HBO finishes filming the pilot for its Game of Thrones prequel series

HBO programming president spoke to press today at the Television Critics Association summer tour, where he was first asked to outline HBO’s ambitious strategy to remain competitive in an increasingly fractured entertainment market where new players like Disney and Amazon threaten to suck all the oxygen out of the room.

Nah, just kidding. One of the first questions the critics asked was about the online petition to remake the final season of Game of Thrones, according to Vanity Fair. “There are very few downsides to having a hugely popular show,” Bloys said. “One of them is that people have big opinions about how the show should end. The petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show but it’s not something we’ve seriously considered.”

Now that’s an executive who knows how to spin. Slow clap for Casey Bloys.

Anyway, Bloys also outlined how much direct involvement HBO had in the show’s final season, saying that there was “minimal back-and-forth.” After all, when a series has been on as long and done as well as Game of Thrones, “there’s usually a rhythm between the network and the showrunners.”

Turning to the pilot for Blood Moon, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, Bloys confirmed that it had wrapped production in Belfast earlier this year. Showrunner Jane Goldman is now “busy in the edit bay.” Bloys hasn’t seen it, but is “very excited by the footage we saw of the cast.” It’ll probably be a while before we learn whether the network picks the show up to series.

Will the backlash to the final season of Game of Thrones shape the approach to the prequel? “Not at all.”

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And finally, Bloys weighed in on the show’s record number of Emmy nominations for its final season. “Thirty-two Emmy nominations is certainly nice validation,” he said. “I didn’t dance, but I did enjoy it.”

He also addressed why HBO didn’t put forward Gwendoline Christie (Brienne), Alfie Allen (Theon) or Carice van Houten (Melisandre) for Emmy consideration; all three got nominations, but they had to submit themselves. “Thrones is unique because it has 20-something series regulars,” Bloys said, explaining that there’s a concern that if too many actors are submitted for consideration “There is some strategic thinking.” But of course, now that everyone is on the ballot, HBO will “help them out” with promotion.

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h/t Fox News