Game of Thrones Is Officially Biggest HBO Series Ever

[Karloff]

Game of Thrones Is Officially Biggest HBO Series Ever

Viewer numbers are likely to increase as season 4 draws to a close.

Game of Thrones is officially HBO's biggest series ever, with 18.4 million viewers per episode. Sopranos, the previous top dog, only ever managed 18.2 million viewers, and Game of Thrones' viewer count is likely to increase as the season draws to a close. After all, there's still The Watchers on the Wall and The Children to go.

The series has gained 4 million viewers since season 3 - *cough* Red Wedding *cough* - and is a long way forward from the halcyon days of season 1, when it averaged only 9.3 million viewers per episode. Season 5 and its alleged multitude of Martells [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134762-Leaked-Game-of-Thrones-Season-5-Casting-Sheet-Reveals-Multitude-of-Martells] has a lot to live up to. Then, of course, there's season 6 ...

Naturally this popularity extends to the wonderful world of torrents, where Game of Thrones has been shattering one or two records. In times past, its most popular episode might have been shared 3.4 million times during the entire year; now it reaches that number in a single day. Not that long ago Game of Thrones enjoyed the questionable glory of being, not just according to TorrentFreak [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133567-Game-of-Thrones-Premiere-Piracy-A-Million-Downloads-in-Half-A-Day].

Source: Hollywood Reporter [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-officially-surpasses-sopranos-709615]


Permalink

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Guess who's surprised! Hint: It's not me nor the rest of humanity.

 

[SpAc3man]

It is the best.

We aren't even at the best part (biggest shock) of the season yet. I can't wait.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Well, to be fair, the only reason Australia is the biggest piraters of GoT is because the one and only pay t.v service in Australia (Foxtel) has locked the series down on their service, and it costs $80AU (basic package is about $50, the optional channel pack is about another $30) to have access to it.

 

[Trishbot]

I admit, I haven't watched the show for two reasons: I don't have HBO, and I'm reluctant to start watching a series that is, currently, incomplete in book form with no definitive ending and no certainty that the books will finish before the series catches up to it (It took him 6 years to finish the last one, and he's got two more to go? Who's going to stick around another 12 years waiting on him?)

 

[Thyunda]

I admit, I haven't watched the show for two reasons: I don't have HBO, and I'm reluctant to start watching a series that is, currently, incomplete in book form with no definitive ending and no certainty that the books will finish before the series catches up to it (It took him 6 years to finish the last one, and he's got two more to go? Who's going to stick around another 12 years waiting on him?)

Presumeably you, because you haven't even started yet.


OT: Not surprised at all about the torrenting. British views have to use Sky Atlantic, which only comes with a particular Sky package, and while in my opinion it's a great package, I'm not living at home with my parents and paying for my own is just insanity. I'm a student. I don't have that kind of money. Normally I'd bite the bullet and say "it's not worth pirating.", but this is Game of Thrones and I just can't miss it.

 

[XenoScifi]

Really is a great series. I started with the books but because of my frustrations with the books (every stupid detail about everything I didn't care about in every page is described to much) I have just settled with the tv series. I think the series touches on just enough of everything to give you the big picture without confusing the viewer. This IMO is important to touch a wider audience. Not everybody can mentally follow GRRM style of writing.

 

[Baresark]

I'm not surprised. It has a substantial number of shortcomings which infuriate me every single time I watch an episode, but it's good to see a fantasy series doing well beside LotR. The very substance of it is really interesting, even if the characterization is not particularly good and the pacing is completely horrendous.

But there are dragons and swords some form of magic, and that makes it interesting. As Xenoshift said, the books are infuriating, and the show is a better compromise, though it doesn't help how disjointed the damn thing is.

Obviously.. if anyone reads this, I have mixed feelings. I'm not a hater of the show. I do think Martin is a shitty writer... so in that sense, I am a hater. His characterization suffers (in many of his characters, not all of them) because he chooses to have many characters rather than good fully developed characters. Yes, you can sit there and say that the story is not complete yet, but that isn't a reason not to fully develop your characters before the the ultimate conclusion or to introduce characters for the express reason of dying.

I digress. If you like him, I'm glad you found an author that you like very much. I wish I could rediscover some of my favorite authors again.

 

[Shocksplicer]

The biggest, but not the best.
Alas, poor Deadwood...

 

[RJ 17]

The biggest, but not the best.
Alas, poor Deadwood...

My favorite thing about Deadwood was how they used the word "fuck" in place of all punctuation. =P

...and most verbs.
...and most nouns.
...and most adjectives.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

The biggest, but not the best.
Alas, poor Deadwood...

My favorite thing about Deadwood was how they used the word "fuck" in place of all punctuation. =P

...and most verbs.
...and most nouns.
...and most adjectives.

Ain't that the fuckin' truth? That show was so unbelievably good. It makes me fuckin' sad just thinking about it.

 

[ExtraDebit]

Well, to be fair, the only reason Australia is the biggest piraters of GoT is because the one and only pay t.v service in Australia (Foxtel) has locked the series down on their service, and it costs $80AU (basic package is about $50, the optional channel pack is about another $30) to have access to it.

You're lucky, you at least got the option for a service, there isn't a service ANYWHERE in my country. The irony is: there isn't anyone I know in person that doesn't watch the show, and we all got it from torrents.

 

[CrankyStorming]

OT: Not surprised at all about the torrenting. British views have to use Sky Atlantic, which only comes with a particular Sky package, and while in my opinion it's a great package, I'm not living at home with my parents and paying for my own is just insanity. I'm a student. I don't have that kind of money. Normally I'd bite the bullet and say "it's not worth pirating.", but this is Game of Thrones and I just can't miss it.

Sky Atlantic is included with NowTV, which at £5 per month works out much cheaper than waiting a year for the box set if you only subscribe when GoT is on.

 

[crazyarms33]

Never watched it. Is it worth it? Explain why or why not in 3 sentences if ya don't mind?

 

[DeimosMasque]

The biggest, but not the best.
Alas, poor Deadwood...

My favorite thing about Deadwood was how they used the word "fuck" in place of all punctuation. =P

...and most verbs.
...and most nouns.
...and most adjectives.

Ain't that the fuckin' truth? That show was so unbelievably good. It makes me fuckin' sad just thinking about it.

You missed a couple, it should be: Ain't that the fuckin' truth? That fucking' show was so un-fucking-believably good. It makes me fuckin' sad just thinking about the fuckin' thing.



OT: Took me till season 2 was on DVD before I decided to give it a try, but I'm glad I did and I'm also currently reading the novels as well.

captcha: pepperoni pizza... Um... Captcha... how do you know what I'm having for dinner?

 

[Nikolaz72]

Never watched it. Is it worth it? Explain why or why not in 3 sentences if ya don't mind?

It's a fantasyshow with a high budget. It's got intrigue (Even if less so than the books for mainstream audiences). It doesn't skim on the details to be legally available to younger audiences.

It has cool fights with dragons

It 'will' have cool fights with dragons

It has cool fights -and- dragons.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Not surprising it's more popular than a TV show about the mafia (Sopranos), especially in 2014 where fantasy is very well received as a genre.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Never watched it. Is it worth it? Explain why or why not in 3 sentences if ya don't mind?

Nudity + Politics + Supernatural + Gore in medieval setting with a high budget.

 

[Nurb]

It won't be if they keep killing off watchable characters