HBO boss 'excited' after reading early material for 'Game of Thrones' spin-offs
The scripts of the “Game of Thrones” spin-offs are still in development, yet to be delivered to studio executives. However, the “early bibles” of these projects are enough to get CEO Richard Plepler “excited” about the prospects.
“I think we will find with this embarrassment of [writing] riches an exciting property for us to moves forward with,” Plepler said at Mipcom in Cannes, Variety reports. “We are looking some things, I have read a couple of early bibles and I’m excited about what I’ve seen.”
The fantasy TV series based on “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels by George RR Martin is the biggest hit on HBO. No other show comes close in terms of viewership. Now that the show is moving towards the end, the studio has to make plans to replace it with something just as attractive.
Instead of planning one prequel series based on the show, HBO currently has about five teams of writers working on different scripts based on different time periods in the fantasy world of Westeros. Such strategy seems prudent as there is increasing competition from newcomers like Netflix vying for viewer attention.
Plepler said that “most” of the writers of the spin-off scripts have “lived inside the ‘Thrones’ eco-system.” Fans may continue to enjoy the same quality of work from the new TV series. Martin himself is involved to some extent with at least three of the five shows.
Pre-production work of “Game of Thrones” season 8 is currently underway, with sets being constructed in Northern Ireland. The producers are yet to announce when the show will air, with some reports suggesting that the wait will be until 2019. In the meantime, HBO can choose the best spin-off series as a replacement.