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Game of Thrones coming to Showcase

New HBO medieval drama Game of Thrones premiered this week in the US and has already been renewed for a second season.

New HBO medieval drama Game of Thrones is set to screen in Australia on the Showcase channel.

Based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, it is set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and chronicles the dynastic struggles among seven noble families for control of the Iron Throne.

It premiered earlier this week in the US to strong critical acclaim and was picked up for a second season within forty-eight hours.

It is expected to premiere on Showcase in July.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpJYNVhGf1s[/youtube]

21 Responses

  1. This show is a little hard to follow if you haven’t read the books. Wayyyyyyy too many characters receiving star billing, and it also gets dark and twisted with a lot of horrible things happening to young children in the first two episodes. (I think that’s vague enough to not be a spoiler)

    If you’re expecting a family-friendly medieval series, this is not the show for you.

  2. Fantastic show. Watched it by “other means”. I have foxtel and showcase but bugger waiting 2 months for such premier shows. Networks really should try harder to get shows to viewers all over the world at the same time or within 1 to 2 weeks later. 1 week would stop me but 2 months, no thanks. By the way my mrs watched the second episode with me and she can’t stand this type of show or movie normally, she loved it. It is HBO at their best, another excellent period drama with violence, sex and excellent acting.

  3. @Teecee – good in theory but this series is on cable, has just 10 eps in the first season and will run over consecutive weeks until the final in June. Oh and as David pointed out it’s already been renewed for a 2nd season so we’re likely to see another 10 eps sometime next year.

    IMO all this downloading doesn’t affect shows to a huge extent as the vast majority will just watch it on TV and the fans (if they have downloaded it) are likely to watch it again anyway, especially if they have Showcase HD.

  4. I guess the benefit of the delay is that if the series crashes and burns we don’t have to waste our time with it. Also a little delay means we don’t have to put up with the US mid-season break which is actually our prime viewing season here. I’d prefer to have the good shows on Foxtel, I can IQ it (can’t do that with FTA in the ACT), series link it, watch when it suits me and don’t have to worry about them putting on repeats instead of new eps during school holidays! Gotta look on the bright side!

  5. NIne would’ve had the first rights to this, that they could’ve shown on GEM, so onselling to Foxtel seems like a predictable move on their part.

  6. @Secret Squirell – that’s a bit precious isn’t it? Who says I’m not a geek and proud of it? I’m actually looking forward to it as well. Plus, I’m actually a black,gay guy who enjoys fantasy, musicals and Australia’s Next Top Model. Whodathought.

  7. Just to clarify I’m living in New York at the moment so definitely watched it ‘legally’

    But when I return home to Oz in a year or two, I hope we’ll have the option to buy shows like this direct from the American networks (at a ‘premiere’ price maybe) so we can watch them at the same time. We’re well aware what HBO, Showtime and even Starz are commissioning and promoting – the world is flat remember so why this system of delayed releases?

    Most books are released simultaneously around the world these days (or easily acquirable with one click online), most music now too. The current system for TV is broken, prehistoric and only encouraging piracy …. people will pay for content if they’re given the option to.

    Out of interest, when are these shows scheduled for Oz? The Borgias, Mildred Pierce, Camelot, Being Human (US), Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs? How long are they making you wait for the new True Blood and Entourage?

  8. Gotta love HBO….except that they have yet to release a Region B version of Deadwood on Blu ray yet.
    HBO certainly set the standard when it comes to TV in hi-def.

  9. pietro says:
    April 23, 2011 at 2:30 pm
    July…by that time many people will have already seen it.

    Er, not everyone gets their television from “other means” .

  10. @Tony H. – nice bit of generalisation there, mate. I enjoy quality drama whatever the subject matter. Do you also think that only people of African descent would be happy about The Wire or homosexuals about Queer as Folk or the criminally inclined with Oz?

    Why would you care enough about this program to even bother making a comment? Here’s a thought. Instead of the majority of your comments on this site being nasty little snipes at fans of one show or another, why not take a more balanced view and confine yourself to commenting about the political, cooking, and other shows that you do care about?

  11. David, do you know why Showcase can’t ‘fast track’ shows like the FTA networks can? They’re probably losing at least half their audience by having these two month delays, and it seems to be like that for every one of the big shows they get.

  12. I’ve heard a lot about Game of Thrones and am looking forward to seeing it. The show seems to have lavish production values, a good cast and an even better story.

    It would’ve been great if Game of Thrones had been shown at the same time as the US airing. Still, July is only three months away, which is far sooner than the year-plus we used to wait for shows to reach us from America.

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