had fallen in love with the franchise through George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. That all changed when HBO made a decision that would reshape television and change the fandom forever.
16 years ago, HBO took a chance on the popular fantasy franchise by green-lighting what was at the time described as a “thriller series” based on Martin’s works. On March 2, 2010, HBO handed out a series order to Game of Thrones, an ambitious small-screen adaptation of the fantasy novels, which had been in development for years after HBO first acquired the rights to Martin’s works three years prior in 2007.
At the time, the decision was seen as a major gamble, as the show was set to become one of the costliest shows in the history of the network. It didn’t help that the historical drama Rome had cost the network $100 million only to underperform and fail to pay off for HBO in the way it hoped. While the budget for the first season of Game of Thrones was not quite as large, it still came with a hefty price tag for HBO, and there was a lot of internal chatter about whether it was worth green-lighting the show, with a fear that the show would not be able to reach the level of acclaim HBO hits such as The Sopranos had attained.
"This didn't scream 'Emmy voters,'" Michael Lombardo, HBO's former programming president, told Collider years later. “We knew it was a gamble. We were budgeting it and scratching our heads about whether we should go ahead and green-light this. We were trying to figure out the production challenges."
Fortunately, HBO decided to take a leap of faith, and that leap gave way to one of the biggest television series in the history of TV. Game of Thrones was an instant hit and would grow into one of the most successful franchises in the world. It was a transformative moment for Game of Thrones fans, one that would expand the fandom from a passionate circle of book readers into a worldwide audience of millions.
Through the show, millions of new fans discovered Martin's works and enjoyed them for the first time. Suddenly the fans who had been there from the beginning had countless new forums to connect with fellow fans to discuss, debate, and enjoy connecting with fellow fans at a scale that was unheard of for the franchise before the show. This would grow to include the launch of fan communities both online and in the real world, with pop culture conventions bringing fans together, leading to lasting friendships and love connections.
By ordering Game of Thrones to series, HBO struck the match that would ignite a global sensation and truly revolutionize the world of television. Had it not been for HBO’s bold risk-taking, the world of Westeros would probably never have expanded into the massive multimedia franchise that is now Game of Thrones.
It just goes to show how one small decision can forever alter the course of someone’s life. In taking a chance on Martin’s works, HBO changed the lives of millions of fans across the globe who have been brought together through their love of the franchise—a franchise that shows no signs of slowing down all these years later.