Game of Thrones documentary coming after series finale
Today, HBO confirmed that they have given the green light to Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, a documentary that has actually been underway for quite some time and will air on May 26, one week on the other side of the series finale. This project, per the description, “delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland … Much more than a ‘making of’ documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.” Jeanie Finlay is the person behind the documentary, which is probably going to elevate the medium that you often end up seeing in a lot of DVD box sets.
The reason for the network to do this is really quite simple: Game of Thrones is a money-making beast and they are going to want to pool together as much cash from it as humanly possible. There’s also an acute awareness going into the final season that it’s going to be a while before HBO can make any more money from it — they do have that prequel series ordered at least to pilot, but it’s probably not going to be coming to the air until at least 2020, if not longer. That’s still an enigma since it may require reshoots or whatever sort of retooling is necessary in order to ensure its perfection. Just remember that Game of Thrones ended up making a number of enormous changes of its own before it ever made it to air.
We do think that this is also a rich opportunity for HBO to really get into the emotional process of making a show like this, and there is absolutely no better example to use. Think about the exhaustion and the tears that went into this series, especially the upcoming Battle of Winterfell, which is being set up already as one of the most-epic battles ever fully captured for television. This took weeks upon weeks to film, often at night, in cold temperatures, and in the mud. It’s one of the most-difficult undertakings that any network could do, but there’s probably an acute awareness that in making this, there will be something that receives extensive praise and attention from people all over the world. Want to see something that you never have before? This may be the best way in which to do it.
The final season of Game of Thrones will premiere come April 14 — for some more updates all about it, be sure to visit the link here.
What do you think about HBO bringing you a Game of Thrones documentary so soon after the finale? Share now in the comments! (Photo: HBO.)