HBO developing Game of Thrones spinoff about Yi Ti, cancels Flea Bottom

The saga of the Game of Thrones spinoffs continues. If you’re just joining us, here’s where we are: HBO is developing a number of follow-up projects to its phenomenally successful fantasy show, although as of now, only one — House of the Dragon — is guaranteed to actually air. The rest of them are in an every-changing state of flux, and The Hollywood Reporter brings us news of some new fluctuations.

Per Westeros correspondent James Hibberd, one of the spinoffs HBO was previously developing is now dead: Flea Bottom, a live-action show set in the poorest part of King’s Landing. According to Hibberd’s sources, this was the least developed idea HBO had, and it does sound like it. What would a show like this have been about, exactly? A slice of life drama about peasants in King’s Landing? That could have been fun, but it would have been pretty different from what we were used to.

Hibberd also has it that HBO is now developing two animated spinoffs. One we don’t know anything about, but the other is set in the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, a civilization on Essos that we only heard the barest whisper about on Game of Thrones. Even in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, books, Yi Ti is mentioned but we never visit, which leaves a lot of room for HBO to get creative when developing a show about it.

But there are some guidelines. Much as Westeros is inspired by medieval Europe, Yi Ti is inspired by Imperial China. It’s an interesting, little-known part of Martin’s world, and I’m intrigued by what HBO might do with it. Although remember, other than House of the Dragon, none of these ideas are guaranteed to actually make it to air.

We previously learned that the Game of Thrones animated spinoff would be “similar in tone” to the original show, although we don’t know if that was about the Yi Ti show, the other show, or both.

Every Game of Thrones spinoff in development at HBO

Okay, so now that we have this news, let’s run through the Game of Thrones spinoffs we know are in development:

• House of the Dragon: This show is about the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons and is set over 100 years before Game of Thrones. It’s scheduled to premiere sometime in 2022.
• 10,000 Ships: This show would tell the tale of Princess Nymeria, who centuries ago led her people from their lands along the River Rhoyne on Essos to Dorne in Westeros, where they settled and intermingled with the culture.
• Tales of Dunk and Egg: This would be an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, which tell the story of a knight and squire wandering Westeros and getting into misadventures decades before the original show began.
• 9 Voyages / Sea Snake: This show is about Corlys Velaryon, a famed mariner who actually sailed to Yi Ti in his younger days. As an older man, he’s a prominent character on House of the Dragon. It’s starting to feel like HBO wants to use him to link several shows together, to give some connective tissue to its Game of Thrones Cinematic Universe, or whatever they want to call it.
• Animated Yi Ti Show: You just read about it
• Mystery Animated Show: It’s a mystery
• Tourney at Harranhal play: Although it’s not a TV show, there’s a play coming about the famed Tourney at Harrenhal, where Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love and Beauty and got the ball rolling on Robert’s Rebellion.

Which of these will actually end up on TV? Stay tuned.

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