HBO Renews Game of Thrones for Second Season

[Greg Tito]

HBO Renews Game of Thrones for Second Season

After a successful premiere, HBO has officially ordered a second season based on the next book in Martin's fantasy series.

By all accounts, the first episode did everything that it set out to do. Game of Thrones didn't get amazing ratings, with only 2.2 million people watching the first airing. But when you add in the subsequent airings on Sunday night (1.2 million and 800k), you get a solid 4.2 million viewers for a show that's apparently based on "boy-fiction [http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/arts/television/game-of-thrones-begins-sunday-on-hbo-review.html]." The solid ratings, and the substantial investment that HBO has already made in producing and promoting the show, have convinced the network to renew Game of Thrones for a second season. The new episodes would likely premiere in 2012, and will be based on the events of Martin's second novel A Clash of Kings.

"We are delighted by the way David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have brought George R.R. Martin's amazing book series to the screen, and thrilled by the support of the media and our viewers," said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO programming. "This is the continuation of an exciting creative partnership."

Anecdotally, I know about fifty people who ordered HBO for the sole purpose of watching Game of Thrones this weekend. I'm not sure how many of that 4.2 million viewers came from new customers, but I'm sure the spike in HBO revenue - at least from The Escapist offices alone - was a pretty convincing argument when considering renewing the show.

In case you missed it, check out our coverage of Game of Thrones including thoughts on the adaptation and reactions [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/misc/8803-Game-of-Thrones-Recap-Episode-One] from my wife and her mother who haven't read the books.

So far, it's been an interesting experience and I'm glad that we'll at least be able to see how Clash of Kings is dramatized. Here's hoping that the show gets to Storm of Swords - what happens in that book is really awesome! They are going to need a lot more extras, that's all I'm saying.

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[Furious-C]

sweet!

 

[tkioz]

Talk about pretty damn quick renewal. I liked the first episode a lot, a few bits I thought could have used some polish, but I'm sure they'll sort that as they go along; it's always good when you know a show you like isn't going anywhere.

 

[shaykreth]

That was pretty fast!

And good point on the increase in revenue from subscriptions -- I was one of the people that subscribed to HBO to watch this...

 

[DustyDrB]

Another HBO show I'm destined to be late to the party to because I don't have HBO. Man, they have had some fantastic ones, though: The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Treme, and Deadwood are all among my favorites.

 

[dmase]

Box sets, I bet thats why they renewed it this soon. It may not get to sopranos success but the amount of dvd's bought by fanboys will probably blow most of the competition out of the water.

 

[Eleima]

"Boy fiction"?? Ugh, that phrase along sets my teeth on edge. As if you couldn't enjoy A Game of Thrones if you're female. *sigh*
Anyhow, good to know there'll be a second season, even though it feels a little premature.

 

[OldRat]

Excellent. The first episode was nothing short of great, and if the quality stays the same, I'll be a happy, happy man.

 

[crotalidian]

Talk about pretty damn quick renewal. I liked the first episode a lot, a few bits I thought could have used some polish, but I'm sure they'll sort that as they go along; it's always good when you know a show you like isn't going anywhere.

Its become a bit of a HBO thing to greenlight the next series right after the first episode, they have been scouting locations and getting the production companies in place for season 2 for a few weeks, so the fanboys knew this was coming. Still good to hear though, and a great way to keep the buzz going!

Kings will clash!

 

[RandV80]

Yeah keeping the buzz going is important. For people unfamiliar with the book series and were uncertain about the first episode, it should help build good faith if they know a season 2 is already in production. Hopefully it helps to generate more interest and get more people to give it a try.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

I hope the show keeps doing better and better this season so that hopefully they can get an even bigger budget for season 2. There's lots of pretty big battles and it would suck if budgetary concerns forced them to deal with them 'rome' style...with a bunch of generals in a tent talking about how the battle is going.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Now if only HBO would bring back Rome. That show was brilliant.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

"Boy fiction"?? Ugh, that phrase along sets my teeth on edge. As if you couldn't enjoy A Game of Thrones if you're female. *sigh*
Anyhow, good to know there'll be a second season, even though it feels a little premature.

no kidding. i find it particularly ironic, since it was a group of women who first convinced me to read the series.


*edit* uuuuuggggghhhhh... i just read that piece of shit NYTimes review. does that asshole have any idea how sexist he is? "Women don't like stuff like this, 'cause it's not all puppies and flowers, duh!" grrrrrrrrrrrrrr... i'll have to tell the women who first hooked me on the series that they are wrong, and i'll have to let my little sister know she has to stop enjoying it if she wants to keep her "Girls Club" card.

 

[RonHiler]

Are you aware the NYTimes review was written by a woman? Not saying she can't be sexist, but still.

Cool we have a second season, though it's kind of surprising after just one episode. I can see how non-readers might be a bit overwhelmed by all the characters. There is a lot to keep up with. I had to explain parts of it to my wife, who didn't catch all the nuances ("Aren't they brother and sister???", she asked, near the end, hehe. She's also on me to tell her if Bran died or not, but I won't give out spoilers). She liked it though (contrary to what the NYTimes "reviewer" says, and not for the sex scenes either. Her favorite movies are LotR).

 

[ThaBenMan]

Sweeeeet! So now there's a bunch of awesome stuff that we know we will one day see on film:

Spoiler

Melisandre, Dragonstone, Quarth, the House of the Undying, Renly's murder, the Battle of the Blackwater, probly other stuff I can't think of right now

*nerdgasm*

 

[Narcogen]

"Boy fiction"?? Ugh, that phrase along sets my teeth on edge. As if you couldn't enjoy A Game of Thrones if you're female. *sigh*

I know! There are just as many women who enjoy

Spoiler

beheadings, breasts, cute puppies, and incest.

 

[Sabrestar]

I know this: we don't have cable or satellite, so no HBO. But my wife is out of town, and when she realised that she'd have HBO in her hotel room for this, she was positively giddy. She said it was as good as she'd hoped. And she tells me to get off my arse and read the books. (Which I will, soon.) So very glad to see it's successful and continuing. I know it's possible we'd have subscribed if we could have, to see this.

 

[Meggiepants]

I enjoyed it. But I haven't read the books, so I'm hoping it gets a little better like The Pillars of the Earth did once the characters were more established. I also have the advantage of watching with someone who has read the books, so they were constantly filling in the back story for me.

I do wonder what will happen when the HBO series catches up with the latest book. No pressure, Mr. Martin.