HBO ordering next seasons already?

[Andhaira]

I read a rumor on another forum that HBO is about to order season 2 of this series. Any truth to these rumors?

[ingsve]

I don't think there is any official word until after the first episode airs but everything points towards a renewal. For Boardwalk Empire I belive the announcement of a second season came already the day after the premiere. That Show had very good numbers for the first episode but I'm not sure if that had anything to really do with it. GOT has already set a record for foreign sales which in itself may be enough to guarantee a renewal no matter what the ratings of the first episode is.

[{ Emilia }]

That's just one of those typical rumours spread by the producers before release.

It's like with recent big movies. You always hear them talk about a sequel being planned even before the movie is actually released just to make people think: "Wow, this has to be good. They're really confident that it's awesome enough for a sequel."

It's all bullshit of course. If it flops big time it won't be renewed, easy as that. But they're not going to publicly say that. They prefer saying: "omg, this is so awesome, we LOVE it, we'll definitely make a second season. We love it sooooo much, check it out!!!!"

Spin.

[Jack Sparrow]

I read a rumor on another foruym that HBO is about to order season 2 of this series. Any truth to these rumors?

They've already cancelled the series; they're waiting until tomorrow to announce it.

[ZombieWife]

Here is a blurb from my Entertainment Weekly:

Page 21:

"Even though Game of Thrones doesn't debut until April 17, HBO is already considering a renewal for the lavish fantasy epic. Show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been asked to start thinking about story lines for next season, while HBO series chief Sue Naegle tells EW that network executives are "feeling confident" the show will get another round.

"The bullishness isn't necessarily predicting strong ratings. Subscription-based networks like HBO focus on delivering premium content rather than mammoth Nielsens. that's why cop-doctor-lawyer procedural dramas (which draw big numbers for broadcasters) are rare on the pay networks--they're not considered unique enough. Thrones is the most ambitious fantasy TV show ever produced and comes with a devoted fan base that devoured George R.R. Martin's best-selling novels. It's the type of programming HBO believes viewers will pay to see--on the air, and then in the DVD and international marketplace.

"Plus, with its first 10 episodes costing at least $50 million, having only a single outing makes for a rather disastrous proposition. Says Naegle: 'You don't want to see shows like this that are a big investment do one season and out." (JH)

[Ran]

Hibberd did say that decent viewership and subscription numbers were needed to justify to sustain it. At the same time, yeah, Naegel and co. are confident.

I've heard the production office is open, that some department heads are already at work, that some hiring is being done, that some crew members are scheduled to get back to work soon, etc... but truth be told, all of this is stuff that HBO is spending money on in case they renew, so that they can get off the ground running. They are completely capable of calling it all a halt if the numbers come in and they're catastrophic. They've cancelled series that are half way filmed, so they're perfectly willing to eat the cost.

So, official policy for them is that they wait for the numbers. They may be very confident, but they don't buy their own hype, as far as such things go.

[julandro]

A question. The theme of the evolution of the series and then give it a try. As happened with True Blood.

What if it turns out that at first the series has 1.5 million viewers? And little by little, the results have evolved positively.

"HBO would risk a second season?

[ingsve]

When Naegel etc says they are confident it could easily be based on real facts. They won't have the first episode ratings yet but they chould already have seen an increase in subscriptions which would be a source of their confidence.

[Brude]

It has very big foreign sales, which means it has made back a lot of money already (something like 1/3 or 1/2 of the budget, depending on what number you go by), and it has mostly very good reviews so far, so all of that bodes very well. There's a very good chance that HBO will make its announcement by tomorrow, as they have often done series renewal announcements the day after a strong premier.

We shall see, we can only wait and hope.

[SleepyNonah]

Game of Thrones is currently at number 6 in the top searched terms on one of the largest torrent sites.

To put that in perspective: the highest I ever saw Boardwalk Empire go on the same search monitor was about 15. Top 10 positions don't tend to change that often (usually the names of the biggest encoding teams or mega-popular movies / tv series (think hits like Glee). Obviously, HBO, won't make any money from the show being torrented but there's a definite correlation between levels of pirating and the success of a tv show / movie. So much so that some independent studios are now releasing their movies to torrents themselves in the hope of building hype around a theatre releasee / to boost DVD/Bluray sales.

If it stays within the top 20 the day after each episode, I think it's as good as guaranteed a second season.

[putte]

Game of Thrones is currently at number 6 in the top searched terms on one of the largest torrent sites.

To put that in perspective: the highest I ever saw Boardwalk Empire go on the same search monitor was about 15. Top 10 positions don't tend to change that often (usually the names of the biggest encoding teams or mega-popular movies / tv series (think hits like Glee). Obviously, HBO, won't make any money from the show being torrented but there's a definite correlation between levels of pirating and the success of a tv show / movie. So much so that some independent studios are now releasing their movies to torrents themselves in the hope of building hype around a theatre releasee / to boost DVD/Bluray sales.

If it stays within the top 20 the day after each episode, I think it's as good as guaranteed a second season.

Meh, I really cant agree with this statement. Look at heroes, it sucked bigtime after the first season, yet it always remained as one of the most pirated shows through all season. Nobody looked at it "legally" thou.

[SleepyNonah]

Given that Heroes is in it's 5th season I think it's safe to assume that some people are looking at it legally. Surely it'd have been shelved by now if not?

[Asha—Not Yara!]

Given that Heroes is in it's 5th season I think it's safe to assume that some people are looking at it legally. Surely it'd have been shelved by now if not?

Heroes was in its fifth season. They finally put it out of its misery after that.

Yeah Heroes sucked after the first season, but there had to have been enough people watching it to make it worthwhile for the network to keep around for as long as they did. I imagine a show like that would have been too expensive to produce otherwise. I was definitely one of the those viewers because I liked the characters enough to keep watching even if the stories got shittier.

[Tywin's bastard]

Heroes was in its fifth season. They finally put it out of its misery after that.

Yeah Heroes sucked after the first season, but there had to have been enough people watching it to make it worthwhile for the network to keep around for as long as they did. I imagine a show like that would have been too expensive to produce otherwise. I was definitely one of the those viewers because I liked the characters enough to keep watching even if the stories got shittier.

I thought season 2 and 3 were fairly bad but the 4:th made it to the same level as the first as they clearly made the decision to go back to the same basic structure. I think it's a big shame they cut it since nothing in the series made me want more as much as the ending of the 4:th season.

[Brienne the Beauty]

Game of Thrones is currently at number 6 in the top searched terms on one of the largest torrent sites.

Shows with nerd appeal are always going to do "better" on the Torrent sites.

[Qthulhu]

The other thing to consider is that even if people don't tune in to the show on TV, they could be all over the legit online sites watching the show at a time of their convenience.

I mean, it's not like you can sit the kids down and enjoy GoT together... I'd be interested to see the overall picture, and specifically the number of new and sustained subscrption over GoT's run.

It'll be a crying shame if they can it after only one season. My personal concern is that the wobbling between fantasy and realism are going to isolate viewers who tune in for zombies but then get 9 episodes of intrigue, or who get 9 episodes of intrigue and then the fantasy finale. The original novels seemed to have much the same effect, with people being turned off because they just weren't getting what they thought they were expecting...... if that makes sense.

[strings]

Shortly after the first episode aired they did decide to renew GoT for a second season.

http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Game-of-Thrones-Premiere-Ratings-Spur-Season-2-Order/8837

[moot]

According the the NYT:

On Tuesday, the network said it had ordered a second season of “Game of Thrones,” which is adapted from George R. R. Martin’s best-selling “Song of Ice and Fire” novels and produced by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO said that Sunday’s debut episode of “Game of Thrones” was watched by 2.2 million viewers in its 9 p.m. broadcast and 4.2 million total viewers over multiple broadcasts that night. That’s a respectable start for the 10-episode series, though considerably smaller than HBO’s September premiere of the period drama “Boardwalk Empire,” which drew 4.8 million viewers for its debut and 7.1 million total viewers for multiple broadcasts.