HBO Renews Game of Thrones

Only two days after the series premiere, HBO has officially renewed the highly regarded Game of Thrones. Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels each season will follow the events from one novel to the next, with season two based upon A Clash of Kings. The general story of the fantasy series centers on “kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power in a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime”.

The ratings for the premiere episode were solid but unspectacular. There were 2.2 million viewers for the first showing and a total of 4.2 million across all airings for the evening. In comparison Boardwalk Empire launched for the network with a total of 7.1 million. The big budget on Game of Thrones surely came into consideration as to the immediate renewal as the initial investment to create the sets and adapt the series were more than what it will take to sustain it. Even Rome was given a second season by HBO due to its quality despite relatively low numbers. Given the strong word of mouth it seems plausible that the numbers for Game of Thrones grow over time.