HBO plans to do ten episodes for the new season which is likely to debut next year and will be based on 'A Clash of Kings'.
- Apr 20, 2011
AceShowbiz - HBO has announced its decision to renew "Game of Thrones" for second season just days after the pilot premiered. "We are delighted by the way David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have brought George R.R. Martin's amazing book series to the screen, and thrilled by the support of the media and our viewers," said HBO president Michael Lombardo. "This is the continuation of an exciting creative partnership."
Later, Lombardo revealed the second season will consist of another ten episodes. "That's what they [exec producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] want to do, to maintain the quality of their work," he told Entertainment Weekly via phone. On when the show will return for season 2, HBO co-president Richard Plepler said, "Same time, next year."
Although it was critically lauded, "Game of Thrones" premiered on Sunday, April 17 with decent ratings. It averaged about 2.2 million viewers for its first airing, and a combined 4.2 million viewers across three airings.
Speaking of the ratings, Lombardo said, "We absolutely had an expectation that this would be a slow [ratings] build." He went on comparing the epic drama with HBO's hit show "True Blood", "True Blood's numbers were nowhere near that [the first season]. It's a strong show for us. The best thing we have going for us is word of mouth, that's the biggest driver you can get."
Season 2 of "Game of Thrones" will be based on "A Clash of Kings", which is the second book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. When the production will kick off has not been determined as the producers are currently scouting locations for second season.
