Game of Thrones
Updated: 5/20/2026, 8:44:18 PM Wikipedia source
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is the first adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, a series of high fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. The show premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons. Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs throughout the course of the show. The first major arc concerns the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros through a web of political conflicts among the noble families, either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence. The second major arc focuses on the last descendant of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty, who has been exiled to Essos and is plotting to return and reclaim the throne. The third follows the Night's Watch, a military order defending the realm against threats from beyond the Seven Kingdoms' northern border. Game of Thrones attracted a record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, and international fan base. Many critics and publications have named the show one of the greatest television series of all time. Critics have praised the series for its acting, complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its frequent use of nudity and violence (including sexual violence) generated controversy. The final season received significant criticism for its reduced length and creative decisions, with many considering it a disappointing conclusion. The series received 59 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most by a drama series, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Its other awards and nominations include three Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, a Peabody Award, and five nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama.
Two prequel series, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, premiered on HBO in 2022 and 2026, respectively.
Infobox
Tables
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Avg. U . viewers (millions) | ||
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | 10 | April 17, 2011 (2011-04-17) | June 19, 2011 (2011-06-19) | 2 | |
| 2 | 10 | April 1, 2012 (2012-04-01) | June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03) | 3 | |
| 3 | 10 | March 31, 2013 (2013-03-31) | June 9, 2013 (2013-06-09) | 4 | |
| 4 | 10 | April 6, 2014 (2014-04-06) | June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15) | 6 | |
| 5 | 10 | April 12, 2015 (2015-04-12) | June 14, 2015 (2015-06-14) | 6 | |
| 6 | 10 | April 24, 2016 (2016-04-24) | June 26, 2016 (2016-06-26) | 7 | |
| 7 | 7 | July 16, 2017 (2017-07-16) | August 27, 2017 (2017-08-27) | 10 | |
| 8 | 6 | April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14) | May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19) | 11 | |
| Season | Ordered | Filming | First aired | Last aired | Novel(s) adapted | Ref(s) |
| Season 1 | March 2, 2010 | Second half of 2010 | April 17, 2011 | June 19, 2011 | A Game of Thrones | |
| Season 2 | April 19, 2011 | Second half of 2011 | April 1, 2012 | June 3, 2012 | A Clash of Kings | |
| Season 3 | April 10, 2012 | July–November 2012 | March 31, 2013 | June 9, 2013 | A Storm of Swords | |
| Season 4 | April 2, 2013 | July–November 2013 | April 6, 2014 | June 15, 2014 | ||
| Season 5 | April 8, 2014 | July–December 2014 | April 12, 2015 | June 14, 2015 | A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons and original content | |
| Season 6 | April 8, 2014 | July–December 2015 | April 24, 2016 | June 26, 2016 | Outline from The Winds of Winter and original content | |
| Season 7 | April 21, 2016 | August 2016 – February 2017 | July 16, 2017 | August 27, 2017 | Outline from A Dream of Spring and original content | |
| Season 8 | July 30, 2016 | October 2017 – July 2018 | April 14, 2019 | May 19, 2019 |
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| 1 | 90% (215 reviews) | 80 (28 reviews) |
| 2 | 97% (293 reviews) | 90 (26 reviews) |
| 3 | 97% (569 reviews) | 91 (25 reviews) |
| 4 | 97% (571 reviews) | 94 (29 reviews) |
| 5 | 93% (556 reviews) | 91 (29 reviews) |
| 6 | 94% (666 reviews) | 73 (9 reviews) |
| 7 | 93% (479 reviews) | 77 (12 reviews) |
| 8 | 55% (698 reviews) | 75 (13 reviews) |
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |||
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | – | 10 | |||
| 8 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | – | 11 | ||||
References
- Wiredhttps://web.archive.org/web/20190603092336/https://www.wired.com/story/game-of-thrones-a-battle-of-reality-versus-fantasy/
- The Atlantichttps://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/true-detective-game-of-thrones-bleak-television/397577/
- The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophyhttps://books.google.com/books?id=oMIxDQAAQBAJ&dq=game+of+thrones+%22tragedy%22&pg=PT21
- Slatehttps://slate.com/culture/2015/06/game-of-thrones-is-a-classical-tragedy-don-t-be-so-shocked-by-the-deaths.html
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/hbo-turns-fire-into-fantasy-series-1117957532/
- Inside HBO's Game of Throneshttps://books.google.com/books?id=gzYfBQAAQBAJ
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20200105144206/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-en-st-game-of-thrones-character-arcs-emmys-20190516-story.html
- IGNhttps://www.ign.com/articles/2011/04/08/game-of-thrones-winter-is-coming-review
- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://ew.com/article/2012/05/29/game-of-throne-season-3-cast/
- The Hollywood Reporterhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/game-thrones-cast-signs-season-744314/
- Harper's Bazaarhttps://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a12048623/game-of-thrones-salaries-per-episode/
- Marie Claire Australiahttps://www.marieclaire.com.au/game-of-thrones-salary
- The Telegraphhttps://web.archive.org/web/20190524194024/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/game-thrones-cast-characters-full-list-alive-dead-finale/
- ScreenRanthttps://screenrant.com/game-thrones-house-feuds-alliances-explained/
- Vulturehttps://web.archive.org/web/20191212123722/https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-characters-first-last-appearances-deaths.html
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/mar/22/game-of-thrones-whats-not-to-love
- The Guardianhttps://web.archive.org/web/20170125162905/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/24/game-of-thrones-realistic-history
- The New York Observerhttps://observer.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-questions-theories-season-8-predictions-historical-accuracy/
- January Magazinehttps://web.archive.org/web/20120419154308/http://januarymagazine.com/profiles/grrmartin.html
- The New York Timeshttps://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/his-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-george-r-r-martin-talks-game-of-thrones/