Apr 19 2011 11:12 AM ET

HBO renews 'Game of Thrones' for second season!

Categories: Game of Thrones
Game-Of-Thrones

Image Credit: Helen Sloan

Winter is coming — back!

HBO has renewed its fantasy series Game of Thrones after airing only one episode. The show’s second season will likely debut next year and will be based on George R.R. Martin’s second book in his Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings.

“We are delighted by the way David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have brought George R.R. Martin’s amazing book series to the screen, and thrilled by the support of the media and our viewers,” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO. “This is the continuation of an exciting creative partnership.”

As previously reported, a Thrones renewal was likely even before the show premiered given HBO’s big investment in creating the world of Westeros and the potential back-end from international sales and DVD.

Sunday’s premiere ratings were fairly healthy too, with the drama delivering 4.2 million viewers across three airings.

UPDATE: When will Game of Thrones return? And for how many episodes? HBO answers your Thrones season two burning questions

PREVIOUS: Game of Thrones premiere recap: Who’s family is the best? Put your sibling to the test!

PREVIOUS: HBO confident Game of Thrones will get a second season

PREVIOUS: Game of Thrones premiere ratings are in

Comments (92 total) Add your comment
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  • Solamente Dave

    Sweet. Very good news.

    • The Devil

      I hope this means George RR Martin will get cranking on the final few novels in the series and just spit them out one by one until the end!

      • ks

        I’m wondering if he is not close to finishing the last novel-why would you consent to an HBO series if he was not IMO
        I’m happy about season 2, it’s logigal with the volume on the story.

      • Ananda

        Saw in the newspaper last Thursday that the 5th book is scheduled to be released July 12th. Finally!!!

      • iSynic

        @ks He’s definitely not almost done with the last book. He just finished ‘A Dance with Dragons’ and it won’t be out for months yet.

        There are still several books left. And at the rate he’s been going he’ll be dead before they’re done.

    • Jaqen H’hgar

      A man is pleased by such news…

      • myprettypony

        lol

      • Arya Stark

        A girl hears such news and is happy as well.

      • whisper

        omg you just made me so happy!

  • timelord

    i have just started reading the books…and this is definitely good news…good job hbo

  • Kelly

    YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

  • Matthew

    Book 2 is immense….could easily be broken into two seasons. I worry one season will rush and water down Book 2.

    • Ke

      People said the same thing about season one and so far so good on this one.

    • Kelly

      maybe instead of 10 episodes they can do 12 or something?

    • TV_Pete

      I would think 13 episodes might be necessary, but let’s see how the scripts turn out.

  • Michelle

    Great news. Now lets just hope they don’t do what they did to Rome!

    • The Jackal

      Rome failed b/c the actors were demanding too much money on an already expensive show, GoT is a little different b/c *kind of spoilery* a lot of characters get axed off

      • niki

        Pun intended?

    • Kit

      What did they do to Rome? Did you expect them to change history and have Caesar live?

      • AB

        LMFAO

      • joe

        Yeah, 30 years of pax romana isn’t the best material for TV.

      • Vince from NYC

        No, but they kind of jumped 10 years and cut out a lot of good stuff. It could have easily been dragged out a few seasons longer..

      • The Devil

        Agree with Vince. The second season had at least a couple of seasons worth of material. For example, the whole Marc Antony and Cleopatra thing lasted, what, two episodes?

      • BC

        Read interviews with the Rome creator. He had penned it out as three seasons – so they condensed the final two planned seasons into the second.

      • chase

        HBO and BBC wouldn’t “shell out the clams” to make a 3rd season. It’s a same, great show.

  • The Jackal

    I don’t care what they do as long as it gets renewed for season 3 thats the season i’m dying to see on air

    • Prunella Von Scheidlhaagen

      That’s what I’m talking about!

    • Jeremy

      Amen. A Storm of Swords is incredible.

      • Gusteaux

        I agree as well. A Storm of Swords (Book 3) is the best book I’ve ever read. (I’m 61, so I’ve read a lot of books!

    • Kelly

      Agreed.

      • The Jackal

        I’m also thinking a feast and dance will have to be integrated for 2 seasons, and not each book having a separate season

    • ks

      I am there!!

  • Steph

    Never heard of the series before but watched on Sunday and it was great! Definitely something I’ll be tuning in every week.

  • Michelle

    Praise the gods, old and new! Thank you, HBO!

  • anthony ferna

    Even though there has only been one episode I loved it. The cinematography was amazing. Sean Bean was kinda mellow in this episode but now that his son was killed i have a feeling were gonna see some great acting from him

    • Rob (a different one from above)

      If you mean Bran (the son pushed out the window), wait until the next episode.

      • K

        Obviously he meant Bran; was your comment really necessary?

  • Jen

    Yesssssssssssssss!!! THANK YOU HBO!

    • Fantasy Boy

      Since when do womyn watch fantasy shows? Still, I bet you don’t have as many Dungeons and Dragons cards as I do.

      • Doris

        Cards? I have REAL dragons. And a real dungeon, too! Care to visit?

      • ks

        Really?? this show is more interesting than your D&D games you play in the basement.

      • Arwen

        Troll! Yes, real women watch (and read) fantasy.

      • Kristine

        All the time, now only if the execs would figure this out. Farscape, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Rome, TrueBlood, Dexter…… the list goes out. We are a fierce demographic.

      • Jen J

        Your opinions are why you still live with your mother.

      • Beeps

        I’m a woman and I do not care for fantasy and other things considered for males. You can find me happily in the kitchen making a sandwich for my husband who is downstairs playing D & D.

  • Zturk

    YES. This will drive viewer loyalty up also because people will be able to invest themselves in the show without worrying that they wont get another season.

  • Reverie

    I cancelled my subscription to HBO this morning because of this.

    It’s not TV. It’s crap.

    • dlauthor

      Weak troll is weak.

      • Daniel B

        dlauthor, you rock!

        Reverie, humiliating fail. Almost embarrased for you, bro, but not so much I’m not laughing at that weak and ineffective troll. Lol!

    • fevredream

      Haha, sure you did.
      Anywho this amazing news. Had viewing party for the first ep the other night and everyone loved it. Can’t wait to see who they cast in the new season.

    • Estarianne

      It follows the book pretty closely, so if the series is crap, so are the books!

      • Al

        Well then I guess we have to be glad that it follows the book, because i personally can’t wait to have the images in my head of Jaime, fighting and being awesome, get their onscreen treatment. I love Tirrian, but Jaime is just pure testosterone aggressive male awesomeness.

    • Billie

      Really? THIS made you cancel your subscription? You couldn’t, say, just not tune in? Which is what I do for Entourage and Hung.

      • Wha’ever

        Yeah, right ? I was expecting so much more from Hung, but it’s just so lame. None of the characters are enjoyable.

        Anyway, Game of Thrones ROCK !!

    • Vince from NYC

      Funny, I was close to cancelling before I heard about this show. After watching Ep One I’m hooked and will keep my subscription.

    • Bruce from Maine

      I have always said i would never pay for a premium service like HBO. The show was on free last night and I have to say I”M on the edge of calling and adding the service. Not sure if I could wait until it comes out on DVD to see it in it’s full glory. And I WILL be buying the DVD’s. After only the first show this is the best adaptation of a great work of fantasy I can remember. Unless they screw it up it will rival The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

      • Merry Bear

        I always said I’d be willing to pay when the gods decided to put something worthwhile on my tube. I’m paying up, and loved every second of my first 65 minutes. I’ll keep it as long as the programming stays this good.

    • False Reality

      “I cancelled my subscription to HBO this morning because of this.
      It’s not TV. It’s crap.”

      Admit it. You cancelled because you couldn’t float this and your Meth habit at the same time.

    • Mike

      you mad bro?! yup, he’s mad.

    • andy

      trolls are stupid

    • andy

      troll

  • Tracey

    Hooray! This is wonderful news! I hope that HBO ends up filming all the books.

  • Tom B

    Liked but didn’t love the premiere. I think I will probably enjoy it more as the series takes off. I think the premiere had a lot of work to do and for the most part did it admirably. I wonder how easy it will be to join this show in progress, though. I applaud HBO for taking the chance on something so big but it seems that like more and more shows these days, you’re dead in the water if you’re not hooked in from the beginning.

    • The Devil

      Yeah, keep tuning in. The first episode was really just the groundwork to build up the characters and stories. I thought it did a good job hinting at the political storm in the episodes to come.

    • crispy

      That’s a good question… will a show like this gain viewers week to week, or will they just be lost? True Blood tends to gain viewers at the start of each season because of people who picked it up on DVD. I think GoT has potential to do just that, particularly because the “WTF, they did not just do that!” moments that are coming up will have people talking. On the other hand, Lost proved that no matter how much buzz, serial shows can lose viewers each week because it’s just so difficult to catch up.

      • Daniel B

        I think Lost got weaker because it became more and more apparent as the show went on that the writers were making it up on the fly and the continuity errors kept piling up.

        I don’t worry about that for Game of Thrones, because even though it’s filled with ‘WTF just happened’ moments they all make sense within the larger plot and like a well-played game of chess each storypoint is carefully and intricately set up far in advance.

    • Breckster82

      I think DVR and OnDemand has helped viewers catch up with shows that have season-long arcs. I also think that’s the reason why there are so many more. For shows like this to be successful, they need to have their content readily available to view on demand or online in order to let people catch up.

  • Billie

    I’m glad because now GAME OF THRONES will come directly after SPARTACUS so the wait for both won’t be too unbearable. I’m soooo glad television is *finally* giving fantasy/adventure programs their rightful due.

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