Looking at ‘Game of Thrones’ season 6, timing, and George R.R. Martin’s work
Yes, we know that “Game of Thrones” season 5 has not been released yet, so we know that we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here by discussing the following season.
Ultimately, we simply cannot resist the urge jump into season 6 discussion for a variety of different reasons, with the most notable one being curiosity. How does HBO handle a pretty major elephant in the room? You have a book series that is five deep, and there is no timetable right now on the sixth. This is something that author George R.R. Martin commented on in a reply on his blog, after he was asked about scheduling:
“I certainly hope that THE WINDS OF WINTER is not on the schedule of ANY of my publishers. I have spent years trying to persuade them all not to schedule my books until they are completed and delivered. Scheduling, and then having to reschedule and postpone, just pisses people off. I’d rather not schedule at all until the date is real and certain … This flies against standard publishing practice, however, so it’s a battle that I do not always win.”
We cannot sit here and say with confidence when the book will be released, but we want it to be good and good things take time, so for us we don’t mind waiting – when it’s done whenever it is done.
Personally, our interest as a TV site should be in how the show continues to handle this. For those wondering about if there is a need to delay production on season 6, that feels unlikely. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss know what his story is, and are aware of the material of the sixth book. Therefore, there is not necessarily anything that is stopping them from moving forward with filming a season.
With that being said, we would personally advocate for delaying it in the event this allows readers to get the first crack at it. We feel like the books should always take precedence given that they were the original source. The same goes for season 7; you can delay production if need be (most of the cast is already under contract), and ensure that the book comes out first in this situation. Trust us – fans will wait.
What we are curious about here now is the opinion of the public, especially those avid book-readers that are out there.