Beverly Hills - HBO will
debut the final season of its international hit "Game of
Thrones" in the first half of next year and it aims to start
production on a prequel in 2019, a network executive said on
Wednesday.
Casey Bloys, HBO's president of programming, speaking at a
Television Critics Association event, declined to provide
details on the eighth and final "Game of Thrones" season or to
provide a more specific premiere date.
The Emmy-winning medieval fantasy series is HBO's biggest
hit ever with some 30 million viewers in the United States and
an army of devoted fans worldwide.
HBO, a unit of AT&T Inc, also is in the process of
searching for a director and cast for a "Game of Thrones"
prequel, Bloys said in response to questions. He said he hopes
the prequel pilot will begin filming next year.
The network announced in June that it had ordered the pilot
and would proceed with a full series if the pilot goes well.
The as yet untitled prequel will take place thousands of
years before the events of "Game of Thrones." It was created by
British screenwriter Jane Goldman with author George R.R.
Martin, whose novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" is the basis
for the "Game of Thrones" television series.
It will chronicle "the world's descent from the golden Age
of Heroes into its darkest hour," and look at the secrets of the
history of the warring families in the fictional kingdom of
Westeros, the network has said.
HBO considered five different scripts before settling on the
approach for the prequel.
"The reason we did multiple scripts is out of five, we'd be
lucky to get one we are very excited about," Bloys said.
The remaining four scripts are either dead or still in the
works, he said.