‘Game of Thrones’ renewed for seasons 5 and 6 by HBO
Clearly, HBO has no intention to stop milking the dragon cash cow that is “Game of Thrones.” After Danaerys and company took out the rest of the network’s ratings records over the past five years like they were Robb Stark at the Red Wedding (too soon?) Sunday night, the network confirmed today that they were giving the show a surprising two-season pickup. HBO’s typically one to give early renewals … but two seasons? That’s the sort of thing that typically only “The Big Bang Theory” is lucky enough to get.
This move ensures that “Game of Thrones” will run through the network until at least 2016, and it also brings the show through (at least seemingly) The Winds of Winter, the latest George R.R. Martin book that will probably come out well before season 6 premiere. (Just don’t ask Martin for specifics on it; he’ll probably breathe fire at you.)
What this renewal doesn’t do is stop the panic when it comes to a potential seventh season, and whether or not the show will be actually ahead of the books for a change. Almost nobody wants that, save for maybe a few people here and there who actually want book readers to not spoil the ending for them on Twitter. We feel like either the final book will be out before a season 7, they’ll extend the story of the sixth book into two seasons, or they’ll just go on a hiatus for a while.
Personally, we welcome the move. “Game of Thrones” is all sorts of amazing, and it deserves a chance to be around for as long as it wants! Also, it’s job security to ensure that most of your stars don’t start thinking about a future anywhere else for a while … though we don’t understand why they would want to leave a job that is high-profile, and really doesn’t require you to work that many months of the year compared to other shows.
More “Game of Thrones” awesomeness will come at you starting on Sunday night; just click here to watch a preview! You can also sign up to get further updates from us via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: HBO