Game of Thrones prequel resumes filming after COVID break

Recently, both Westworld and House of the Dragon have had to pause filming because of crew members who tested positive for the coronavirus. Entertainment Weekly reports that shooting on the Game of Thrones prequel series has resumed after a short break, which is good news for the network, because it’s going to need shows like House of the Dragon if it wants to attracting subscribers to its HBO Max streaming service at a time when the streaming wars with Disney+, Netflix and others are getting increasingly bloody.

At the moment, HBO Max is doing quite well. According to The Drum, it closed out the first quarter of this year with 63.9 million subscribers globally, representing a 35.3% year-over-year spike. That’s well behind Netflix and even Disney+, but still quite good for a service that’s been out for just over a year and hasn’t even released in big markets like Europe yet.

Although HBO shows like Hacks and Mare of Easttown generated their fair share of buzz, a lot of people signed up for HBO Max because Warner Bros. decided to release its big 2020 movies on the service at the same time as they dropped in theaters, giving people at-home access to films like Wonder Woman 1984, Mortal Kombat and In The Heights, with major releases like Dune still to come. “There’s been great interplay between those titles and the day-and-date films,” HBO Max general manager Andy Forssell told Variety. “A huge percentage of the ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ audience watched ‘The Flight Attendant.’ That set the tone for the year. We’ve learned a lot abut how those (film) release schedules and episodic premieres can work together.”

House of the Dragon will do more heavy lifting for HBO Max in 2022

But things are about to change, because come next year the plan is to stop doing the day-and-date thing, although movies will still be available on HBO Max sooner than they used to turn up on streaming platforms — there will be a 45-day waiting period rather than the usual 75-90-day wait, although 45 days is still a lot longer than zero days.

That means a lot more focus will be put on original HBO and HBO Max content, with shows like Peacemaker and House of the Dragon leading the charge. “2022 is going to be just a phenomenal year for episodic content,” Forssell said. “Not just better than 2021 but significantly better” in terms of volume.

Will House of the Dragon be up to the challenge? We’ll see when it debuts next year, although if it flops HBO has a bunch of other Game of Thrones prequel ideas in the hopper.

HBO Max episodes now available to watch on Snapchat

HBO is also getting creative by partnering with Snapchat and making full episodes of shows like Game of Thrones, Lovecraft Country, Euphoria and more available to watch in full through the Snap Minis feature. “People love to come together to watch their favorite HBO Max shows and talk about what’s unfolding,” said HBO Max exec Sarah Lyons. “Our partnership with Snapchat is another step towards fulfilling that desire for human connection and providing our fans with co-viewing opportunities, while deepening their emotional relationship with the brand.”

"We believe humans value recommendations that come from other humans, so having the opportunity for friends to suggest, and then subsequently watch content together paves the way for more meaningful discovery."

Robotic corporate-speak aside, this is another way to attract more people to HBO Max. Naturally, Snapchat users can’t watch every episode of a given show for free; after viewing one of a limited selection, users over 18 are invited to subscribe to HBO Max to see the rest. You’ve gotta use every tool available to get ahead in the streaming wars.

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