Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. It is filmed at Titanic Studios in Belfast and on location elsewhere in the United Kingdom, as well as in Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and the United States. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and its sixth season concluded on June 26, 2016. The series was renewed for a seventh season, which is scheduled to premiere in mid-2017 with a total of seven episodes.The series will conclude with its eighth season in 2018.

The series is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and interweaves several plot lines with a large ensemble cast. The first narrative arc follows a dynastic conflict among competing claimants for succession to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, with other noble families fighting for independence from it; the second covers the attempts to reclaim the throne by the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty; the third chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.

Game of Thrones has attracted record numbers of viewers on HBO and attained an exceptionally broad and active international fan base. It has received widespread acclaim by critics, particularly for its acting, complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its frequent use of nudity, violence, and sexual violence has attracted criticism. The series has won 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015—when it set a record for most wins for a series in a single year—and numerous other awards and nominations, including three Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, a Peabody Award, and three Golden Globe Award nominations. From among the ensemble cast, Peter Dinklage won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for his performance as Tyrion Lannister. Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Diana Rigg, and Max von Sydow have also received Emmy nominations for their performances in the series.

Like the novels it adapts, Game of Thrones has a sprawling ensemble cast, estimated to be the largest on television. During the production of the third season, 257 cast names were recorded. In 2014, several of the actors' contracts were renegotiated to include the option for a seventh season, and included raises that reportedly made the cast among the best-paid on cable TV.[17] The following overview reduces the list of characters in Game of Thrones to those played by the actors credited as part of the main cast.

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of House Stark, whose members are involved in most of the series' intertwined plot lines. He and his wife, Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley), have five children: Robb (Richard Madden) is the eldest, followed by Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson) who is the youngest. Ned's bastard son Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his friend Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo). The Wildlings living north of the Wall include the warriors Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie), as well as the young Gilly (Hannah Murray).

People associated with House Stark include Ned's ward, Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), as well as Ned's vassal, Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), and his bastard son, Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb falls in love with the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), and Arya befriends blacksmith's apprentice Gendry (Joe Dempsie) and the assassin Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). The tall warrior Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) serves Catelyn and, later, Sansa.

In the capital of King's Landing, Ned's old friend, King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), shares a loveless marriage with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who has taken her twin, the "Kingslayer", Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), as her secret lover. She loathes her younger brother, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who is attended by his mistress, Shae (Sibel Kekilli), and the sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn). Cersei's father is Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance). Cersei also has two young sons: Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Joffrey is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "the Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann).

The king's "Small Council" of advisors includes the crafty Master of Coin, Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen), and Lord Varys (Conleth Hill), the eunuch spymaster. Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) is advised by the foreign priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and the former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). The wealthy Tyrell family is primarily represented at court by Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) is the principal religious leader in King's Landing. In the southern principality of Dorne, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) seeks vengeance against the Lannisters.

Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the last king from the original ruling dynasty that was overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are on the run for their lives, trying to win back the throne. Daenerys has been married to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), the leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Her retinue includes the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen); her aide, Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel); and the sellsword Daario Naharis (Ed Skrein and Michiel Huisman).