Setting

Main article: World of A Song of Ice and Fire

Game of Thrones is roughly based on the storylines of A Song of Ice and Fire,[4][5] set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos. The series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for the Iron Throne, while other families fight for independence from it. It opens with additional threats in the icy North and Essos in the east.[6]

Showrunner David Benioff jokingly suggested "The Sopranos in Middle-earth" as Game of Thrones' tagline, referring to its intrigue-filled plot and dark tone in a fantasy setting of magic and dragons.[7] In a 2012 study, out of 40 recent TV drama shows, Game of Thrones ranked second in deaths per episode, averaging 14 deaths.[8]

Themes

Main article: Themes in A Song of Ice and Fire

The series is generally praised for what is perceived as a sort of medieval realism.[9][10] George R.R. Martin set out to make the story feel more like historical fiction than contemporary fantasy, with less emphasis on magic and sorcery and more on battles, political intrigue, and the characters, believing that magic should be used moderately in the epic fantasy genre.[11][12][13] Martin has stated that "the true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves."[14]

A common theme in the fantasy genre is the battle between good and evil, which Martin says does not mirror the real world.[15] Just like people's capacity for good and for evil in real life, Martin explores the questions of redemption and character change.[16] The series allows the audience to view different characters from their perspective, unlike in many other fantasies, and thus the supposed villains can provide their side of the story.[13][17] Benioff said, "George brought a measure of harsh realism to high fantasy. He introduced gray tones into a black-and-white universe."[13]

In early seasons, under the influence of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, main characters were regularly killed off, and this was credited with developing tension among viewers.[18] In later seasons, critics pointed out that certain characters had developed "plot armor" to survive in unlikely circumstances, and attributed this to Game of Thrones deviating from the novels to become more of a traditional television series.[18] The series also reflects the substantial death rates in war.[19][20]

Inspirations and derivations

Although the first season closely follows the events of the first novel, later seasons have made significant changes. According to David Benioff, the series is "about adapting the series as a whole and following the map George laid out for us and hitting the major milestones, but not necessarily each of the stops along the way".[21]

The novels and their adaptations base aspects of their settings, characters, and plot on events in European history.[22] Most of Westeros is reminiscent of high medieval Europe, from lands and cultures,[23] to the palace intrigue, feudal system, castles, and knightly tournaments. A principal inspiration for the novels is the English Wars of the Roses[24] (1455–85) between the houses of Lancaster and York, reflected in Martin's houses of Lannister and Stark. The scheming Cersei Lannister evokes Isabella, the "she-wolf of France" (1295–1358);[22] Isabella and her family (particularly as portrayed in Maurice Druon's historical-novel series, The Accursed Kings) were also a main inspiration for Martin.[25]

Holland further proposes that other historical antecedents of series elements include Hadrian's Wall (which becomes Martin's Wall), the Roman Empire, and the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Byzantine Greek fire ("wildfire"), Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn), the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), the Hundred Years' War, and the Italian Renaissance.[22] The series' popularity has been attributed, in part, to Martin's skill at fusing these elements into a seamless, credible version of alternate history.[22] Martin acknowledges, "I take [history] and I file off the serial numbers and I turn it up to 11."[26]

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Game of Thrones characters

Peter Dinklage

Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) has led the principal cast since the second season

Game of Thrones has an ensemble cast estimated to be the largest on television;[27] during its third season, 257 cast names were recorded.[28] In 2014, several actor contracts were renegotiated to include a seventh-season option, with raises which reportedly made them among the highest-paid performers on cable TV.[29] In 2016, several actor contracts were again renegotiated, reportedly increasing the salary of five of the main cast members to £2 million per episode for the last two seasons, which would make them the highest paid actors on television.[30][31] The main cast is listed below.[32]

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of House Stark, whose members are involved in plot lines throughout most of the series. He and his wife, Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley), have five children: Robb (Richard Madden), the eldest, followed by Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and Rickon (Art Parkinson), the youngest. Ned's illegitimate 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 young Gilly (Hannah Murray), and warriors Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), and Ygritte (Rose Leslie).[33]

Others associated with House Stark include Ned's ward Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), his vassal Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), and Bolton's bastard son, Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb falls in love with the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), and Arya befriends the 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.[33]

In King's Landing, the capital, Ned's friend, King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), shares a loveless marriage with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who has taken her twin brother, the "Kingslayer" Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), as her 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).[33]

The king's Small Council of advisors includes the crafty Master of Coin Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen) and the eunuch spymaster Lord Varys (Conleth Hill). Robert's brother, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), is advised by foreign priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). The wealthy Tyrell family is represented at court by Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) is the capital's religious leader. In the southern principality of Dorne, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) seeks vengeance against the Lannisters.[33]

Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the last king of the original ruling dynasty, who was overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are running for their lives and trying to win back the throne. Daenerys becomes 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 (Michiel Huisman).[33]

Production

Conception and development

D. B. Weiss and David Benioff

Showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff created the series, wrote most of its episodes and directed several.

In January 2006, David Benioff had a phone conversation with George R. R. Martin's literary agent about the books he represented and became interested in A Song of Ice and Fire, as he had been a fan of fantasy fiction when young but had not read the books before. The literary agent then sent Benioff the series' first four books.[34] Benioff read a few hundred pages of the first novel, A Game of Thrones, shared his enthusiasm with D. B. Weiss, and suggested that they adapt Martin's novels into a television series; Weiss finished the first novel in "maybe 36 hours".[35] They pitched the series to HBO after a five-hour meeting with Martin (himself a veteran screenwriter) in a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard. According to Benioff, they won Martin over with their answer to his question, "Who is Jon Snow's mother?"[36]

I had worked in Hollywood myself for about 10 years, from the late '80s to the '90s. I'd been on the staff of The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. All of my first drafts tended to be too big or too expensive. I always hated the process of having to cut. I said, 'I'm sick of this, I'm going to write something that's as big as I want it to be, and it's going to have a cast of characters that go into the thousands, and I'm going to have huge castles, and battles, and dragons.

—George R. R. Martin, author[37]

Before being approached by Benioff and Weiss, Martin had had other meetings with other scriptwriters, most of whom wanted to adapt the series as a feature film. Martin, however, deemed it "unfilmable" and impossible to be done as a feature film, stating that the size of one of his novels is as long as The Lord of the Rings, which had been adapted as three feature films.[37] Similarly, Benioff also said that it would be impossible to turn the novels into a feature film as the scale of the novels is too big for a feature film, and dozens of characters would have to be discarded. Benioff added, "a fantasy movie of this scope, financed by a major studio, would almost certainly need a PG-13 rating. That means no sex, no blood, no profanity. F*ck that."[13] Martin himself was pleased with the suggestion that they adapt it as an HBO series, saying that he "never imagined it anywhere else".[38] "I knew it couldn't be done as a network television series. It's too adult. The level of sex and violence would never have gone through."[37]

The series began development in January 2007.[4] HBO acquired the TV rights to the novels, with Benioff and Weiss as its executive producers, and Martin as a co-executive producer. The intention was for each novel to yield a season's worth of episodes.[4] Initially, Martin would write one episode per season while Benioff and Weiss would write the rest of the episodes.[4][39] Jane Espenson and Bryan Cogman were later added to write one episode apiece the first season.[6]

The first and second drafts of the pilot script by Benioff and Weiss were submitted in August 2007[40] and June 2008,[41] respectively. Although HBO liked both drafts,[41][42] a pilot was not ordered until November 2008;[43] the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike may have delayed the process.[42] The pilot episode, "Winter Is Coming", was first shot in 2009; after a poor reception in a private viewing, HBO demanded an extensive re-shoot (about 90 percent of the episode, with cast and directorial changes).[36][44]

The pilot reportedly cost HBO $5–10 million to produce,[45] while the first season's budget was estimated at $50–60 million.[46] In the second season, the series received a 15-percent budget increase for the climactic battle in "Blackwater" (which had an $8 million budget).[47][48] Between 2012 and 2015, the average budget per episode increased from $6 million[49] to "at least" $8 million.[50] The sixth-season budget was over $10 million per episode, for a season total of over $100 million and a series record.[51]

Casting

Nina Gold and Robert Sterne are the series' primary casting directors.[52] Through a process of auditions and readings, the main cast was assembled. The only exceptions were Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean, whom the writers wanted from the start; they were announced as joining the pilot in 2009.[53][54] Other actors signed for the pilot were Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon.[54][55] Addy was, according to showrunners Benioff and Weiss, the easiest actor to cast for the series, being that his audition was on point.[56] Some of the characters in the pilot were recast for the first season: Catelyn Stark was initially played by Jennifer Ehle, but the role was recast with Michelle Fairley.[57] Daenerys Targaryen was also recast, with Emilia Clarke replacing Tamzin Merchant.[58][59] The rest of the first season's cast was filled in the second half of 2009.[60]

Although many of the cast returned after the first season, the producers had many new characters to cast for each of the following seasons. Due to the large number of new characters, Benioff and Weiss postponed the introduction of several key characters in the second season and merged several characters into one or assigned plot functions to different characters.[27] Some recurring characters were recast over the years; for example, Gregor Clegane was played by three different actors, while Dean-Charles Chapman who played Tommen Baratheon also played a minor Lannister character.[61]

Writing

George R. R. Martin

George R. R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, is a series co-executive producer and wrote one episode for each of the first four seasons.

Game of Thrones used seven writers in six seasons. Series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the showrunners, write most of the episodes each season.[62]

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin wrote one episode in each of the first four seasons. Martin did not write an episode for the later seasons, since he wanted to focus on completing the sixth novel (The Winds of Winter).[63] Jane Espenson co-wrote one first-season episode as a freelance writer.[64]

Bryan Cogman, initially a script coordinator for the series,[64] was promoted to producer for the fifth season. Cogman, who wrote at least one episode for the first five seasons, is the only other writer in the writers' room with Benioff and Weiss. Before his promotion, Vanessa Taylor (a writer during the second and third seasons) worked closely with Benioff and Weiss. Dave Hill joined the writing staff for the fifth season after working as an assistant to Benioff and Weiss.[65] Although Martin is not in the writers' room, he reads the script outlines and makes comments.[62]

Benioff and Weiss sometimes assign characters to particular writers; for example, Cogman was assigned to Arya Stark for the fourth season. The writers spend several weeks writing a character outline, including what material from the novels to use and the overarching themes. After these individual outlines are complete, they spend another two to three weeks discussing each main character's individual arc and arranging them episode by episode.[62]

A detailed outline is created, with each of the writers working on a portion to create a script for each episode. Cogman, who wrote two episodes for the fifth season, took a month and a half to complete both scripts. They are then read by Benioff and Weiss, who make notes, and parts of the script are rewritten. All ten episodes are written before filming begins since they are filmed out of order with two units in different countries.[62]

Benioff and Weiss write each of their episodes together, with one of them writing the first half of the script and the other the second half. After that they begin with passing the drafts back and forth to make notes and rewrite parts of it.[38]

Adaptation schedule

Benioff and Weiss originally intended to adapt the entire, still-incomplete A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels for television.[citation needed] After Game of Thrones began outpacing the published novels in the sixth season, the series was based on a plot outline of the future novels provided by Martin[66] and original content. In April 2016, the showrunners' plan was to shoot 13 more episodes after the sixth season: seven episodes in the seventh season and six episodes in the eighth.[67] Later that month, the series was renewed for a seventh season with a seven-episode order.[68][69] Eight seasons were ordered and filmed, adapting the novels at a rate of about 48 seconds per page for the first three seasons.