HBO has confirmed that “A Game of Thrones” will debut next spring.
The news came during the cable outlet’s portion of the Television Critics Association fall tour. At first, one executive said the series would hit screens on March 3, but another corrected and said it would be in the spring.
“It’s a genre we’ve approached somewhat cautiously,” said Michael Lombardo, HBO’s programming president. “We have two writers … who are so smart and so talented. Neither of us are particularly fans of the genre. It was such enormously compelling reading. It wasn’t the genre we responded to it was the storytelling.”
“It’s really about power,” added Richard Plepler, co-president. “And that’s a theme which has resonated throughout history. You’ll forget where you are very quickly and will find yourself immersed in the storytelling.”
Both executives noted that the show’s intense online fandom is helpful for growing an audience … yet also adds pressure.
“It’s a ravenous audience,” Lombardo said. “You have to get it right. Those fans are waiting. They’ve set a bar that, if you do it, you have to do it right.
Darn tootin they better get it right. Especially the pivotal moments. There are a number of them and they better not change a second of them. Otherwise they run the risk of pulling a Harry Potter and completely derailing the series, like they did with the last movie.
HBO makes the best entertainment out there in my opinion on any size screen.
Just look at their series like The Wire, Rome, Deadwood, Band of Brothers…they just get it and have top notch talent in front of and behind the camera.
I’m hoping and praying they don’t screw the pooch on this too but I think we’re all in for a treat next Spring.
Winter is coming. In the spring.