In a completely non-shocking development that absolutely everyone saw coming, Game of Thrones has been renewed for two more seasons.
I don’t watch Game of Thrones, never have, and even I was completely unsurprised by the announcement that the runaway hit HBO series has been renewed for a fifth and sixth season. The show, based on the Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin, has been hugely successful since its 2011 debut, drawing a gross average audience of 14.4 million viewers per episode over its previous season. Was there ever any doubt it would continue?
“Game of Thrones is a phenomenon like no other,” HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo said in a statement. “[Creators] David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling.”
The first episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season aired on Sunday night, drawing in 6.6 million viewers, the biggest HBO audience since 12 million people watched the finale of The Sopranos in 2007. That mark is 23 percent higher than the audience for the season three finale; it was also, according to the Nielsen rating agency, the third most-tweeted-about show of the week.
