HBO can breathe easy knowing that there’s life (and ratings) after Game of Thrones. Westworld — which, along with Divorce and Insecure, just got renewed for season two — is a genuine hit, with an average total audience of 11.7 million viewers. That’s more than True Detective and Game of Thrones got in their first breakout seasons. So, HBO is doing fine… but if George R.R. Martin just so happens to have any franchise-extending prequel ideas lying around, well, programming president Casey Bloys wouldn’t not look at them.
“I would say it’s still kind of preliminary ongoing talks,” Bloys said, when asked about follow-up ideas for the most-awarded series in scripted history. “There are areas we are exploring, but I wouldn’t point to any one and say, this is what we’re going to do.” I see what Bloys is doing. He’s aggressively making out with his new girlfriend (Westworld) in front of his old girlfriend (Game of Thrones) to make her jealous, even though he secretly wants her back. Meanwhile, Vinyl is at home, by her lonesome, with a bottle of wine.
Bloys also briefly discussed the long-rumored Game of Thrones movie. “I want everything I can get for HBO,” he said. “I’ll just leave it at that.” That read-between-the-lines comment, coupled with Martin noting that HBO is “in the TV business, not the feature film business,” means we shouldn’t expect a Game of Thrones/Entourage 2 double bill at the cinema anytime soon.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)