More HBO executives swear up and down that Jon Snow is dead

It’s the question about death that just won’t die. Is Jon Snow, the sullen lord commander of the Night’s Watch on Game of Thrones, dead? It’s a question that’s divided the cast, with Maisie Williams saying that there’s “no hope” of his survival, while Emilia Clarke is a little less certain. The production side, however, has been more uniform. David Nutter, who directed the finale, absolutely thinks Jon is dead, a sentiment shared by Michael Lombardo, HBO’s President of Programming. “He be dead,” Lombardo said about a month ago. “From everything I’ve seen, heard and read, Jon Snow is dead.”

More members of HBO’s top brass are with Lombardo. During a press conference yesterday in Edinburgh, HBO Executive Vice President of Programming Michael Ellenberg said that Jon Snow “is absolutely dead.” According to Deadline, Ellenberg’s statement was followed by audible gasps, which goes to show that not enough people in that room read Winter is Coming.

Ellenberg also talked about Westworld, an upcoming science fiction series starring Anthony Hopkins coming to HBO, and Vinyl, Martin Scorsese’s drama about the rock and rock scene in the 1970s, but I think we can all agree that the bit about Jon Snow is more important.

“Man, a whole lot of people think I’m dead. Now I’m depressed.”

The assurances go even higher up the chain. At a different press conference, none other than Jeff Bewkes, the CEO of HBO parent company Time Warner, weighed in on the Jon Snow question. He deferred to Michael Lombardo on the subject. “He’s dead…dead.”

It should be noted, however, that Bewkes didn’t answer actually the reporter’s question about whether Kit Harington had “signed back on for the next season.” Read into that what you will.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/28/media-bosses-talk-game-of-thrones-cord-cutting.html