An ironwood tree outline with a sword outline drawn inside it, pointing down: Ironrath: Iron From Ice: Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series North: Glenmore of Rillwater Crossing. Long ago, during prehistoric times, before even the First Men, the Children of the Forest, a magic race of, I quote it, “woodland fairy elf sprite tree people things”, and the giants, lived in Westeros. The two races, I believe, lived together in. GAME OF THRONES season 7, episode 7 finally gave fans confirmation that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are related. Here is a look at the family trees of all of Westeros' houses.

• Game Of Thrones White Tree Background
• Game Of Thrones White Trees
• Weirwood Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones is an American fantasydrama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. The show was both produced and filmed in Belfast and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Filming locations also included Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, and Spain.^[1] The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons.

Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has several plots and a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs. One arc is about the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and follows a web of alliances and conflicts among the noble dynasties either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence from it. Another focuses on the last descendant of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty, who has been exiled and is plotting a return to the throne, while another story arc follows the Night's Watch, a brotherhood defending the realm against the fierce peoples and legendary creatures of the North.

Game of Thrones attracted a record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, and international fan base. It was acclaimed by critics for its acting, complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its frequent use of nudity and violence (including sexual violence) were criticized. The series received 47 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most by a drama series, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, 2016, and 2018. Its other awards and nominations include three Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation (2012–2014), a 2011 Peabody Award, and five nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama (2012 and 2015–2018).

Of the ensemble cast, Peter Dinklage has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2011, 2015 and 2018) and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2012) for his performance as Tyrion Lannister. Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Diana Rigg, and Max von Sydow have also received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for their performances.

• 1Background
• 3Production
• 4Availability
• 5Reception and achievements
  • 5.2Critical response
• 6Other media and products

Background

Setting

Game of Thrones is roughly based on the storylines of A Song of Ice and Fire,^[2][3] set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos. The series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for the Iron Throne, while other families fight for independence from it. It opens with additional threats in the icy North and Essos in the east.^[4]

Showrunner David Benioff jokingly suggested 'The Sopranos in Middle-earth' as Game of Thrones'tagline, referring to its intrigue-filled plot and dark tone in a fantasy setting of magic and dragons.^[5] In a 2012 study, out of 40 recent television drama shows, Game of Thrones ranked second in deaths per episode, averaging 14 deaths.^[6]

Themes

The series is generally praised for what is perceived as a sort of medieval realism.^[7][8] George R.R. Martin set out to make the story feel more like historical fiction than contemporary fantasy, with less emphasis on magic and sorcery and more on battles, political intrigue, and the characters, believing that magic should be used moderately in the epic fantasy genre.^[9][10][11] Martin has stated that 'the true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves.'^[12]

A common theme in the fantasy genre is the battle between good and evil, which Martin says does not mirror the real world.^[13] Just like people's capacity for good and for evil in real life, Martin explores the questions of redemption and character change.^[14] The series allows the audience to view different characters from their perspective, unlike in many other fantasies, and thus the supposed villains can provide their side of the story.^[11][15] Benioff said, 'George brought a measure of harsh realism to high fantasy. He introduced gray tones into a black-and-white universe.'^[11]

You have installed the hotfix that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:829652 You cannot log on after you correctly change your log on credentialsIf there is an invalid entry in the Rasphone.pbk file, and hotfix 829652 is not installed, Windows does not parse the invalid entry. Windows xp no wireless network found in range. The network connection icons are missing, including the wireless network connection icon.Back to the topCAUSEThis problem may occur if the following conditions are true:. There is an invalid entry in the Rasphone.pbk file. Some third-party programs may create invalid entries in the Rasphone.pbk file. What do you think??Network connection icons are missing from the Network Connections folder in Windows XPView products that this article applies to.Article ID: 894543Last Review: October 5, 2005Revision: 1.2On This PageSYMPTOMSCAUSERESOLUTIONHotfix informationFile informationWindows XP, 32-bit editionsWindows XP, 64-bit editionSTATUSMORE INFORMATIONAPPLIES TOSYMPTOMSWhen you open your Network Connections folder in Microsoft Windows XP, you find that your network connections are not listed.

In early seasons, under the influence of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, main characters were regularly killed off, and this was credited with developing tension among viewers.^[16] In later seasons, critics pointed out that certain characters had developed 'plot armor' to survive in unlikely circumstances, and attributed this to Game of Thrones deviating from the novels to become more of a traditional television series.^[16] The series also reflects the substantial death rates in war.^[17][18]

Inspirations and derivations

Although the first season closely follows the events of the first novel, later seasons have made significant changes. According to David Benioff, the series is 'about adapting the series as a whole and following the map George laid out for us and hitting the major milestones, but not necessarily each of the stops along the way'.^[19]

The novels and their adaptations base aspects of their settings, characters, and plot on events in European history.^[20] Most of Westeros is reminiscent of high medieval Europe, from lands and cultures,^[21] to the palace intrigue, feudal system, castles, and knightly tournaments. A principal inspiration for the novels is the English Wars of the Roses^[22] (1455–85) between the houses of Lancaster and York, reflected in Martin's houses of Lannister and Stark. The scheming Cersei Lannister evokes Isabella, the 'she-wolf of France' (1295–1358).^[20] She and her family, as portrayed in Maurice Druon's historical novel series, The Accursed Kings, were a main inspiration of Martin's.^[23]

Other historical antecedents of series elements include Hadrian's Wall (which becomes Martin's Wall), the Roman Empire, and the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Byzantine Greek fire ('wildfire'), Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn), the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), the Hundred Years' War, and the Italian Renaissance.^[20] The series' popularity has been attributed, in part, to Martin's skill at fusing these elements into a seamless, credible version of alternate history.^[20] Martin acknowledges, 'I take [history] and I file off the serial numbers and I turn it up to 11.'^[24]

Cast and characters

Game of Thrones has an ensemble cast estimated to be the largest on television;^[25] during its third season, 257 cast names were recorded.^[26] In 2014, several actor contracts were renegotiated to include a seventh-season option, with raises which reportedly made them among the highest-paid performers on cable television.^[27] In 2016, several actor contracts were again renegotiated, reportedly increasing the salary of five of the main cast members to $1 million per episode for the last two seasons, which would make them the highest paid actors on television.^[28] The main cast is listed below.^[29]

Lord Eddard 'Ned' Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of House Stark, whose members are involved in plotlines throughout most of the series. He and his wife, Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley), have five children: Robb (Richard Madden), the eldest; followed by Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and Rickon (Art Parkinson). Ned's illegitimate son Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his friend Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo). The Wildlings living north of the Wall include the young Gilly (Hannah Murray), and the warriors Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie).^[30]

Others associated with House Stark include Ned's ward Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), his vassalRoose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), and Bolton's bastard son Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb falls in love with the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), and Arya befriends the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry (Joe Dempsie) and the assassin Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). The tall warrior Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) serves Catelyn and, later, Sansa.^[30]

In King's Landing, the capital, Ned's friend King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), shares a loveless marriage with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who has taken her twin brother, the 'Kingslayer' Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), as her lover. She loathes her younger brother, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who is attended by his mistress Shae (Sibel Kekilli) and the sellswordBronn (Jerome Flynn). Cersei's father is Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and she also has two young sons: Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Joffrey is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor 'the Hound' Clegane (Rory McCann).^[30]

The king's Small Council of advisors includes the crafty Master of Coin Lord Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish (Aidan Gillen) and the eunuch spymaster Lord Varys (Conleth Hill). Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) is advised by foreign priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). The wealthy Tyrell family is represented at court by Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) is the capital's religious leader. In the southern principality of Dorne, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) seeks vengeance against the Lannisters.^[30]

Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the last king of the original ruling dynasty, who was overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are running for their lives and trying to win back the throne. Daenerys marries Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), the leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Her retinue includes the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), her aide Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), the sellsword Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), who leads Daenerys' army of elite eunuch-warriors, the Unsullied.^[30]

Production

Conception and development

In January 2006, David Benioff had a phone conversation with George R. R. Martin's literary agent about the books he represented and became interested in A Song of Ice and Fire, as he had been a fan of fantasy fiction when young but had not read the books before. The literary agent then sent Benioff the series' first four books.^[31] Benioff read a few hundred pages of the first novel, A Game of Thrones, shared his enthusiasm with D. B. Weiss, and suggested that they adapt Martin's novels into a television series; Weiss finished the first novel in 'maybe 36 hours'.^[32] They pitched the series to HBO after a five-hour meeting with Martin (himself a veteran screenwriter) in a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard. According to Benioff, they won Martin over with their answer to his question, 'Who is Jon Snow's mother?'^[33]

—George R. R. Martin, author^[34]

Before being approached by Benioff and Weiss, Martin had had other meetings with other scriptwriters, most of whom wanted to adapt the series as a feature film. Martin, however, deemed it 'unfilmable' and impossible to be done as a feature film, stating that the size of one of his novels is as long as The Lord of the Rings, which had been adapted as three feature films.^[34] Similarly, Benioff also said that it would be impossible to turn the novels into a feature film as the scale of the novels is too big for a feature film, and dozens of characters would have to be discarded. Benioff added, 'a fantasy movie of this scope, financed by a major studio, would almost certainly need a PG-13 rating. That means no sex, no blood, no profanity. Fuck that.'^[11] Martin himself was pleased with the suggestion that they adapt it as an HBO series, saying that he 'never imagined it anywhere else'.^[35] 'I knew it couldn't be done as a network television series. It's too adult. The level of sex and violence would never have gone through.'^[34]

The series began development in January 2007.^[2] HBO acquired the television rights to the novels, with Benioff and Weiss as its executive producers, and Martin as a co-executive producer. The intention was for each novel to yield a season's worth of episodes.^[2] Initially, Martin would write one episode per season while Benioff and Weiss would write the rest of the episodes.^[2][36]Jane Espenson and Bryan Cogman were later added to write one episode apiece the first season.^[4]

The first and second drafts of the pilot script by Benioff and Weiss were submitted in August 2007^[37] and June 2008,^[38] respectively. Although HBO liked both drafts,^[38][39] a pilot was not ordered until November 2008;^[40] the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike may have delayed the process.^[39] The pilot episode, 'Winter Is Coming', was first shot in 2009; after a poor reception in a private viewing, HBO demanded an extensive re-shoot (about 90 percent of the episode, with cast and directorial changes).^[33][41]

The pilot reportedly cost HBO US$5–10million to produce,^[42] while the first season's budget was estimated at $50–60million.^[43] In the second season, the series received a 15-percent budget increase for the climactic battle in 'Blackwater' (which had an $8million budget).^[44][45] Between 2012 and 2015, the average budget per episode increased from $6million^[46] to 'at least' $8million.^[47] The sixth-season budget was over $10million per episode, for a season total of over $100million and a series record.^[48]

Casting

Nina Gold and Robert Sterne are the series' primary casting directors.^[49] Through a process of auditions and readings, the main cast was assembled. The only exceptions were Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean, whom the writers wanted from the start; they were announced as joining the pilot in 2009.^[50][51] Other actors signed for the pilot were Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon.^[51][52] Addy was, according to showrunners Benioff and Weiss, the easiest actor to cast for the series, due to his audition performance.^[53] Some of the characters in the pilot were recast for the first season: Catelyn Stark was initially played by Jennifer Ehle, but the role was recast with Michelle Fairley.^[54]Daenerys Targaryen was also recast, with Emilia Clarke replacing Tamzin Merchant.^[55][56] The rest of the first season's cast was filled in the second half of 2009.^[57]

Although many of the cast returned after the first season, the producers had many new characters to cast for each of the following seasons. Due to the large number of new characters, Benioff and Weiss postponed the introduction of several key characters in the second season and merged several characters into one or assigned plot functions to different characters.^[25] Some recurring characters were recast over the years; for example, Gregor Clegane was played by three different actors, while Dean-Charles Chapman who played Tommen Baratheon also played a minor Lannister character.^[58]

Writing

Game of Thrones used seven writers in six seasons. Series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the showrunners, write most of the episodes each season.^[59]

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin wrote one episode in each of the first four seasons. Martin did not write an episode for the later seasons, since he wanted to focus on completing the sixth novel (The Winds of Winter).^[60]Jane Espenson co-wrote one first-season episode as a freelance writer.^[61]

Bryan Cogman, initially a script coordinator for the series,^[61] was promoted to producer for the fifth season. Cogman, who wrote at least one episode for the first five seasons, is the only other writer in the writers' room with Benioff and Weiss. Before his promotion, Vanessa Taylor (a writer during the second and third seasons) worked closely with Benioff and Weiss. Dave Hill joined the writing staff for the fifth season after working as an assistant to Benioff and Weiss.^[62] Although Martin is not in the writers' room, he reads the script outlines and makes comments.^[59]

Benioff and Weiss sometimes assign characters to particular writers; for example, Cogman was assigned to Arya Stark for the fourth season. The writers spend several weeks writing a character outline, including what material from the novels to use and the overarching themes. After these individual outlines are complete, they spend another two to three weeks discussing each main character's individual arc and arranging them episode by episode.^[59]

A detailed outline is created, with each of the writers working on a portion to create a script for each episode. Cogman, who wrote two episodes for the fifth season, took a month and a half to complete both scripts. They are then read by Benioff and Weiss, who make notes, and parts of the script are rewritten. All ten episodes are written before filming begins since they are filmed out of order with two units in different countries.^[59]

Benioff and Weiss write each of their episodes together, with one of them writing the first half of the script and the other the second half. After that they begin with passing the drafts back and forth to make notes and rewrite parts of it.^[35]

Adaptation schedule and episodes

After Game of Thrones began outpacing the published novels in the sixth season, the series was based on a plot outline of the future novels provided by Martin^[63] and original content. In April 2016, the showrunners' plan was to shoot 13 more episodes after the sixth season: seven episodes in the seventh season and six episodes in the eighth.^[64] Later that month, the series was renewed for a seventh season with a seven-episode order.^[65][66] Eight seasons were ordered and filmed, adapting the novels at a rate of about 48 seconds per page for the first three seasons.^[67]

The first two seasons adapted one novel each. For the later seasons, its creators see Game of Thrones as an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole rather than the individual novels;^[90] this enables them to move events across novels, according to screen-adaptation requirements.^[91]

Filming

Principal photography for the first season was scheduled to begin on July 26, 2010,^[4] and the primary location was the Paint Hall Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland.^[92] Exterior scenes in Northern Ireland were filmed at Sandy Brae in the Mourne Mountains (standing in for Vaes Dothrak), Castle Ward (Winterfell), Saintfield Estates (the Winterfell godswood), Tollymore Forest (outdoor scenes), Cairncastle (the execution site), the Magheramorne quarry (Castle Black), and Shane's Castle (the tourney grounds).^[93]Doune Castle in Stirling, Scotland, was also used in the original pilot episode for scenes at Winterfell.^[94] The producers initially considered filming the whole series in Scotland, but decided on Northern Ireland because of the availability of studio space.^[95]

The first season's southern scenes were filmed in Malta, a change in location from the pilot episode's Moroccan sets.^[4] The city of Mdina was used for King's Landing. Filming was also done at Fort Manoel (representing the Sept of Baelor), at the Azure Window on the island of Gozo (the Dothraki wedding site) and at San Anton Palace, Fort Ricasoli, Fort St. Angelo and St. Dominic monastery (all used for scenes in the Red Keep).^[93]

Filming of the second season's southern scenes shifted from Malta to Croatia, where the city of Dubrovnik and nearby locations allowed exterior shots of a walled, coastal medieval city. The Walls of Dubrovnik and Fort Lovrijenac were used for scenes in King's Landing, though, exteriors of some local buildings, for example, the Red Keep and the Sept of Baelor, are computer-generated.^[96] The island of Lokrum, the St. Dominic monastery in the coastal town of Trogir, the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik, and the Dubac quarry (a few kilometers east) were used for scenes set in Qarth. Scenes set north of the Wall, in the Frostfangs and at the Fist of the First Men, were filmed in November 2011 in Iceland: on the Vatnajökull glacier near Smyrlabjörg, the Svínafellsjökull glacier near Skaftafell and the Mýrdalsjökull glacier near Vik on Höfðabrekkuheiði.^[93][97]

Third-season production returned to Dubrovnik, with the Walls of Dubrovnik, Fort Lovrijenac and nearby locations again used for scenes in King's Landing and the Red Keep. Trsteno Arboretum, a new location, is the garden of the Tyrells in King's Landing. The third season also returned to Morocco (including the city of Essaouira) to film Daenerys' scenes in Essos.^[98]Dimmuborgir and the Grjótagjá cave in Iceland were used as well.^[97] One scene, with a live bear, was filmed in Los Angeles.^[99] The production used three units (Dragon, Wolf and Raven) filming in parallel, six directing teams, 257 cast members and 703 crew members.^[26]

The fourth season returned to Dubrovnik and included new locations, including Diocletian's Palace in Split, Klis Fortress north of Split, Perun quarry east of Split, the Mosor mountain range, and Baška Voda further south.^[100]Thingvellir National Park in Iceland was used for the fight between Brienne and the Hound.^[97] Filming took 136 days and ended on November 21, 2013.^[101] The fifth season added Seville, Spain, used for scenes of Dorne, as well as Córdoba.^[102]

The sixth season, which began filming in July 2015, returned to Spain and filmed in Navarra, Guadalajara, Seville, Almeria, Girona and Peniscola.^[103] Filming also returned to Dubrovnik, Croatia.^[104]

Filming of the seven episodes of season 7 began on August 31, 2016, at Titanic Studios in Belfast, with other filming in Iceland, Northern Ireland and many locations in Spain,^[105] including Seville, Cáceres, Almodovar del Rio, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo.^[106] The series also filmed in Dubrovnik, which is used for location of King's Landing.^[107] Filming continued until the end of February 2017 as necessary to ensure winter weather in some of the European locations.^[108]

Directing

Each ten-episode season of Game of Thrones has four to six directors, who usually direct back-to-back episodes. Alan Taylor has directed seven episodes, the most episodes of the series. Alex Graves, David Nutter, Mark Mylod, and Jeremy Podeswa have directed six each. Daniel Minahan directed five episodes, and Michelle MacLaren, Alik Sakharov, and Miguel Sapochnik directed four each; MacLaren is also the only female director in the entire series' run.^[109]Brian Kirk directed three episodes during the first season, and Tim Van Patten directed the series' first two episodes. Neil Marshall directed two episodes, both with large battle scenes: 'Blackwater' and 'The Watchers on the Wall'. Other directors have been Jack Bender, David Petrarca, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Slovis and Matt Shakman.^[110] David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have directed two episodes together but only credited one each episode, which was determined after a coin toss.^[62][30]

Technical aspects

Alik Sakharov was the pilot's cinematographer. The series has had a number of cinematographers,^[111] and has received seven Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series nominations.^[112]

Oral Norrey Ottey, Frances Parker, Martin Nicholson, Crispin Green, Tim Porter and Katie Weiland have edited the series for a varying number of episodes. Weiland received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series in 2015.^[112]

Costumes

Michele Clapton was costume designer for Game of Thrones' first five seasons before she was replaced by April Ferry.^[113] Clapton returned to the series as costume designer for the seventh season.^[114]

The costumes used in the series drew inspiration from a number of sources, such as Japanese and Persian armour. Dothraki dress resembles that of the Bedouin (one was made out of fish skins to resemble dragon scales), and the Wildlings wear animal skins like the Inuit.^[115] Wildling bone armor is made from molds of actual bones, and is assembled with string and latex resembling catgut.^[116] Although the extras who play Wildlings and the Night's Watch often wear hats (normal in a cold climate), members of the principal cast usually do not so viewers can recognize the main characters. Björk's Alexander McQueen high-neckline dresses inspired Margaery Tyrell's funnel-neck outfit, and prostitutes' dresses are designed for easy removal.^[115] All clothing used is aged for two weeks so it appears realistic on high-definition television.^[116]

About two dozen wigs are used for the actresses. Made of human hair and up to 2 feet (61 cm) in length, they cost up to $7,000 each and are washed and styled like real hair. Applying the wigs is time-consuming; Emilia Clarke, for example, requires about two hours to style her brunette hair with a platinum-blonde wig and braids. Other actors, such as Jack Gleeson and Sophie Turner, receive frequent hair coloring. For characters such as Daenerys (Clarke) and her Dothraki, their hair, wigs and costumes are processed to appear as if they have not been washed for weeks.^[115]

Makeup

For the first three seasons, Paul Engelen was Game of Thrones' main makeup designer and prosthetic makeup artist with Melissa Lackersteen, Conor O'Sullivan, and Rob Trenton. At the beginning of the fourth season Engelen's team was replaced by Jane Walker and her crew, composed of Ann McEwan and Barrie and Sarah Gower.^[112][117]

Visual effects

For the series' large number of visual effects, HBO hired British-based BlueBolt and Irish-based Screen Scene for season one. Most of the environment builds were done as 2.5D projections, giving viewers perspective while keeping the programming from being overwhelming.^[118] In 2011, the season-one finale, 'Fire and Blood', was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.^[112]

Because the effects became more complex in subsequent seasons (including CGI creatures, fire, and water), German-based Pixomondo became the lead visual-effects producer; nine of its twelve facilities contributed to the project for season two, with Stuttgart the lead.^[119][120] Scenes were also produced by British-based Peanut FX, Canadian-based Spin VFX, and US-based Gradient Effects. 'Valar Morghulis' and 'Valar Dohaeris' earned Pixomondo Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2012 and 2013, respectively.^[112]

For season four, HBO added German-based Mackevision to the project.^[121] The season-four finale, 'The Children', won the 2014 Emmy Award for Visual Effects. Additional producers for season four included Canadian-based Rodeo FX, German-based Scanline VFX and US-based BAKED FX. The muscle and wing movements of the adolescent dragons in seasons four and five were based largely on those of a chicken. Pixomondo retained a team of 22 to 30 people which focused solely on visualizing Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, with the average production time per season of 20 to 22 weeks.^[122] For the fifth season, HBO added Canadian-based Image Engine and US-based Crazy Horse Effects to its list of main visual-effects producers.^[123][124]

Sound

Unusual for a television series, the sound team receives a rough cut of a full season and approaches it as a ten-hour feature film. Although seasons one and two had different sound teams, one team has been in charge of sound since then.^[125] For the series' blood-and-gore sounds, the team often uses a chamois. For dragon screams, mating tortoises and dolphin, seal, lion and bird sounds have been used.^[126]

Title sequence

The series' title sequence was created by production studio Elastic for HBO. Creative directorAngus Wall and his collaborators received the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Main Title Design for the sequence,^[127] which depicts a three-dimensional map of the series' fictional world. The map is projected on the inside of a sphere which is centrally lit by a small sun in an armillary sphere.^[128] As the camera moves across the map, focusing on the locations of the episode's events, clockwork mechanisms intertwine and allow buildings and other structures to emerge from the map. Accompanied by the title music, the names of the principal cast and creative staff appear. The sequence concludes after about 90 seconds with the title card and brief opening credits indicating the episode's writer(s) and director. Its composition changes as the story progresses, with new locations replacing those featuring less prominently or not at all.^{[128][129][130]}

Music

The music for the series was composed by Ramin Djawadi. The first season's soundtrack, written in about ten weeks before the premiere,^[131] was published by Varèse Sarabande in June 2011.^[132] Soundtrack albums for subsequent seasons have been released, with tracks by the National, the Hold Steady, and Sigur Rós.^[133] Djawadi has composed themes for each of the major houses and also for some of the main characters.^[134] The themes may evolve over time, as Daenerys Targaryen's theme started small and then became more powerful after each season. Her theme started first with a single instrument, a cello, and Djawadi later incorporated more instruments for it.^[134]

Language

The Westerosi characters of Game of Thrones speak British-accented English, often (but not consistently) with the accent of the English region corresponding to the character's Westerosi region. The Northerner Eddard Stark speaks in actor Sean Bean's native northern accent, and the southern lord Tywin Lannister speaks with a southern accent, while characters from Dorne speak English with a Spanish accent.^[135][136] Characters foreign to Westeros often have a non-British accent.^[137]

Although the common language of Westeros is represented as English, the producers charged linguist David J. Peterson with constructingDothraki and Valyrian languages based on the few words in the novels;^[138] Dothraki and Valyrian dialogue is often subtitled in English. It has been reported that during the series these fictional languages have been heard by more people than the Welsh, Irish, and Scots Gaelic languages combined.^[139]

Effect on location

Game of Thrones is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, a UK government agency financed by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund.^[140] As of April 2013, Northern Ireland Screen gave the series £9.25million ($14.37million); according to government estimates, this has benefited the Northern Ireland economy by £65million ($100.95million).^[141]

Tourism Ireland has a Game of Thrones-themed marketing campaign similar to New Zealand's Tolkien-related advertising.^[142][143] Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board also expect the series to generate tourism revenue.^[141] According to Arlene Foster, the series has given Northern Ireland the most non-political publicity in its history.^[144] The production of Game of Thrones and other TV series also boosted Northern Ireland's creative industries, contributing to an estimated 12.4-percent growth in arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs between 2008 and 2013 (compared with 4.3percent in the rest of the UK during the same period).^[145] In September 2018, after the filming had finished, HBO announced plans to convert its filming locations in Northern Ireland into tourist attractions to be opened in 2019.^[146]

Tourism organizations elsewhere reported increases in bookings after their locations appeared in Game of Thrones. In 2012, bookings through LateRooms.com increased by 28 percent in Dubrovnik and 13 percent in Iceland. The following year, bookings doubled in Ouarzazate, Morocco (the location of Daenerys' season-three scenes).^[147]Game of Thrones has been attributed as a significant factor in the boom of tourism in Iceland that had a strong impact on its economy. Tourist numbers increased by 30% in 2015, followed by another 40% in 2016,^[148] with a final figure of 2.4million visitors expected for 2016, which is around seven times the population of the country.^[149] However, the increase in tourism to Dubrovnik, with Game of Thrones estimated to be responsible for half of its annual increase over many years, had led to concerns on 'over-tourism' and its mayor to impose limits on tourist number in the city.^[150][151]

Availability

Broadcast

Game of Thrones is broadcast by HBO in the United States and by its local subsidiaries or other pay television services in other countries, at the same time as in the US or weeks (or months) later. The series' broadcast in China on CCTV, begun in 2014, was heavily edited to remove scenes of sex and violence, in accordance with a Chinese practice of censoring Western television series to prevent what the People's Daily called 'negative effects and hidden security dangers'. This resulted in viewer complaints about the incoherence of what remained.^[152] Broadcasters carrying Game of Thrones include Showcase in Australia; HBO Canada, Super Écran, and Showcase in Canada; HBO Latin America in Latin America; SoHo and Prime in New Zealand, and Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[153]

Home media

The ten episodes of the first season of Game of Thrones were released as a DVD and Blu-raybox set on March 6, 2012. The box set includes extra background and behind-the-scenes material but no deleted scenes, since nearly all the footage shot for the first season was used.^[154] The box set sold over 350,000 copies in the first week after release, the largest first-week DVD sales ever for an HBO series, and the series set an HBO-series record for digital-download sales.^[155] A collector's-edition box set was released in November 2012, combining the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the first season with the first episode of season two. A paperweight in the shape of a dragon egg is included in the set.^[156]

DVD-Blu-ray box sets and digital downloads of the second season became available on February 19, 2013.^[157] First-day sales broke HBO records, with 241,000 box sets sold and 355,000 episodes downloaded.^[158] The third season was made available for purchase as a digital download on the Australian iTunes Store, parallel to the US premiere, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on February 18, 2014.^[159][160] The fourth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 17, 2015,^[161] and the fifth season on March 15, 2016.^[162] The sixth season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2016.^[163] The seventh season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 12, 2007. Beginning in 2016, HBO began issuing Steelbook Blu-ray sets which include both Dolby TrueHD7.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options.^[164] In 2018, the first season was released in 4KHDR on Ultra HD Blu-ray.^[165]

Copyright infringement

Game of Thrones has been widely pirated, primarily outside the US.^[166] According to the file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones has been the most pirated television series since 2012, which means it has held the record for six years in a row.^{[167][168][169][170][171][172]} Illegal downloads increased to about seven million in the first quarter of 2015, up 45 percent from 2014.^[166] An unnamed episode was downloaded about 4,280,000 times through public BitTorrent trackers in 2012, roughly equal to its number of broadcast viewers.^[173][174] Piracy rates were particularly high in Australia,^[175] and US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich issued a statement condemning Australian piracy of the series in 2013.^[176]

Delays in availability apart from HBO and its affiliates^[177] before 2015 and the cost of subscriptions to these services have been cited as causes of the series' illegal distribution. According to TorrentFreak, a subscription to a service for Game of Thrones would cost up to $25 per month in the United States, up to £26 per episode in the UK and up to $52 per episode in Australia.^[178]

For 'combating piracy', HBO said in 2013 that it intended to make its content more widely available within a week of the US premiere (including HBO Go).^[179] In 2015, the fifth season was simulcast to 170 countries and to HBO Now users.^[166] On April 11, the day before the season premiere, screener copies of the first four episodes of the fifth season leaked to a number of file-sharing websites.^[180] Within a day of the leak, the files were downloaded over 800,000 times;^[181] in one week the illegal downloads reached 32million, with the season-five premiere alone ('The Wars to Come') pirated 13million times.^[182] The season-five finale ('Mother's Mercy') was the most simultaneously shared file in the history of the BitTorrent filesharing protocol, with over 250,000 simultaneous sharers and over 1.5million downloads in eight hours.^[183] For the sixth season, HBO did not send screeners to the press, to prevent the spread of unlicensed copies and spoilers.^[184]

Observers, including series director David Petrarca^[185] and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, said that illegal downloads did not hurt the series' prospects; it benefited from 'buzz' and social commentary, and the high piracy rate did not significantly translate to lost subscriptions. According to Polygon, HBO's relaxed attitude towards piracy and the sharing of login credentials amounted to a premium-television 'free-to-play' model.^[186] At a 2015 Oxford Union debate, series co-creator David Benioff said that he was just glad that people watched the series; illegally downloaded episodes sometimes interested viewers enough to buy a copy, especially in countries where Game of Thrones was not televised. Co-creator D. B. Weiss had mixed feelings, saying that the series was expensive to produce and 'if it doesn't make the money back, then it ceases to exist'. However, he was pleased that so many people 'enjoy the show so much they can't wait to get their hands on it.'^[187] In 2015, Guinness World Records called Game of Thrones the most pirated television program.^[188]

IMAX

Beginning on January 23, 2015, the last two episodes of season four were shown in 205 IMAX theaters across the United States; Game of Thrones is the first television series shown in this format.^[189] The show earned $686,000 at the box office on its opening day^[190] and $1.5million during its opening weekend;^[191] the week-long release grossed $1,896,092.^[192]

Reception and achievements

Game of Thrones was highly anticipated by fans before its premiere,^[193][194] and has become a critical and commercial success. According to The Guardian, by 2014 it was 'the biggest drama' and 'the most talked about show' on television.^[7]

Cultural influence

Although Game of Thrones was dismissed by some critics,^[7] its success has been credited with an increase in the popularity of the fantasy genre. On the eve of the second season's premiere, according to CNN, 'after this weekend, you may be hard pressed to find someone who isn't a fan of some form of epic fantasy' and cited Ian Bogost as saying that the series continues a trend of successful screen adaptations beginning with Peter Jackson's 2001 The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the Harry Potter films establishing fantasy as a mass-market genre; they are 'gateway drugs to fantasy fan culture'.^[195] The success of the show led to a number of fantasy series being commissioned on television, including a retelling of the Lord of the Rings by Amazon Studios.^[196] According to Neil Gaiman, whose works Good Omens and American Gods were adapted for TV, Game of Thrones did help change attitudes towards fantasy on television, but mainly it made big budgets for fantasy series more acceptable.^[197] The success of the genre had been attributed by writers to a longing for escapism in popular culture, frequent female nudity and a skill in balancing lighthearted and serious topics (dragons and politics, for example) which provided it with a prestige enjoyed by conventional, top-tier drama series.^[7]

The series' popularity increased sales of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels (republished in tie-in editions), which remained at the top of bestseller lists for months. According to The Daily Beast, Game of Thrones was a favorite of sitcom writers and the series has been referred to in other TV series.^[198] With other fantasy series, it has been cited as a reason for an increase in the purchase (and abandonment) of huskies and other wolf-like dogs.^[199]

Game of Thrones has added to the popular vocabulary. A first season scene in which Petyr Baelish explains his motives (or background) while prostitutes have sex in the background gave rise to the word 'sexposition' for providing exposition with sex and nudity.^[200] 'Dothraki', the series' nomadic horsemen, was ranked fourth in a September 2012 Global Language Monitor list of words from television most used on the Internet.^[201] In 2012, the media used 'Game of Thrones' as a figure of speech or comparison for situations of intense conflict and deceit, such as US healthcare politics,^[202] the Syrian Civil War^[203] and the ousting of Bo Xilai from the Chinese government.^[204]

In 2019, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift told Entertainment Weekly that several songs on her 2017 album Reputation were inspired by characters and plots of Game of Thrones.^[205]

'Khaleesi' became more popular as a name for baby girls in the United States. In the novels and the TV series, 'khaleesi' is not a name, but the title of the wife of a khal (warlord) in the Dothraki language, held by Daenerys Targaryen.^[206]

Game of Thrones has also become a subject of scientific inquiry.^{[207][208][209]} In 2016, researchers published a paper analyzing emotional sentiment in online public discourse associated with the unfolding storyline during the fourth season.^[207] The analysis purported to be able to distinguish discussions about the storyline of an episode from media critiques or assessments of a specific actor's performance. In 2018, Australian scientists conducted a survival analysis and examined the mortality among 330 important characters during the first seven seasons of Game of Thrones.^[209] In 2019, the Australian branch of the Red Cross conducted a study using international human rights laws to determine which of the Game of Thrones' characters had committed the most war crimes during the first seven seasons of the show.^[210]

Critical response

General

Game of Thrones, particularly the first seven seasons, received positive reviews, although the series' frequent use of nudity and violence has been criticized. Its seasons have appeared on annual 'best of' lists published by The Washington Post (2011), Time (2011 and 2012) and The Hollywood Reporter (2012).^{[227][228][229]}

The performances of the cast were praised. Peter Dinklage's 'charming, morally ambiguous, and self-aware'^[230] Tyrion, who earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards, was particularly noted. 'In many ways, Game of Thrones belongs to Dinklage', wrote Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times before Tyrion became the series' central figure in season two.^[231][232] Several critics highlighted performances by actresses^[231] and children.^[233] Fourteen-year-old Maisie Williams, noted in the first season for her debut as Arya Stark, was singled out for her season-two work with veteran actor Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister).^[234]Stephen Dillane has received positive reviews for his performance as Stannis Baratheon, especially in the fifth season, with one critic noting 'Whether you like Stannis or not, you have to admit that Stephen Dillane delivered a monumental performance this season.'^[235]

The series has a rating of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.^[215]

First-season reviewers said the series had high production values, a fully realized world and compelling characters.^[236] According to Variety, 'There may be no show more profitable to its network than 'Game of Thrones' is to HBO. Fully produced by the pay cabler and already a global phenomenon after only one season, the fantasy skein was a gamble that has paid off handsomely'.^[237] The second season was also well received. Entertainment Weekly praised its 'vivid, vital, and just plain fun' storytelling^[238] and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the series made a 'strong case for being one of TV's best series'; its seriousness made it the only drama comparable to Mad Men or Breaking Bad.^[239]The New York Times gave the series a mixed review, criticizing its number of characters, their lack of complexity and a meandering plot.^[240]

The third season was extremely well received by critics, with Metacritic giving it a score of 91 out of 100 (indicating 'universal acclaim').^[216] The fourth season was similarly praised; Metacritic gave it a score of 94 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, again indicating 'universal acclaim'.^[218] The fifth season was also well received by critics and has a score of 91 out of 100 (based on 29 reviews) on Metacritic.^[220] The sixth season was praised by critics, though not as highly as its predecessors. It has a score of 73 on Metacritic (based on nine reviews), indicating 'generally favorable reviews'.^[222] The seventh season scored 77 out of 100 (based on twelve reviews) and was praised for its action sequences and focused central characters,^[224] but received criticism for its breakneck pace and plot developments that 'defied logic.'^[241][223]

Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a 'B' rating, stating that it was ultimately 'okay', with both 'transcendent moments' and 'miserable phases', it was 'beloved enough to be criticized by everyone for something'. Franich described seasons 3 and 4 as 'relentless', seasons 6's ending having a 'killer one-two punch', while seasons 7 and 8 were 'indifferent'.^[242]

Sex and violence

Despite its otherwise enthusiastic reception by critics, some have criticized the show for the amount of female nudity, violence, and sexual violence it depicts, and for the manner in which it depicts these themes. The Atlantic called the series' 'tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and—especially—sexual violence' of the source material 'the defining weakness' of the adaptation.^[243] George R. R. Martin responded that he feels obliged to be truthful about history and human nature, and that rape and sexual violence are common in war; and that omitting them from the narrative would have rung false and undermined one of his novels' themes, its historical realism.^[12] HBO said that they 'fully support the vision and artistry of Dan and David's exceptional work and we feel this work speaks for itself.'^[12]

The amount of sex and nudity in the series, especially in scenes that are incidental to the plot, was the focus of much of the criticism aimed at the series in its first and second seasons. Stephen Dillane, who portrays Stannis Baratheon, likened the series' frequent explicit scenes to 'German porn from the 1970s'.^[244]Charlie Jane Anders wrote in io9 that while the first season was replete with light-hearted 'sexposition', the second season appeared to focus on distasteful, exploitative, and dehumanizing sex with little informational content.^[245]

According to The Washington Post's Anna Holmes, the nude scenes appeared to be aimed mainly at titillating heterosexual men, right down to the Brazilian waxes sported by the women in the series' faux-medieval setting, which made these scenes alienating to other viewers.^[246]The Huffington Post's Maureen Ryan likewise noted that Game of Thrones mostly presented women naked, rather than men, and that the excess of 'random boobage' undercut any aspirations the series might have to address the oppression of women in a feudal society.^[247]Saturday Night Live parodied this aspect of the adaptation in a sketch that portrayed the series as retaining a 13-year-old boy as a consultant whose main concern was showing as many breasts as possible.^[245][248]

In the third season, which saw Theon Greyjoy lengthily tortured and eventually emasculated, the series was also criticized for its use of torture.^[249]New York magazine called the scene 'torture porn.'^[250] Madeleine Davies of Jezebel agreed, saying, 'it's not uncommon that Game of Thrones gets accused of being torture porn—senseless, objectifying violence combined with senseless, objectifying sexual imagery.' According to Davies, although the series' violence tended to serve a narrative purpose, Theon's torture in 'The Bear and the Maiden Fair' was excessive.^[251]

A scene in the fourth season's episode 'Breaker of Chains', in which Jaime Lannister rapes his sister and lover Cersei, triggered a broad public discussion about the series' depiction of sexual violence against women. According to Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times, the scene caused outrage, in part because of comments by director Alex Graves that the scene became 'consensual by the end'. Itzkoff also wrote that critics fear that 'rape has become so pervasive in the drama that it is almost background noise: a routine and unshocking occurrence'.^[12] Sonia Saraiya of The A.V. Club wrote that the series' choice to portray this sexual act, and a similar one between Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo in the first season—both described as consensual in the source novels—as a rape appeared to be an act of 'exploitation for shock value'.^[252]

In the fifth season's episode 'Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken', Sansa Stark is raped by Ramsay Bolton. Most reviewers, including those from Vanity Fair, Salon, The Atlantic, and The Daily Beast, found the scene gratuitous and artistically unnecessary.^{[243][253][254][255]} For example, Joanna Robinson, writing for Vanity Fair, said that the scene 'undercuts all the agency that's been growing in Sansa since the end of last season.'^[256] In contrast, Sara Stewart of the New York Post wondered why viewers were not similarly upset about the many background and minor characters who'd undergone similar or worse treatment.^[257] In response to the scene, pop culture website The Mary Sue announced that it would cease coverage of the series because of the repeated use of rape as a plot device,^[258] and US Senator Claire McCaskill said that she would no longer watch it.^[259]

As the sixth and seventh seasons saw Daenerys, Sansa, and Cersei assume ruling positions, Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post noted that the series could be seen as a 'long-arc revenge fantasy about what happens when women who have been brutalized and raped gain power'—namely, that their past leaves them too broken to do anything but commit brutal acts in their own turn, and that their personal liberation does not effect the social change needed to protect others from suffering.^[260]Time reported before the seventh season that 'Even if Benioff and Weiss don't always admit it, the show has changed. Scenes in which exposition is delivered in one brothel or another, for example, have been pared back'.^[261]

Lighting issues

The lighting, or lack of light, in darker scenes has been a recurring point of criticism since season 6 of the series.^{[262][263][264][265]} In 2016, Bustle's Caitlyn Callegari listed 31 examples of scenes where the lighting caused viewers problems ranging from not being able to tell a character's hair color to not being able to see what was going on.^[266] Some reviewers have noted this is part of a wider trend^[267] among shows that are made by people who have experience working primarily on films, suggesting they 'haven't grasped the nuances (or lack thereof)' of television as a medium, especially the differences between watching a scene on a television screen versus watching it on the big screen in a movie theater.^[268]

In a 2017 interview, Robert McLachlan, a cinematographer working on the show, explained the lack of lighting as an artistic choice: 'we're trying to be as naturalistic as possible'.^[269][270] The criticism reached a high point during 'The Long Night', the third episode of season 8.^[271][272] Barely minutes into the episode, viewers took to social media sites such as Twitter to express their discontent about the fact that they were having severe difficulties watching the battle and trying to figure out what was going on.^{[273][274][275][276]}

Fandom

A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones have a broad, active international fan base. In 2012 Vulture.com ranked the series' fans as the most devoted in popular culture, more so than Lady Gaga's, Justin Bieber's, Harry Potter's or Star Wars'.^[277] Fans include political leaders such as former US president Barack Obama,^[278][279] former British prime minister David Cameron,^[280] former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard^[281][282] and Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans, who framed European politics in quotes from Martin's novels in a 2013 speech.^[283]

BBC News said in 2013 that 'the passion and the extreme devotion of fans' had created a phenomenon unlike anything related to other popular TV series, manifesting itself in fan fiction,^[284]Game of Thrones-themed burlesque routines and parents naming their children after series characters; writers quoted attributed this success to the rich detail, moral ambiguity, sexual explicitness and epic scale of the series and novels.^[285] The previous year, 'Arya' was the fastest-rising girl's name in the US after it jumped in popularity from 711th to 413th place.^[286]

As of 2013, about 58 percent of series viewers were male and 42 percent female, and the average male viewer was 41 years old.^[287][288] According to SBS Broadcasting Group marketing director Helen Kellie, Game of Thrones has a high fan-engagement rate; 5.5 percent of the series' 2.9million Facebook fans talked online about the series in 2012, compared to 1.8percent of the more than ten million fans of True Blood (HBO's other fantasy series).^[289] Vulture.com cited Westeros.org and WinterIsComing.net (news and discussion forums), ToweroftheHand.com (which organizes communal readings of the novels) and Podcastoficeandfire.com as fan sites dedicated to the TV and novel series;^[277] and podcasts cover Game of Thrones.^[290]

Awards and accolades

Game of Thrones has won numerous of awards since it debuted as a series, including 47 Primetime Emmy Awards,^[112] 5 Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Peabody Award.^[291] It holds the Emmy-award record for a scripted television series, ahead of Frasier (which received 37).^[292] In 2013 the Writers Guild of America listed Game of Thrones as the 40th 'best written' series in television history.^[293] In 2015 The Hollywood Reporter placed it at number four on their 'best TV shows ever' list,^[294] while in 2016 the series was placed seventh on Empire's 'The 50 best TV shows ever'.^[295] The same year Rolling Stone named it the twelfth 'greatest TV Show of all time'.^[296]

The 2011 first season received 13 Emmy nominations (including Outstanding Drama Series), and won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (given to Peter Dinklage for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister) and Outstanding Main Title Design. Other nominations included Outstanding Directing ('Winter Is Coming') and Outstanding Writing ('Baelor').^[112] Dinklage was also named Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globe, Satellite and Scream Awards.^{[297][298][299]}

In 2012, the second season received six Emmy Awards from 11 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage).^[112]

The 2013 third season received 16 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Emilia Clarke), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Diana Rigg) and Outstanding Writing ('The Rains of Castamere'), winning two Creative Arts Emmys.^[112]

In 2014, the fourth season received four Emmys from 19 nominations, which included Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Lena Headey), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Rigg), Outstanding Directing ('The Watchers on the Wall') and Outstanding Writing ('The Children').^[112]

The 2015 fifth season won the most Primetime Emmy Awards for a series in a year (12 awards from 24 nominations), including Outstanding Drama Series; other wins included Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Directing ('Mother's Mercy') and Outstanding Writing ('Mother's Mercy'), and eight were Creative Arts Emmy Awards.^[300]

In 2016, the sixth season received the most nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards (23). It won for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing ('Battle of the Bastards'), Outstanding Writing ('Battle of the Bastards'), and nine Creative Arts Emmys. Nominations included Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage and Kit Harington), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Clarke, Headey and Maisie Williams), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Max von Sydow) and Outstanding Directing ('The Door').^[301]

In 2018, the seventh season received the most nominations at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards (22).^[302] It won for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage), and seven Creative Arts Emmys.^[303] Nominations included Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Lena Headey), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Diana Rigg), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for 'The Dragon and the Wolf'), and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Jeremy Podeswa for 'The Dragon and the Wolf' and Alan Taylor for 'Beyond the Wall').^[304]

Viewer numbers

Game Of Thrones White Tree Background

The first season averaged 2.5million viewers for its first Sunday-night screenings and a gross audience (including repeats and on-demand viewings) of 9.3million viewers per episode.^[305] For its second season, the series had an average gross audience of 11.6million viewers.^[306] The third season was seen by 14.2million viewers, making Game of Thrones the second-most-viewed HBO series (after The Sopranos).^[307][308] For the fourth season, HBO said that its average gross audience of 18.4million viewers (later adjusted to 18.6million) had passed The Sopranos for the record.^[309][310]

By the sixth season the average per-episode gross viewing figure had increased to over 25million, with nearly 40 percent of viewers watching on HBO digital platforms.^[311] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook likes found that Game of Thrones was 'much more popular in cities than in the countryside, probably the only show involving zombies that is'.^[312] By season seven, average viewer numbers had increased to 32.8million per episode across all platforms.^[313][314]

The series set records on pay-television channels in the United Kingdom (with a 2016 average audience of more than five million on all platforms)^[315] and Australia (with a cumulative average audience of 1.2million).^[316]

Other media and products

Video games

The series has inspired several video games based on the TV series and novels. The strategy game Game of Thrones Ascent ties into the HBO series, making characters and settings available to players as they appear on television.^[318]Behaviour Interactive is developing a free-to-play strategy game based on the series for mobile devices.^[319]Reigns: Game of Thrones, a spin-off of the Reignsstrategy video game series, is in development by Nerial, published by Devolver Digital, and set to release in October 2018.^[320]

Merchandise and exhibition

HBO has licensed a variety of merchandise based on Game of Thrones, including games, replica weapons and armor, jewelry, bobblehead dolls by Funko, beer by Ommegang and apparel.^[321] High-end merchandise includes a $10,500 Ulysse Nardin wristwatch^[322] and a $30,000 resin replica of the Iron Throne.^[323] In 2013 and 2014, a traveling exhibition of costumes, props, armor and weapons from the series visited major cities in Europe and the Americas.^[324]

Accompanying material

Thronecast: The Official Guide to Game of Thrones, a series of podcasts presented by Geoff Lloyd and produced by Koink, has been released on the Sky Atlantic website and the UK iTunes store during the series' run; a new podcast, with analysis and cast interviews, is released after each episode.^[325] In 2014 and 2015 HBO commissioned Catch the Throne, two rap albums about the series.^[326][327]

A companion book, Inside HBO's Game of Thrones (ISBN978-1-4521-1010-3) by series writer Bryan Cogman, was published on September 27, 2012. The 192-page book, illustrated with concept art and behind-the-scenes photographs, covers the creation of the series' first two seasons and its principal characters and families.^[328]

After the Thrones is a liveaftershow in which hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan discuss episodes of the series. It airs on HBO Now the Monday after each sixth-season episode.^[329] The Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, a North American 28-city orchestral tour which performed the series' soundtrack with composer Ramin Djawadi, began February 2017 and concluded in April 2017.^[330][331] A second tour occurred in 2018 across cities in Europe and North America.^[332]

Each season's Blu-ray and DVD set contains several short animated sequences narrated by the cast as their characters as they detail events in the history of Westeros.^[333] For the seventh season, this is to include the animated prequel series Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion, illustrated in a different animation style than previous videos. The series focuses on Aegon Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.^[334]

Successor series

In May 2017, after years of speculation about possible successor series, HBO commissioned Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray, and Bryan Cogman^[335] to develop individual Game of Thrones successor series; all of the writers were to be working individually with George R. R. Martin, who also co-wrote two of the scripts.^[336] D. B. Weiss and David Benioff said that they would not be involved with any of the projects.^[337]

Martin said that all the concepts under discussion were prequels, although he believes the term 'successor show' applies better to these projects, as they are not Game of Thrones spin-offs in the traditional sense. He ruled out Robert's Rebellion (the overthrow of Daenerys' father by Robert Baratheon) as a possible idea and revealed that some may be set outside Westeros.^[338] Later, he stated: 'at least two of them are solidly based on material in Fire and Blood.'^[339]

On June 8, 2018, HBO commissioned a pilot to a Game of Thrones prequel series from Goldman as showrunner and Martin as co-creator.^[340] The accepted prequel will take place in the Age of Heroes, a period that begins roughly 10,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Notable events of that period include the foundation of powerful Houses, the Long Night when the White Walkers first descended upon Westeros, and the Andal Invasion when the Andals invaded from Essos and conquered most of Westeros.^[341] Writing in a blog post in June 2018, Martin suggested The Long Night as a title for the upcoming series.^[342]

On May 13, 2019, it was reported that the show had already begun filming in Belfast, under the working title Bloodmoon.^[343]S. J. Clarkson has been announced to direct and executive produce the pilot,^[344] while Naomi Watts has been cast as the female lead playing 'a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.'^[345] Other series regulars include: Josh Whitehouse, Toby Regbo, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Alex Sharp, Miranda Richardson, Marquis Rodriguez, John Simm, Richard McCabe, John Heffernan, and Dixie Egerickx.^[346]

Regarding the other four projects, HBO president of programming Casey Bloys said that some of them have been abandoned completely, while others remain as possibilities for the future.^[347] In April 2019, Cogman confirmed his prequel would not be moving forward, stating it 'is not happening and will not happen. HBO decided to go a different way.'^[348] In May 2019, Martin stated that the two other projects were still in the script stage, but are 'edging closer'.^[349]

References

1. ^McGloin, Catherine (July 11, 2017). 'Winter is here: 44 Game of Thrones locations in pictures'. Skyscanner. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
2. ^ ^abcdFleming, Michael (January 16, 2007). 'HBO turns 'Fire' into fantasy series'. Variety. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
3. ^Cogman, Bryan (November 6, 2014). Inside HBO's Game of Thrones. Orion. p. 4. ISBN978-1-4732-1040-0. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
4. ^ ^abcdMartin, George R. R. (July 16, 2010). 'From HBO'. Not a Blog. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
5. ^Kachka, Boris (May 18, 2008). 'Dungeon Master: David Benioff'. New York. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
6. ^O'Connell, Michael (May 22, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' Topped by 'Spartacus: Vengeance' as TV's Deadliest Series'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
7. ^ ^abcdHughes, Sarah (March 22, 2014). ''Sopranos meets Middle-earth': how Game of Thrones took over our world'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
8. ^Orr, David (August 12, 2011). 'Dragons Ascendant: George R. R. Martin and the Rise of Fantasy'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
9. ^Richards, Linda (January 2001). 'January interview: George R.R. Martin'. January Magazine. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
10. ^Itzkoff, Dave (April 1, 2011). 'His Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: George R. R. Martin Talks Game of Thrones'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
11. ^ ^abcdCogman, Bryan (November 6, 2014). Inside HBO's Game of Thrones. Orion. p. 7. ISBN978-1-4732-1040-0. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
12. ^ ^abcdItzkoff, Dave (May 2, 2014). 'For 'Game of Thrones,' Rising Unease Over Rape's Recurring Role'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
13. ^Gevers, Nick (December 2000). 'Sunsets of High Renown – An Interview with George R. R. Martin'. Infinity Plus. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
14. ^'The battle between good and evil reigns – Martin talks about new series Game of Thrones'. The Guardian. June 11, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
15. ^Baum, Michele Dula (April 11, 2001). 'A Song of Ice and Fire – Author George R.R. Martin's fantastic kingdoms'. CNN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
16. ^ ^abFowler, Matt (August 27, 2017). 'Game of Thrones: 'The Dragon and the Wolf' Review'. IGN. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
17. ^Kirschling, Gregory (November 27, 2007). 'George R.R. Martin answers your questions'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
18. ^Boulaziz, Louisa (September 13, 2016). 'Game of Thrones is realistic'. Universitas. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
19. ^Hibberd, James (March 17, 2015). 'Game of Thrones showrunners answer burning season 5 questions'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
20. ^ ^abcdHolland, Tom (March 24, 2013). 'Game of Thrones is more brutally realistic than most historical novels'. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
21. ^Mund, Lucas (March 27, 2013). 'Are the Lands of Westeros Inspired by Real-Life Countries?'. Slate. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
22. ^Orr, David (August 12, 2011). 'Dragons Ascendant: George R. R. Martin and the Rise of Fantasy'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2013. Martin's books are essentially the War of the Roses with magic
23. ^Milne, Ben (April 4, 2014). 'Game of Thrones: The cult French novel that inspired George RR Martin'. BBC News Magazine. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
24. ^Lipscomb, Suzannah (April 23, 2016). 'Game of Thrones has hacked our history'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017.
25. ^ ^abHibberd, James (May 29, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' scoop: Season 3 character list revealed – EXCLUSIVE'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
26. ^ ^ab'Season 3: by the Numbers'. Making Game of Thrones. November 2, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
27. ^Belloni, Matthew; Goldberg, Lesley (October 30, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' Cast Signs for Season 7 with Big Raises'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
28. ^Reslen, Eileen (September 6, 2018). 'Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Made More Than $1 Million Per Episode for Game of Thrones' Final Season'. Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
29. ^'More Details on the Return of Game of Thrones' (Press release). HBO (via ComingSoon.net). Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
30. ^ ^abcdef'Game of Thrones: Cast'. HBO. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
31. ^Cogman, Bryan (November 6, 2014). Inside HBO's Game of Thrones. Gollancz. ISBN9781473210400. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016.
32. ^Mitchell, Elvis (May 8, 2013). 'UpClose: Game of Thrones with David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (Full Length)'. KCRW. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013. At about 2:50.
33. ^ ^abBirnbaum, Debra (April 15, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' Creators: We Know How It's Going to End'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016.
34. ^ ^abcArmstrong, Jennifer (April 4, 2011). ''Game of Thrones': George R. R. Martin talks HBO show'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
35. ^ ^ab'HBO's 'Game of Thrones': Long Story Short'. Retrieved May 1, 2018 – via YouTube.
36. ^Benioff, David; Weiss, Dan (November 19, 2008). 'Hello from Benioff and Weiss'. A Forum of Ice and Fire. Westeros. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013.
37. ^Hudson, Laura (August 14, 2007). 'Talking with George R. R. Martin Part 2'. Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
38. ^ ^abMartin, George R. R. (June 13, 2008). 'Ice & Fire on HBO'. Not a Blog. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012.
39. ^ ^abKirschling, Gregory (November 27, 2007). 'George R.R. Martin answers your questions'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
40. ^Hibberd, Jame (November 11, 2008). 'HBO orders fantasy pilot Thrones'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
41. ^Robinson, Joanna (February 3, 2016). 'Game of Thrones Show-Runners Get Extremely Candid About Their Original 'Piece of Sh—t' Pilot'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016.
42. ^Hibberd, James (January 14, 2010). 'HBO: 'Game of Thrones' dailies 'look fantastic''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
43. ^Goldberg, Lesley (April 14, 2011). ''Game of Thrones' by The Numbers'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
44. ^Pallotta, Frank (April 7, 2012). 'How HBO Let Game of Thrones Make an $8 Million Episode'. Slate. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
45. ^'This Week's Cover: 'Game of Thrones,' the battle to make season 2 epic'. Entertainment Weekly. March 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
46. ^Gornstein, Leslie (May 28, 2012). 'Holy Flaming Warships! How Expensive Is Game of Thrones, Anyway?'. E!. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
47. ^Hibberd, James (March 2015). ''Game of Thrones': EW spends 240 hours in Westeros'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
48. ^Lee, Ben (March 30, 2016). 'Game of Thrones season 6 costs A LOT per episode: The HBO fantasy epic's massive budget is revealed'. Digital Spy. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
49. ^Barraclough, Leo (April 15, 2016). ''Game of Thrones' Casting Director Nina Gold to Receive BAFTA Award'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
50. ^Andreeva, Nellie (May 5, 2009). 'Two will play HBO's 'Game''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
51. ^ ^abKit, Borys; Andreeva, Nellie (July 19, 2009). 'Sean Bean ascends to 'Game of Thrones''. Reuters. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
52. ^Martin, George R. R. (July 19, 2009). 'A Casting We Will Go'. Not A Blog. LiveJournal. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
53. ^Walsh, Michael (March 12, 2017). 'What We Learned From Game Of Thrones' SXSW Panel, and What It Might Mean'. Nerdist Industries. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
54. ^Sepinwall, Alan (March 19, 2010). ''Game of Thrones' recasting: Ehle out, Fairley in'. HitFix. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
55. ^Ryan, Maureen (May 21, 2010). 'Exclusive: 'Game of Thrones' recasts noble role'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
56. ^Martin, George R. R. (May 21, 2010). 'A New Daenerys'. Not A Blog. LiveJournal. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
57. ^Ryan, Maureen (October 13, 2009). 'The 'Games' afoot: HBO's 'Game of Thrones' gears up'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
58. ^Renfro, Kim (June 21, 2017). 'These 8 'Game of Thrones' characters were recast — and you probably didn't even notice'. Insider. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
59. ^ ^abcdCollins, Sean T. (April 2, 2015). 'Blood Caffeine Sex Magic: How 'Game of Thrones' Gets Written'. The New York Observer. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
60. ^Karmali, Luke (March 30, 2015). 'George R. R. Martin Not Writing Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode'. IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
61. ^ ^abRyan, Maureen (March 16, 2010). 'HBO's 'Game of Thrones': The 'Buffy' and 'Battlestar' connection'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
62. ^ ^ab'The Surprising Connection Between Game of Thrones and Monty Python'. Vanity Fair. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
63. ^Robinson, Joanna (March 22, 2015). 'Game of Thrones Creators Confirm the Show Will Spoil the Books'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
64. ^ ^abBirnbaum, Debra (April 14, 2016). ''Game of Thrones' Creators Mull Shorter Final Seasons (EXCLUSIVE)'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
65. ^ ^abHibberd, James (July 18, 2016). 'Game of Thrones: HBO announces summer return, 7 episodes'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
66. ^ ^abAndreeva, Nellie (April 21, 2016). ''Game of Thrones' Picked Up For Season 7, 'Veep' & 'Silicon Valley' Also Renewed By HBO'. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
67. ^Scott, Patrick (April 6, 2014). 'Game of Thrones: how does the TV series compare to the books?'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
68. ^Ryan, Maureen (March 2, 2010). 'HBO picks up 'Game of Thrones'; first picture, cast list'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
69. ^Hibberd, James (April 19, 2011). 'HBO renews 'Game of Thrones' for second season!'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
70. ^Anders, Charlie Jane (June 5, 2012). '10 Best Changes Game of Thrones Made to A Clash of Kings'. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
71. ^O'Connell, Michael (April 10, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' Renewed for Season 3'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
72. ^Hibberd, James (March 30, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' showrunners on season 2, splitting Book 3 and their hope for a 70-hour epic'. Entertainment Weekly. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
73. ^Schwartz, Terri (May 12, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' Season 4: Writer Bryan Cogman breaks down Tyrion's trial, book deviations and that White Walker scene'. Zap2it. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
74. ^Hibberd, James (April 2, 2013). ''Game of Thrones' renewed for season 4'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
75. ^Vineyard, Jennifer (June 11, 2013). 'What Will Happen in Season 4 of Game of Thrones?'. Vulture. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
76. ^ ^abGoldman, Eric (April 8, 2014). 'Game of Thrones Renewed for Season 5 and Season 6'. IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
77. ^'Game of Thrones Season 5: Inside the Episode #9 (HBO)'. June 7, 2015. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015 – via YouTube.
78. ^Hibberd, James (June 18, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' showrunners talk season 5: 'There will be Dorne''. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
79. ^Kain, Erik (April 12, 2015). 'Why Season 5 Of 'Game Of Thrones' Is The Most Important Yet For HBO'. Forbes. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
80. ^'Game of Thrones Episodes: EP510: Mother's Mercy'. Westeros.org. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
81. ^Noble, Matt (August 18, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' director Jeremy Podeswa dishes Jon Snow death, teases season six (Exclusive Video)'. GoldDerby. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
82. ^ ^abcHibberd, James (May 24, 2016). 'George R. R. Martin revealed 3 huge shocks to Game of Thrones producers'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
83. ^Vineyard, Jennifer (May 5, 2016). 'Why It's a Misconception That Game of Thrones Has Gone 'Off-Book''. Vulture. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
84. ^'Shows A-Z - game of thrones on hbo'. The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
85. ^Hibberd, James (July 30, 2016). 'Game of Thrones: HBO confirms season 8 will be last'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
86. ^Shepherd, Jack (October 23, 2017). 'Game of Thrones season 8 filming looks to be underway as cast members spotted in Belfast'. The Independent. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
87. ^Patten, Dominic (January 13, 2019). ''Game Of Thrones' Final Season Debut Date Revealed By HBO With New Tease'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
88. ^Roots, Kimberly (November 13, 2018). ''Game of Thrones' Season 8 to Premiere in April 2019'. TVLine. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
89. ^'Shows A-Z - game of thrones on hbo'. The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
90. ^Collins, Sean T. (March 20, 2013). 'Q&A: 'Game of Thrones' Insider Bryan Cogman on the Biggest Season Yet'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
91. ^Hibberd, James (March 30, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' showrunners on season 2, splitting Book 3 and their hope for a 70-hour epic'. Entertainment Weekly. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
92. ^'HBO to film TV pilot in Belfast, Northern Ireland' (Press release). Northern Ireland Executive. April 21, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
93. ^ ^abcRoberts, Josh (April 1, 2012). 'Where HBO's hit 'Game of Thrones' was filmed'. USA Today. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
94. ^'Medieval keep becomes film set'. BBC News. October 23, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
95. ^Miller, Phil (June 17, 2013). 'Beaten in Game of Thrones: why Scotland lost £160m chance to host TV series'. The Herald. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
96. ^Denham, Jess (July 16, 2015). 'Game of Thrones: Stunning visual effects reel separates the real from the fake in season five'. The Independent.
97. ^ ^abcSmith, Oliver (June 7, 2016). 'Iceland's most spectacular Game of Thrones filming locations'. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.
98. ^Phelan, Jessica (April 29, 2014). 'The 7 kingdoms in 'Game of Thrones' are actually these 5 real-world places'. Salon. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
99. ^Schwartz, Terri (January 28, 2013). ''Game of Thrones' casts a bear and shoots in Los Angeles for major Season 3 scene'. Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
100. ^'New set photos from Klis and Dubrovnik'. WinterIsComing.net. September 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
101. ^'That's a wrap! Season 4 filming is complete'. WinterIsComing.net. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
102. ^Burgen, Stephen (July 6, 2014). 'Game of Thrones fifth series: more than 10,000 Spaniards apply to be extras'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
103. ^Hibberd, James (June 3, 2015). 'Game of Thrones returning to Spain for season 6'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
104. ^Debnath, Neela (October 9, 2015). 'Game of Thrones season 6: Lena Headey spotted filming in Croatia'. Daily Express. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
105. ^Smith, Oliver (September 23, 2016). 'The incredible locations that will star in Game of Thrones season 7'. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
106. ^'EMMY®- AND GOLDEN GLOBE-WINNING HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES TO BEGIN PRODUCTION ON SEASON SEVEN THIS SUMMER' (Press release). HBO. July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
107. ^'EXCLUSIVE – Game of Thrones is back in Dubrovnik'. The Dubrovnik Times. December 14, 2016. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
108. ^Swift, Andy (July 6, 2016). 'Game of Thrones Season 7 Production Delayed'. TVLine. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
109. ^Moreau, Jordan (May 7, 2019). 'Jessica Chastain, Ava DuVernay Call Out 'Game of Thrones' for Treatment of Women'. Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
110. ^'Game of Thrones season 7: US and UK air date, teaser trailer, official poster, cast, rumors, and everything you need to know'. GamesRadar. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
111. ^'ALIK SAKHAROV ASC'. Cinematographers. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
112. ^ ^abcdefghij'Game of Thrones'. Emmys.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
113. ^Ginsberg, Merle (June 19, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' Season 6 Adds New Costume Designer'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
114. ^Hibberd, James (June 29, 2016). 'Game of Thrones season 7 directors revealed'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
115. ^ ^abcWischhover, Cheryl (June 4, 2012). 'Game of Thrones' Hair and Wardrobe Secrets Revealed'. Fashionista. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
116. ^ ^abSnead, Elizabeth (June 11, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' Designer Michelle Clapton's Secret Source for Wildling Bones: eBay'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
117. ^Elio (September 16, 2012). 'Game of Thrones Wins Big at Creative Arts Emmys'. Westeros.org. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
118. ^Elio (June 22, 2011). 'Interview with VFX Producer Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor'. Westeros.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
119. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 2'. Pixomondo. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
120. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 3'. Pixomondo. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
121. ^'Mackevision erhält Emmy-Nominierung für visuelle Effekte in 'Game of Thrones' – Pressemeldung'(PDF) (in German). Mackevision. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
122. ^Johnson, Thomas (March 19, 2015). 'How 'Game of Thrones' creates its dragons'. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
123. ^'Game of Thrones'. Image Engine. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
124. ^'Current Projects'. Crazy Horse Effects. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
125. ^Andersen, Asbjoern (August 6, 2014). 'This is how the fantastical sound of Game Of Thrones is made'. A Sound Effect. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
126. ^Calautti, Katie (June 12, 2014). 'Game of Thrones: The Secrets Behind All the Stabbings, Screams, and Sex Scenes'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
127. ^Fernandez, Sofia M. (September 10, 2011). 'Emmys 2011: 'Game of Thrones' Title Sequence Gives Series Its First Emmy'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
128. ^ ^abPerkins, Will (May 11, 2011). 'Game of Thrones (2011)'. Art of the Title. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
129. ^Axelrod, John (March 30, 2013). 'How The Innovative Game Of Thrones Opening Credits Were Built'. Forbes. Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
130. ^Appelo, Tim (April 19, 2011). 'Secrets Behind 'Game of Thrones' Opening Credits (Video)'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
131. ^Ryan, Maureen (February 2, 2011). ''Game of Thrones' Changes Its Tune, Hires New Composer'. AOL TV. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
132. ^'Game of Thrones Soundtrack Details'. Film Music Reporter. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
133. ^'Ramin Djawadi Biography'. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
134. ^ ^abVineyard, Jennifer (July 21, 2016). 'Game of Thrones Composer Ramin Djawadi on the Show's Key Musical Elements, and That Godfather-esque Finale Tune'. Vulture. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
135. ^McNeil, Colin (June 24, 2016). 'Dissecting the real-world accents in Game of Thrones Metro News'. Metro Toronto. Toronto: Free Daily News Group Inc. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
136. ^Epstein, Adam (June 27, 2016). 'With a wink to its audience, 'Game of Thrones' told its most annoying characters to shut up'. Quartz. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
137. ^Read, Max (May 6, 2013). 'What Is Going on With the Accents in Game of Thrones?'. Gawker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
138. ^Martin, Denise (April 23, 2013). 'Learn to Speak Dothraki and Valyrian From the Man Who Invented Them for Game of Thrones'. Vulture. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
139. ^'Game of Thrones: Can you speak Dothraki?'. BBC Radio 4's Today programme. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
140. ^'Game of Thrones season 3 to film in Northern Ireland'. Northern Ireland Screen. April 12, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
141. ^ ^abBradley, Una (April 12, 2013). 'The 'Game of Thrones' tourists: How much is the hit HBO fantasy series worth to its home, Northern Ireland?'. The Irish Times. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
142. ^'New advertising campaign to showcase Northern Ireland to millions of Game of Thrones® fans worldwide'. Tourism Ireland. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
143. ^McHugh, Robert (December 14, 2015). 'Tourism Ireland wins top marketing award for Game of Thrones campaign'. Business World. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
144. ^McAdam, Noel (May 16, 2012). 'Game of Thrones pumped £43m into Northern Ireland's economy, and more could be on the way'. The Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
145. ^Pym, Hugh (May 11, 2014). 'Game of Thrones boost to economy in Northern Ireland'. BBC News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
146. ^Spangler, Todd (September 24, 2018). ''Game of Thrones' Filming Locations in Northern Ireland to Open as Tourist Attractions'. Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
147. ^Adam, Shabana (April 17, 2013). 'Travel News: Game of Thrones Sparks Big Boosts in Hotel Bookings to Filming Locations'. Female First. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
148. ^Liman, Love (May 3, 2017). 'Game of Thrones Crowns Iceland Krona as World's Best Currency'. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017.
149. ^Lowe, Josh (May 3, 2017). 'Iceland's Economy is Booming—Thanks to a Little Help from Game of Throne'. Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017.
150. ^Mirella-Marie Katarina Radman (August 20, 2017). 'Game Changer: How Dubrovnik Benefits and Loses from Being King's Landing'. The Dubrovnik Times. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
151. ^'Throngs Enticed by 'Game of Thrones' Threaten a Magical City'. The New York Times. August 19, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
152. ^Blum, Jeremy (April 30, 2014). 'Game of Thrones premieres on CCTV, viewers call it an edited 'mess''. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
153. ^'International Game of Thrones airings'. WinterIsComing.net. August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
154. ^Hibberd, James (November 30, 2011). ''Game of Thrones' scoop: DVD release date, details, photos'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
155. ^Richwine, Lisa (March 16, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' rules HBO's DVD sales'. Reuters. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
156. ^'Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season Premium Edition Gift Box [8 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] (Blu-ray Disc)'. Best Buy. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
157. ^''Game of Thrones' season 2 DVD date and extras revealed'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
158. ^Hibberd, James (February 22, 2013). ''Game of Thrones' early DVD sales breaking HBO records'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
159. ^'Game of Thrones season 3 on iTunes Australian Store'. iTunes Store. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
160. ^Lambert, David (June 24, 2013). 'Game of Thrones – 2014 Release Date, Package Art for 'The Complete 3rd Season', on DVD, Blu'. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016.
161. ^Lambert, David (July 16, 2014). 'Game of Thrones – 'The Complete 4th Season' Press Release: Date, Art, Cost, Extras'. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016.
162. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 5 [Blu-ray + Digital HD]'. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
163. ^'Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season [Blu-ray]'. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
164. ^Vaughn, David (January 29, 2016). 'Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming—In Atmos'. Sound & Vision. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
165. ^'Game of Thrones 4K: The Complete First Season Blu-ray'. Blu-ray.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
166. ^ ^abcJarvey, Natalie (April 9, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' Piracy Soars Ahead of Season 5 Premiere'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
167. ^Greenberg, Andy (May 9, 2012). 'HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' On Track To Be Crowned Most Pirated Show Of 2012'. Forbes. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
168. ^''Game of Thrones' Most Pirated TV-Show of 2013'. TorrentFreak. December 25, 2013. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
169. ^Williams, Rhiannon (April 8, 2014). 'Game of Thrones still most pirated TV show'. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
170. ^Kamen, Matt (December 28, 2015). 'Game of Thrones tops 2015's piracy charts'. Wired. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
171. ^Van der Sar, Ernesto (December 26, 2016). ''Game of Thrones' Most Torrented TV-Show of 2016'. TorrentFreak. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
172. ^Ernesto (December 26, 2017). ''Game of Thrones' Most Torrented TV-Show of 2017'. TorrentFreak. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
173. ^'Game of Thrones tops TV show internet piracy chart'. BBC News. December 24, 2012. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
174. ^'Game of Thrones Most Pirated TV-Show of 2012'. TorrentFreak. December 23, 2012. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
175. ^'Who's Pirating Game of Thrones, And Why?'. TorrentFreak. May 20, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
176. ^Piotrowski, Daniel (April 25, 2013). 'US ambassador Jeffrey Bleich pleads: Australia, stop pirating Game of Thrones'. The Age. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
177. ^Kain, Erik (May 10, 2012). 'International Audiences Have Few Choices To Legally Watch HBO's 'Game Of Thrones''. Forbes. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
178. ^'Why People Pirate Game of Thrones, a Global Cost Breakdown'. TorrentFreak. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
179. ^Pinchefsky, Carol (March 3, 2013). 'How HBO Is Protecting 'Game of Thrones' from Online Piracy in 2013'. Forbes. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
180. ^'Nearly Half of Game of Thrones Season 5 Just Leaked'. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016.
181. ^Steinberg, Joseph (April 12, 2015). 'Nearly Half Of 'Game of Thrones' Upcoming Season Leaks Online – Was HBO Hacked?'. Forbes. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
182. ^Denham, Jess (April 23, 2015). 'Game of Thrones season 5 breaks piracy record with 32m illegal downloads'. The Independent. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
183. ^'Game of Thrones Season Finale breaks Piracy Records'. TorrentFreak. June 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
184. ^Hibberd, James (March 2, 2016). 'Game of Thrones lockdown: HBO won't send press any season 6 episodes'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
185. ^'Downloads don't matter'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
186. ^Kuchera, Ben (April 21, 2014). 'Game of Thrones is the first 'free-to-play' TV show, and gaming is racing to catch up'. Polygon. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
187. ^'Game of Thrones at the Oxford Union – Full Address'. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015 – via YouTube.
188. ^Lynch, Kevin (August 31, 2015). 'Maisie Williams overjoyed as Game of Thrones marches into Guinness World Records 2016'. Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
189. ^Hibberd, James (January 6, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' coming to IMAX: First TV series released in format'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
190. ^Khatchatourian, Maane (January 31, 2015). 'Box Office: 'Game of Thrones' Eyes $2 Million in Imax Debut'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
191. ^Mendelson, Scott (February 1, 2015). 'Box Office: 'American Sniper' Sets Super Bowl Record, 'Game Of Thrones' Scores IMAX Touchdown'. Forbes. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
192. ^'Game of Thrones (IMAX) (2015)'. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. February 6, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
193. ^Gregory, Mathilda (July 23, 2010). 'Is A Game of Thrones the most eagerly anticipated TV show ever?'. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on November 20, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
194. ^Colins, Scott (August 8, 2010). 'With 'Game of Thrones,' HBO is playing for another 'True Blood''. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
195. ^Williams, Joel (March 30, 2012). 'Mainstream finally believes fantasy fans'. CNN. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
196. ^'Amazon's Lord of the Rings Series: What Is the Second Age?'. Vulture. March 11, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
197. ^Hughes, Sarah (April 1, 2019). 'What's the next Game of Thrones? All the contenders for fantasy TV's crown'. The Guardian. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
198. ^Lacob, Jace (September 21, 2012). ''Game of Thrones': 'Modern Family,' 'Parks and Rec' Writers on Why They Love the HBO Drama'. The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
199. ^O'Brian, Liam (December 26, 2012). 'Game of Thrones inspired Huskie craze goes cold as owners give up on dogs'. The Independent. London. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
200. ^Hann, Michael (March 11, 2012). 'How 'sexposition' fleshes out the story'. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
201. ^Steinmetz, Kate (September 25, 2012). 'And the Top TV Words of the Year Are..'Time. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
202. ^Brescia, Ray (July 6, 2012). 'Game of Robes: Why Conservatives May Ultimately Praise the Roberts Switch on Health Care Reform'. HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
203. ^Varsavsky, Martin (July 4, 2012). 'The Game of Thrones Around Us'. HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
204. ^Garnaut, John (July 1, 2012). 'Strongmen of China playing a risky game of thrones'. The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
205. ^Suskind, Alex (May 9, 2019). 'Taylor Swift reveals how Game of Thrones (and Arya's kill list) inspired reputation'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
206. ^O'Neil, Lauren (April 11, 2014). 'There are now more babies named 'Khaleesi' than 'Betsy' or 'Nadine' in the U.S.'CBC News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
207. ^ ^abScharl A, Hubmann-Haidvogel A, Jones A, Fischl D, Kamolov R, Weichselbraun A, Rafelsberger W (2016). 'Analyzing the public discourse on works of fiction - Detection and visualization of emotion in online coverage about HBO's Game of Thrones'. Information Processing and Management. 52 (1): 129–138. doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2015.02.003. PMC4804387. PMID27065510.
208. ^Lipoff JB (2016). 'Greyscale-A Mystery Dermatologic Disease on HBO's Game of Thrones'. JAMA Dermatology. 152 (8): 904. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.5793. PMID27532353.
209. ^ ^abLystad RP, Brown BT (2018). 'Death is certain, the time is not: mortality and survival in Game of Thrones'. Injury Epidemiology. 5: 44. doi:10.1186/s40621-018-0174-7. PMID30535868.
210. ^Simkins, J.D. (April 11, 2019). 'The worst war criminals in 'Game of Thrones' ranked'. Military Times. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
211. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 1 (2011)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
212. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 1'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
213. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 2 (2012)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
214. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 2'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
215. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
216. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 3'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
217. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 4'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
218. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 4'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
219. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 5 (2015)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
220. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 5'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
221. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 6 (2016)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
222. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 6'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
223. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 7'. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
224. ^ ^ab'Game of Thrones: Season 7'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
225. ^'Game of Thrones: Season 8'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
226. ^'Game of Thrones - Season 8 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
227. ^'Thrones lands on tons of top TV shows of 2011 lists'. WinterIsComing.net. December 23, 2011. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
228. ^Martin, George R. R. (December 21, 2011). 'Plaudits for GAME OF THRONES'. Not A Blog. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
229. ^'Game of Thrones: The best of 2012'. WinterIsComing.net. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
230. ^Gilbert, Matthew (April 15, 2011). 'Fantasy comes true with HBO's 'Game of Thrones''. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
231. ^ ^abMcNamara, Mary (April 15, 2011). 'Swords, sex and struggles'. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
232. ^Paskin, Willa (March 29, 2012). 'Bloody, bloody 'Game of Thrones''. Salon. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
233. ^Roush, Matt (April 15, 2011). 'Roush Review: Grim Thrones Is a Crowning Achievement'. TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
234. ^'The Tywin and Arya Show'. Rolling Stone. May 15, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
235. ^'Death! Despair! Dragons! How The 'Game of Thrones' Finale Changed The Game For Everyone'. Decider. June 15, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
236. ^Tucker, Ken (April 14, 2011). 'Game of Thrones (2011)'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
237. ^Levine, Stuart (December 27, 2011). 'Cablers hit highs, lows, PR hurdles in 2011'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
238. ^Tucker, Ken (March 21, 2012). 'TV Review: Game Of Thrones (2012)'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
239. ^Goodman, Tim (March 27, 2012). ''Game of Thrones' Season 2: TV Review'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
240. ^Genzlinger, Neil (March 29, 2012). 'Uneasy Lies the Head That Steals a Crown: 'Game of Thrones' on HBO'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
241. ^Farokhmanesh, Megan (August 14, 2017). 'Game of Thrones' current breakneck pace is gutting its most anticipated reunions'. The Verge. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
242. ^Franich, Darren (May 20, 2019). 'Game of Thrones was… okay: EW review'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
243. ^ ^abKornhaber, Spencer; Orr, Christopher; Sullivan, Amy (May 17, 2015). 'Game of Thrones: A Pointless Horror and a Ridiculous Fight'. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
244. ^Frost, Caroline (January 14, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' Star Stephen Dillane Admits the Nudity Is Like 'German Porn from the 1970s''. HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
245. ^ ^abAnders, Charlie Jane (May 2, 2012). 'Is Game of Thrones' gratuitous sex worse than the gratuitous violence?'. io9. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
246. ^Holmes, Anna (April 26, 2012). 'Skin is wearing thin on HBO's 'Game of Thrones''. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
247. ^Ryan, Maureen (May 29, 2011). ''Game of Thrones' Season 1, Episode 7 Recap'. AOL TV. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
248. ^Toder, Matt (April 15, 2012). 'SNL Explains the Nudity in Game of Thrones'. Gawker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
249. ^Orr, Christopher (May 13, 2013). 'Game of Thrones' Worst Scene Yet?'. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
250. ^David, Allison P. (May 12, 2014). 'Game of Thrones Couple of the Week: Tyrion and Shae Are Never Getting Back Together'. New York. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
251. ^Davis, Madeleine (May 13, 2013). 'Game of Boners: This Is Torture Porn'. Jezebel. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
252. ^Saraiya, Sonia (April 20, 2014). 'Rape of Thrones Why are the Game Of Thrones showrunners rewriting the books into misogyny?'. The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
253. ^Silman, Anna (May 18, 2015). 'Here's why people are so upset about the latest 'Game of Thrones' rape: 'So cheap, such an obvious choice, I felt offended as a fan''. Salon. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
254. ^Runcie, Charlotte (May 17, 2015). 'Game of Thrones: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, season 5 episode 6, review: 'raw emotion''. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
255. ^Leon, Melissa (May 19, 2015). 'The Rape of Sansa Stark: 'Game of Thrones' Goes Off-Book and Enrages Its Female Fans'. The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
256. ^Robinson, Joanna (May 17, 2015). 'Game of Thrones Absolutely Did Not Need to Go There with Sansa Stark'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
257. ^Stewart, Sara (May 19, 2015). 'It's a Stark reality: Outrage over Sansa rape scene misses the point'. New York Post. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
258. ^Pantozzi, Jill (May 18, 2015). 'We Will No Longer Be Promoting HBO's Game of Thrones'. The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
259. ^Cillizza, Chris (May 19, 2015). 'Claire McCaskill is done with 'Game of Thrones' after Sunday's rape scene. She's got a point'. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
260. ^Rosenberg, Alyssa (August 9, 2017). 'The arguments about women and power in 'Game of Thrones' have never been more unsettling'. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
261. ^D'Addadio, Daniel (July 10, 2017). ''Game of Thrones': Inside the World's Most Popular Show'. Time. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
262. ^Flint, Hanna (April 29, 2019). 'This is why the lighting is so bad in 'Game of Thrones''. Yahoo. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Every week, social media is filled with complaints about how dark the scenes looks and more importantly how it affects their ability to see the action.
263. ^Lallo, Michael (September 9, 2016). 'Will someone please turn on the lights: Why have TV dramas literally become so dark?'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved May 7, 2019. To many fans, Game of Thrones is too dark. Not figuratively – they literally can't perceive what's happening on screen.
264. ^Sharf, Zack (April 17, 2019). 'Does 'Game of Thrones' Have an 'Ozark' Problem? Season 8 Is So Dark It's Hard to See'. IndieWire. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Fear's jokey comment encapsulated one of the biggest fan criticisms about the 'Game of Thrones' premiere: The show is so visually dark that viewers can't even see what's happening on screen. Many fans took to social media during the episode to complain about the color palette, with some wondering if it was their TV brightness setting that was the issue.
265. ^Warner, Sam (April 16, 2019). 'Game of Thrones viewers have one big complaint about season 8, episode 1'. Digital Spy. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Yep, many complained that parts of the episode were too dark – and we don't mean just twisted dark after seeing the Night King's artistic flair.
266. ^Callegari, Caitlyn (May 29, 2016). '31 Times 'Game of Thrones' Needed To Lighten Up, Literally'. Bustle. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Game of Thrones needs to turn on the lights, or else I am sending them my ophthalmologist bill. For real, GoT powers that be, it's super hard to squint for a straight hour every week because your episodes are so freakin' dark.
267. ^Dessem, Matthew (June 29, 2016). 'Why TV Shows Are Darker Than They've Ever Been'. Slate. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Watching Game of Thrones this season, you may have asked yourself: Is something wrong with my television? Surely there is some other setting that would brighten up the inside of Bran Stark's cave, or heighten the contrast between Cersei Lannister's robes and the shadowy chambers of her prison cell. But no, that's just the way the show is supposed to look. And Game of Thrones is not alone: HBO has made a cottage industry of dimly-lit hourlong dramas
268. ^Burgess, Genevieve (March 19, 2016). 'Why is TV, Literally, So Dark?'. Pajiba. Retrieved May 7, 2019. A lot of these shows are also made by people who have experience working primarily on films, and film aesthetic has always been visually darker than TV. Because films are meant to be watched on very large screens in very dark rooms, while most TV is watched on smaller screens in brightly lit rooms. It seems the people making these shows aren't evaluating the lighting for the proper venue.
269. ^Renfro, Kim (August 19, 2017). ''Game of Thrones' cinematographer reveals the unexpected perils of filming: 'They were going to pull us all off the cliff''. Insider. Retrieved May 7, 2019. I think we're all very much on the same page where we're trying to be as naturalistic as possible. We want to make these sets and locations feel as if they're absolutely not lit by us, but only by mother nature or some candles..
270. ^Paine, Hannah (April 29, 2019). 'Game of Thrones fans fume over 'too dark' episode'. news.com.au. Retrieved May 7, 2019. It's not the first time Game of Thrones has come under fire for its shots being too dark, however. According to one of the show's cinematographers, it's a very deliberate choice.
271. ^Serrels, Mark (April 28, 2019). 'Game of Thrones battle was the biggest ever, but way too dark to see'. CNET. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
272. ^Lam, Katherine (April 29, 2019). ''Game of Thrones' fans complain about 'too dark' lighting in Battle of Winterfell'. Fox News. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
273. ^Drum, Nicole (April 28, 2019). 'Game of Thrones Fans Are Furious the Winterfell Battle Scenes Are Too Dark'. Comicbook.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
274. ^Nyren, Erin (April 28, 2019). ''Game of Thrones' Fans Complain About Battle of Winterfell's Dark Cinematography'. Variety. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
275. ^Parker, Sam (April 30, 2019). 'Lighten up, Jon Snow: why is Game of Thrones so ridiculously dark?'. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
276. ^Dessem, Matthew (April 29, 2019). 'Why You Couldn't See a Damn Thing on This Week's Game of Thrones'. Slate. Retrieved May 7, 2019. On Sunday night, Twitter was full of viewers complaining about the show's cinematography, which has often been dark, but never quite so consistently stygian.
277. ^ ^ab'The 25 Most Devoted Fan Bases'. Vulture. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
278. ^Shear, Michael (December 29, 2013). 'Obama's TV Picks'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
279. ^Ghahremani, Tanya (December 30, 2013). 'President Obama 'Really Likes' Game of Thrones, In Case You Were Wondering'. Complex. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
280. ^Armstrong, Victoria (April 7, 2015). 'David Cameron admits he is a 'Throney' and 'huge fan' on Game of Thrones studio tour'. Daily Express. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
281. ^Taylor, Lenore (May 30, 2013). 'Julia Gillard reveals Game of Thrones addiction'. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
282. ^Gillard, Julia (April 7, 2014). 'Game of Thrones has parallels with my time as Australian prime minister'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
283. ^Luoma, Sarah (May 31, 2013). 'Dutch foreign minister uses 'Game of Thrones' as political analogy'. Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
284. ^Templeton, Molly (June 16, 2013). 'The best (and the weirdest) of 'Game of Thrones' fanfiction'. Salon. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
285. ^de Castella, Tom (March 22, 2013). 'Game of Thrones: Why does it inspire such devotion among fans?'. BBC News Magazine. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
286. ^Carlson, Adam (May 10, 2013). ''Game of Thrones' domination is nearly complete: 'Arya' is the fastest-rising name for baby girls'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
287. ^Hibberd, James (March 31, 2013). 'HBO: 'Game of Thrones' piracy is a compliment'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
288. ^Watercutter, Angela (June 3, 2013). 'Yes, Women Really Do Like Game of Thrones (We Have Proof)'. Wired. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
289. ^Kellie, Helen (October 26, 2012). 'Social is coming of age in the marketing mix – a TV perspective'. Marketing magazine. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
290. ^Nguyen, Nicole (May 3, 2013). 'In the Game of Thrones, These Podcasts Play to Win'. Geeksugar. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
291. ^'Complete List of Recipients of the 71st Annual Peabody Awards'. Peabody Awards. April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
292. ^Dockterman, Eliana (September 18, 2016). 'Game of Thrones Now Has the Most Emmy Wins Ever'. Time. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
293. ^''101 Best Written TV Series Of All Time' From WGA/TV Guide: Complete List'. Deadline Hollywood. June 2, 2013. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
294. ^'Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
295. ^'The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time'. Empire. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
296. ^'100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
297. ^'Golden Globes 2012: The Winners List'. The Hollywood Reporter. January 15, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
298. ^West, Kelly (June 19, 2011). 'The 2011 Scream Awards Winners: Vampires, Wizards And Swans'. Cinemablend. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
299. ^'2011 Winners'. International Press Academy. June 19, 2011. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
300. ^Prudom, Laura (September 20, 2015). ''Game of Thrones' Sets Record for Most Emmy Wins in a Year'. Variety. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
301. ^Prudom, Laura (July 14, 2016). ''Game of Thrones' Rules 2016 Emmy Race With 23 Nominations'. Variety. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
302. ^''Game of Thrones,' Netflix Lead Emmy Nominees'. Variety. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
303. ^Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 17, 2018). 'Emmys: Mrs. Maisel, Versace, Barry and Game of Thrones Among Big Winners'. TVLine. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
304. ^'Emmys: Netflix Beats HBO With Most Nominations'. The Hollywood Reporter. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
305. ^Thomas, June (March 29, 2012). 'How Much Gold Is Game of Thrones Worth'. Slate. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
306. ^'HBO Renews 'Game of Thrones' for Fourth Season' (Press release). HBO. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
307. ^Ritter, Dan (August 7, 2013). 'Game of Thrones is Time Warner's Cash Cow'. Wall Street Cheat Sheet. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
308. ^Adalian, Josef (June 8, 2013). 'For HBO, Game of Thrones Ratings Second Only to The Sopranos'. Vulture. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
309. ^Fienberg, Daniel (June 5, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' has become more popular than 'The Sopranos' sorta kinda'. HitFix. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
310. ^Sinha-Roy, Piya (June 16, 2014). ''Game of Thrones' draws 7.1 million viewers for blood-filled finale'. Reuters. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
311. ^Shepherd, Jack (July 19, 2016). 'Game of Thrones season 6 ratings: Show brought in 25.1 million viewers on average per episode'. The Independent. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
312. ^Katz, Josh (December 27, 2016). ''Duck Dynasty' vs. 'Modern Family': 50 Maps of the U.S. Cultural Divide'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
313. ^Koblin, John (August 28, 2017). ''Game of Thrones' Finale Sets Ratings Record'. The New York Times.
314. ^''Game of Thrones' Season 8 Debut Breaks HBO Rating Records'. Time. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
315. ^Plunkett, John (July 6, 2016). 'Game of Thrones most popular Sky series ever with 5m viewers'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
316. ^Idato, Michael (June 29, 2016). 'Game of Thrones season six finale sets Australian audience record for Foxtel'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
317. ^For the first season (excluding the average ratings), see 'Updated: 'Game of Thrones' Ratings: Season One'. TV by the Numbers. June 19, 2011. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.

     For the second season and the average ratings of the first season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Two Ratings'. TV Series Finale. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.

     For the third season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Three Ratings'. TV Series Finale. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.

     For the fourth season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Four Ratings'. TV Series Finale. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.

     For the fifth season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Five Ratings'. TV Series Finale. June 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.

     For the sixth season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Six Ratings'. TV Series Finale. June 28, 2016. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.

     For the seventh season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Seven Ratings'. TV Series Finale. August 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.

     For the eighth season, see 'Game of Thrones: Season Eight Ratings'. TV Series Finale. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

318. ^Fahey, Mike (April 22, 2013). 'Game of Thrones: Ascent is More Up-to-Date With the Show Than You Are'. Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
319. ^Harris, David (February 13, 2018). 'Behaviour Interactive is developing a mobile Game of Thrones strategy game'. WinterisComing.net. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
320. ^McCluskey, Megan (August 23, 2018). 'Ascend the Iron Throne in New Game of Thrones Video Game'. Time. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
321. ^Sacco, Dominic (June 11, 2013). 'Brand Profiles: Game of Thrones'. Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
322. ^Miller, Julie (May 9, 2013). ''Is the $10,500 Game of Thrones Watch Blood-Resistant?' and Our Other Most Pressing Concerns About the Official 'Night's' Timepiece'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
323. ^Miller, Julie (June 5, 2012). 'The Pros and Cons of Owning a $30,000 Game of Thrones Replica Throne'. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
324. ^'Exhibition'. HBO. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
325. ^'Thronecast: The Official Fan Show for Game of Thrones on Sky Atlantic HD'. iTunes Store. April 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
326. ^Whelan, Robbie (March 4, 2014). 'Unlikely Mix: Rappers, Dragons and Fantasy: HBO Hires Hip-Hop, Latin-Music Artists to Promote 'Game of Thrones''. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
327. ^Joyce, Colin (March 7, 2015). 'Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, Mastodon, More To Appear On 'Game of Thrones' Mixtape'. Spin. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
328. ^Edwards, Richard (September 21, 2012). 'Inside HBO's Game Of Thrones by Bryan Cogman REVIEW'. SFX. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
329. ^Snierson, Dan (April 4, 2016). 'HBO orders Game of Thrones weekly after-show from Bill Simmons'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
330. ^'Game of Thrones concert experience hits the road in 2017'. The Guardian. August 8, 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
331. ^'Have you experienced 'Game Of Thrones' live in concert?'. Grammy.com. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
332. ^Hertweck, Nate (September 26, 2017). ''Game Of Thrones' Live Experience Is Coming To A Town Near You'. Grammy.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
333. ^Walsh, Michael (November 11, 2016). 'New GAME OF THRONES History Tells Us a Few Things About the Future'. Nerdist. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
334. ^Lutes, Alicia (September 14, 2017). 'Explore the Targaryen Conquest of Westeros in New GAME OF THRONES Animated Short'. Nerdist. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
335. ^Hibberd, James (September 20, 2017). 'Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman developing a 5th prequel series'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
336. ^Goldberg, Lesley (May 14, 2017). ''Game of Thrones': Fifth 'Successor Show' in the Works at HBO, George R.R. Martin Says'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
337. ^Hibberd, James (June 2, 2017). 'Game of Thrones: HBO clarifies prequels, final seasons plan'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
338. ^Martin, George R.R. (May 14, 2017). 'About Those Spinoffs ..'Not A Blog. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
339. ^Cain, Sian (November 10, 2018). 'I've been struggling with it': George RR Martin on The Winds of Winter'. The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
340. ^Hibberd, James (June 8, 2018). 'Breaking: 'Game of Thrones' prequel pilot ordered by HBO. Full details ..'Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
341. ^Schedeen, Jesse (June 16, 2018). 'Game of Thrones Spinoff: What is The Age of Heroes?'. IGN. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
342. ^Martin, George R. R. (June 11, 2018). 'HBO Greenlights Goldman Pilot'. georgerrmartin.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
343. ^'Game of Thrones prequel Bloodmoon has already started filming in Belfast'. The Sun. May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
344. ^Patten, Dominic (February 8, 2019). ''Crazy' Not To Consider More 'Game Of Thrones' Spinoffs, HBO Chief Says – TCA'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
345. ^Kroll, Justin; Otterson, Joe (October 30, 2018). ''Game of Thrones' Prequel Casts Naomi Watts in Lead Role'. Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
346. ^Petski, Denise (March 27, 2019). ''Game Of Thrones' Prequel HBO Pilot Adds Five Series Regulars To Cast'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
347. ^D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 25, 2018). ''Game Of Thrones': HBO Boss On Finale Season Premiere, Prequel – TCA'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
348. ^Roots, Kimberly (April 24, 2019). 'Game of Thrones Producer Bryan Cogman's Spinoff Series Dead at HBO: 'I Am Done With Westeros''. TVLine. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
349. ^Romano, Nick (May 4, 2019). 'George R.R. Martin says three Game of Thrones spin-offs still in the works'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Game of Thrones on IMDb

Since Game of Thrones’ beginning, everybody’s been talking about the Old Gods and the New. The High Sparrow and other High Septons preach the Faith of the Seven (the “New” gods), but the Old Gods worshipped by Northern houses like the Starks tap into the deeper, more ancient magic of the world. The Children of the Forest, the Three-Eyed Raven, weirwood trees, Godswoods, and yes, even the Night King are all connected to the magic of Westeros’ natural world and the Old Gods of the Forest. And then there’s the Lord of Light (basically, monotheism).

Yeah, religion is weird in Westeros.

With the Great Battle of Winterfell coming up and only three more episodes after that, Godswoods and the weirwood trees could become increasingly important leading into to the Game of Thrones series finale. After else, how else can you defeat the Night King but with magic of some kind?

What Are Weirwood Trees on Game of Thrones?

Weirwoods are a deciduous tree found throughout Westeros with white bark and blood-red leaves. They live for an extraordinary amount of time and have supernatural properties. All weirwood trees seemingly tap into a magical network running through the world and are connected in some way to the Old Gods of the Forest.

The Children of the Forest seemingly marked the most important weirwood trees for this reason. Before Bran Stark became the Three-Eyed Raven, touching one could trigger prophetic visions of the future. For both he and Jojen Reed, the trees would show them what they’d seen of the world.

As the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark can theoretically perceive anything observed by any weirwood tree in the world at any point in time, but he can also warg into any living creature. That helps explain why he acts so weird all the time, right?

What Are Heart Trees on Game of Thrones?

When the Children of the Forest deemed a weirwood tree special enough, they carved a face into its bark meant to be physical manifestation of a Forest God. Referred to as “heart trees,” these special trees became sacred places of worship for followers of the Old Gods, namely the Children and the First Men. In one sense, heart trees are the Old Gods.

Not all weirwood trees are heart trees, but all heart trees are definitely weirwood trees. It’s unclear if generic weirwood trees have any magical properties, but it’s possible.

In their entire class, Jon and Sam are the only Night’s Watch inductees to take oath under a Heart Tree north of the Wall, which speaks to how few people still worship the Old Gods. The fact that it’s located north of the Wall makes venturing to it considerably dangerous.

What Are Godswoods on Game of Thrones?

When the First Men invaded Westeros, they started a war with the Children of the Forest that led to the creation of the Night King. Both sides were then forced to fight the Night King together, and after they won, the First Men agreed to worship the Old Gods as part of the peace treaty. As such, every major castle and settlement in Westeros is built around a weirwood tree, and the shrine-like area surrounding it is called a godswood.

Even King’s Landing has a godswood, but when the Andals invaded Westeros thousands of years later, they cut down many weirwood trees as they spread the Faith of the Seven and established the High Septon. The Andals weren’t able to defeat the First Men that held the North, however, which is why most Northern castles like Winterfell still have an active godswood. (It would take a few thousand more years before the Targaryens left Valyria and invaded Westeros to establish the unified Seven Kingdoms.)

In all cases, a godswood remains some kind of intensely sacred ground, but they have great importance in places like Winterfell.

How Does It All Connect to Game of Thrones Season 8?

Game Of Thrones White Trees

Bran spends so much time hanging out in the Winterfell godswood because his magic is intimately tied to the tree, but so is the Night King’s. The Children of the Forest created the Night King by shoving a piece of dragonglass into his heart, and they did this in a godswood somewhere. It therefore feels right that Bran should bait the Night King by waiting in the Winterfell godswood in the sight of the heart tree.

Should the army of the living lose the Great Battle of Winterfell, they do have a slightly apocalyptic option they can use as a last-ditch effort.

Weirwood Game Of Thrones

We’ve never seen it on the show, but there’s a magical island called the Isle of Faces in the middle of a mystical lake just northwest of King’s Landing. Jojen and Meera Reed’s father, Howland Reed, is supposedly a greenseer that spent a long time in the mystical place before eventually traveling with Ned Stark to the Tower of Joy, where he was instrumental in rescuing baby Jon Snow.

Some people, like redditor u/zyuko22, have theorized that some kind of “Grand Weirwood Tree” exists at the Isle of Faces as the source of all magic. If it does exist, then in theory, destroying something like a Grand Weirwood Tree would eliminate the magic of the Old Gods from the world entirely. The theory adds that Beric burning the spiral symbol at Last Hearth in Episode 2 may have foreshadowed the destruction of the entire magical network of weirwood trees by burning the central source.

This could potentially be the key to defeating the Night King and destroying his entire undead army, but it would probably also destroy the Three-Eyed Raven in the process. Both seemingly draw their magic from the Old Gods, so it might be up to Sam to preserve the memory of the world in book form at the Citadel in Oldtown instead.

However, u/zyuko22 goes one step further to theorize that all magic comes from the same source.

“The Lord of Light is synonymous with the Grand Weirwood, and uses these weirwoods as a beacon to communicate with the physical world,” they write. “In other words, I think even though these are two separately practiced religions, the god at the center of both is the same entity.”

If this were the case, then destroying the Grand Weirwood would also kill Lady Melisandre, Beric Dondarrion, and even Jon Snow. Maybe even Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons.

Wouldn’t that make for an epic and totally tragic finale?

Game of Thrones Season 8 airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. Eastern.