Game Of Thrones Franchise In Danger Over At HBO

George R. R. Martin says that the Game of Thrones franchise has been impacted by the shake-up at HBO.

By Jessica Scott | Updated 1 year ago

According to IndieWire, George R. R. Martin is saying that not even the massive hit shows like the ones set in the Game of Thrones universe are safe from shakeups at HBO and HBO Max, and that some projects have already “been shelved.” Martin’s book series has been a font of inspiration for both the original Game of Thrones and the new spinoff series House of the Dragon on HBO, and there are other related series in the works that haven’t made it onto screens yet. Troubles faced by Warner Bros. Discovery and an upcoming merger of HBO Max with Discovery+ are putting all of these shows at risk, however, with many of the spinoffs being shelved for the time being.

George R. R. Martin recently made a post on his “Not a Blog” about all of the projects he is working on and what the future may hold for these HBO series. When speaking about these potentially lost Game of Thrones “successor shows,” he writes:

“A couple have been shelved, but I would not agree that they are dead. You can take something off the shelf as easily as you can put it on the shelf.”

Game of Thrones is the most popular show ever to come out of the HBO network, with Euphoria coming in second place. So, it is understandable that many attempts have been made to capture the same magic viewers felt when watching (and obsessing over) characters like Ned Stark, Jon Snow, and the Mother of Dragons. Only one related series, House of the Dragon, has made it onto the air so far, though.

House of the Dragon actually beat out Game of Thrones when it premiered in autumn 2022, pulling in an astounding 10 million viewers as opposed to the original series’ 4.2 million. Almost all of these viewers were most likely long-time fans of the franchise, however, so they already knew that there was surely something for them to like in this new prequel story set in the same universe.

Warner Bros. Discovery, who owns HBO Max, has been facing significant financial and managerial problems recently, which makes both fans and those involved in the production of these Game of Thrones shows very nervous. It is unlikely that the studio would let something as successful as House of the Dragon slip away, but it is always possible that it could lead to a complete abandonment of the other Game of Thrones projects in the works.

Martin didn’t really go into too much detail about his projections for the future of these shows, but he did assure fans that he is hard at work on the next book in the Game of Thrones series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Another book series he edits, Wild Cards, is also being turned into a series on the Peacock network, so he has a lot of things to keep him busy while he waits to learn the fate of these other projects. 

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