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Game of Thrones: A Summary of the Popular Fantasy Drama TV Series

• Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO.

• It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones.

• The show was shot in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, and Spain.

• Game of Thrones has a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs throughout the course of the show.

• The show attracted a record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, and international fan base.

• The series received 59 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most by a drama series, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.

• Game of Thrones is set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos and follows several simultaneous plotlines.

• The first story arc follows a war of succession among competing claimants for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, with other noble families fighting for independence from the throne.

• The series explores the relationship between good and evil through the questions of redemption and character change.

• The series allows the audience to view different characters from their perspective, unlike in many other fantasies.

• Game of Thrones includes elements of gothic fiction, including torture tropes, and is based upon settings, characters, and events in European history.

• The series began development in January 2007, with HBO acquiring the television rights to the novels, and the intention was for each novel to yield a season's worth of episodes.Production of Game of Thrones

• Emilia Clarke replaced Tamzin Merchant as Targaryen in the first season.

• New characters were introduced in each season, some were merged or recast.

• Seven writers were used, with Benioff and Weiss writing most of the episodes.

• Martin wrote one episode per season for the first four seasons.

• Character outlines were created, then discussed and arranged by the writers.

• All ten episodes were written before filming began.

• Production outpaced the published novels in the sixth season.

• Filming primarily took place in Northern Ireland, with other locations used in later seasons.

• Game of Thrones boosted Northern Ireland's creative industries and tourism.

• A Game of Thrones-themed marketing campaign was launched by Tourism Ireland.

• Each season had multiple directors, with Alan Taylor directing the most episodes.

• The series had a large visual effects team and used multiple studios.Key Facts About Game of Thrones

• Game of Thrones used several visual effects companies, including Rodeo FX, Scanline VFX, BAKED FX, Image Engine, and Crazy Horse Effects.

• The visual effects team worked on over 10,000 shots throughout all eight seasons, and more than 300 artists worked on the show's visual effects team.

• The show won eight Creative Arts Emmy Awards for visual effects, winning for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in seven consecutive seasons.

• The title sequence, created by Elastic, won the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Main Title Design and depicts a three-dimensional map of the series's fictional world.

• Ramin Djawadi composed the series's music, including recurring themes for major houses and characters, and was nominated twice for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for his work on the show.

• The Westerosi characters of Game of Thrones speak British-accented English, often with the accent of the English region corresponding to the character's Westerosi region, while characters foreign to Westeros often have a non-British accent.

• Linguist David J. Peterson constructed Dothraki and Valyrian languages based on the few words in the novels.

• Game of Thrones was broadcast by HBO in the United States and by its local subsidiaries or other pay television services in other countries, at the same time as in the US or weeks (or months) later.

• The series was widely pirated, and according to TorrentFreak, it was the most pirated television series from 2012 to 2019.

• Game of Thrones received critical acclaim, particularly the first six seasons, and has an overall rating of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 86 on Metacritic.

• The cast performances were praised throughout the show's run, including Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion, which earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

• The show's final two seasons, especially season eight, received more criticism, with a petition on Change.org requesting that the final season be remade with different writers. Despite the criticism of the writing, the music and visual effects were praised.Criticism, Cultural Influence, Fandom, and Awards of Game of Thrones

• Maisie Williams was praised for her performance, as well as Stephen Dillane for his portrayal of Stannis Baratheon.

• The show was also praised for its portrayal of handicapped and disabled characters, particularly Tyrion Lannister.

• Despite critical acclaim, the show has been criticized for its depiction of female nudity, violence, and sexual violence.

• The show's use of "sexposition" and the emasculation of Theon Greyjoy were among the criticized scenes.

• The show's handling of female character storylines was also criticized after the series finale.

• The show's lighting in darker scenes has been a recurring point of criticism since season six.

• Game of Thrones has been credited with increasing the popularity of the fantasy genre and has led to the commissioning of other fantasy television series.

• The show has a broad, active international fan base, including political leaders and parents naming their children after series characters.

• The show has won numerous awards, including 59 Emmy Awards, eight Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Peabody Award.

• Game of Thrones was considered a ratings success for HBO throughout all eight seasons, with an average gross audience of 18.4 million viewers.

• The season five episode "The House of Black and White" was simulcasted in 173 countries, becoming the "largest TV drama telecast."

• The show's success has led to academic and scientific inquiry, including studies analyzing emotional sentiment and mortality among characters.