Casting and recasting news for GAME OF THRONES

Some further casting and recasting news has emerged for the next season of Game of Thrones.

First up is an actor previously announced playing an unconfirmed role. Mark Gatiss should be familiar to UK audiences, being a member of the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe and also being heavily involved in Doctor Who. He's written novels and scripts for the show (including last year's Cold War and Crimson Horror, two of the stronger episodes of the sub-par season) and appeared as a villain during the David Tennant era. He's also a co-showrunner and writer on Sherlock, where he also plays Mycroft Holmes.


On Game of Thrones Gatiss will be playing the role of Tycho Nestoris, a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos. In the novels Nestoris does not debut until A Dance with Dragons, which indicates that his storyline may be brought forwards, with some theorising that he may appear in King's Landing before heading to the Wall to negotiate with the Night's Watch as in the books. Casting this role with a relatively high-profile actor hints that Nestoris may have a bigger role in the TV series going forwards.

Elizabeth Webster is a young British actress who has mostly worked on stage. Her screen work includes the movie Cockneys vs. Zombies.

Webster will be playing the role of Walda Frey, one of the numerous daughters of Lord Walder Frey (David Bradley). In the last two episodes of Season 3, it was revealed that she had married to Lord Roose Bolton.

Lou Corfield is a more familiar face from British soap operas. She has played the role of Dr. Freya Wilson on Doctors for the past two years. She has also had recurring roles on EastEnders and Rev.

Corfield will be playing the role of the madame of the Mole's Town brothel. Mole's Town is a small village close to Castle Black, so-named because much of the village is located underground.

Playing an as-yet undisclosed role is the distinctive British actor Joseph Gatt. Gatt recently played a bridge officer on the Enterprise in Star Trek - Into Darkness and a frost giant in the movie Thor.

Gatt's role has not been formally confirmed, but it has been heavily rumoured that he will be playing Styr, the Magnar of Thenn. Thenn is one of the northern-most wildling kingdoms, located many hundreds of miles to the north of even the Wall. Thenn was apparently overrun and destroyed by the forces of the enigmatic White Walkers, forcing its people to flee south and ally with Mance Rayder's army. Styr is a ruthless and cunning warrior. He has a son, Sigorn, to whom he is teaching the art of rulership.

Hafþór 'Thor' Björnsson is an Icelandic strongman, winner of the 'Strongest Man in Iceland' award for the past several years and who placed third in the 2012 'Strongest Man in the World' competition. He is 6'9" tall. Thor will be playing the role of Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain. This role was previously played by Conan Stevens in Season 1 and Ian Whyte in Season 2, with the character sitting out the third season.

Dutch actor Michiel Huisman is best-known for recurring roles on Treme and Nashville, as well as having a role on this year's World War Z (in which former Thrones actor Elyes Gabel also appeared). Huisman has surprisingly been announced as replacing Ed Skrein in the role of Daario Naharis. Skrein's performance as Daario had met a 'mixed' reaction from fans, but it is more likely that Skrein's multimedia career (as well as an actor, he's also a writer and musician) left him unavailable for the role this year.

Dean-Charles Chapman is a young British actor who recently had his big break appearing in four episodes of The White Queen as Richard Grey. Before that he played the doomed role of Martyn Lannister on, erm, Game of Thrones. Confusingly, Chapman has been re-recruited to play the role of Tommen Lannister, replacing Callum Wharry who played the role in the first two seasons (most noticeably in the episode Blackwater). This recasting has proven controversial, with Chapman being significantly older than Wharry. Wharry had also appeared to be quite popular in the minor role. Whilst Tommen indeed has a larger role in the books from this point going forwards, it's still a very minor role with relatively limited dialogue. This may hint that the HBO version of the character will have a larger role than his book equivalent.

It has also been confirmed that Burn Gorman will be returning in his role as Karl, one of the treacherous members of the Night's Watch who rebelled at Craster's Keep. Noah Taylor will also be returning as Locke, the Bolton soldier who earned the enmity of Jaime and Brienne last season. David Bradley has also indicated he will be returning as Walder Frey in Season 4. Also returning after longer absences are Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt and Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne.

GAME OF THRONES beats DOCTOR WHO to a Hugo Award

In a surprise result, Game of Thrones proved victorious at Worldcon at the weekend. It seized the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), an award that traditionally goes to Doctor Who. Doctor Who has won the award in six of the previous seven years (missing out in 2009 only to Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) and was widely expected to win again this year.

Doctor Who's failure to win can be ascribed to a lower number of episodes overall, the fact that those episodes were largely awful, or to the radical increase in the popularity of Game of Thrones, which has swelled to become one of the biggest shows on television (whilst Who has been in a modest ratings decline in the UK). Whilst the second season of Thrones did not win as much critical approval as the first (or third), it was still well-regarded. The episode that won, Blackwater, is also widely-acknowledged as the finest episode of the series to date.

George R.R. Martin wrote the episode that won the award, making this his sixth Hugo Award overall and the third for A Song of Ice and Fire, following the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1997 for Blood of the Dragon and the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) for Season 1 of Game of Thrones (shared with the writers and producers) last year. George R.R. Martin accepted the award along with Rory McCann, who plays Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane in the TV series.

Neil Gaiman provides update on AMERICAN GODS TV show

It's been about two years since HBO optioned Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods for a TV adaptation. Gaiman recently provided an update on the status of the project.

Gaiman recently turned in the third draft of the pilot script and said it had been very well-received, with an expectation that the project will move ahead at some point. Gaiman said that for the TV show he has radically expanded on the original novel, with new scenes showing the bank robbery that went wrong and landed Shadow in prison. Apparently HBO were concerned about these deviations from the book, so the new scenes have been moved from the start of the episode to later on and reframed as flashbacks.

When we might get a firm commitment from HBO is unknown. HBO's hour-long drama roster is pretty full at the moment, which some have suggested is the reason why both American Gods and their I, Claudius adaptation (which, it is speculated, will be both an adaptation of the Graves novels and also a long-term sequel to HBO's Rome, possibly using that series' still-standing sets in Italy) have not yet moved forwards.

GAME OF THRONES deleted scene unveiled

HBO has released a deleted scene from the third season of Game of Thrones via YouTube as a (very early) preview of the third season DVD/Blu-Ray set. The scene, taken from early in the season, features a conversation where the disgraced Grand Maester Pycelle tries to convinced Lord Tywin Lannister to restore him to the King's small council.

The season will be released on home media on 18 February 2014.

GAME OF THRONES actor wins two major roles on OUTLANDER TV series

Tobias Menzies, who plays Edmure Tully on Game of Thrones, has been cast in two major roles on Ron Moore's TV adaptation of the Outlander books.

Menzies, who first rose to attention playing Brutus on HBO's Rome, will be playing both Frank Randall, the 20th Century husband of lead character Claire Randall, and 'Black' Jack Randall, his 18th Century ancestor. In the books and TV series, Claire is a WWII nurse who develops the ability to move between 18th Century Scotland and mid-20th Century Britain, and becomes embroiled in a romance with a Scottish rebel in the past.

Sam Heughan was recently cast in the co-lead role of Jamie Fraser.

Outlander will start filming in the autumn for transmission on Starz in 2014. Menzies' casting will presumably limit Edmure's future appearances on Thrones to when filming does not overlap.

GAME OF THRONES poised to become HBO's biggest-ever show

HBO has updated it's information on the third season of Game of Thrones. More detailed figures reveal that the show averaged 14.2 million American viewers over the course of Season 3 over all platforms, up from the previous rough estimate of 13.6 million. This means that Game of Thrones is a stone's throw away from eclipsing the 14.4 million average that The Sopranos enjoyed over its run. This would make Game of Thrones the biggest-ever show on the network, and there is also some speculation that, combined with international viewership (Game of Thrones is already the most-sold show in HBO's history) and DVD and Blu-Ray sales, the show might already hold that title.

Combined with the recent renewing of True Blood for a seventh season (the record for a dramatic show on the network; Oz and The Sopranos both only managed six seasons, but split one apiece into two seasons for effectively seven), this raises hopes that Game of Thrones will be able to complete it's planned eight-season run on the channel.

Season 4 of Game of Thrones is currently filming, with shooting expected to move from Iceland to Croatia shortly. Season 4 will begin airing in March or April 2014. Season 3 will be released on home media on 18 February 2014.

GAME OF THRONES finds its Mace Tyrell (plus a general series update)

George R.R. Martin has confirmed the casting of another role for the upcoming fourth season of Game of Thrones.

Roger Ashton-Griffiths is a veteran character actor of dual British and Canadian nationality. He began acting on screen in the early 1980s, winning a role in Terry Gilliam's cult classic Brazil in 1985. He later appeared in such TV shows as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Ivanhoe (alongside Thrones's Ciaran Hinds and James Cosmo) and Martin Chuzzlewit, and films such as The Madness of King George and Gangs of New York. More recently he has appeared in The Brothers Grimm, Torchwood and The Colour of Magic. He also visited the court of Henry VIII twice in 2009, playing Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant and then Sir John Hutton, Henry's envoy to Anne of Cleeves's father, in Season 3 of The Tudors.

In Thrones Ashton-Griffiths is playing the role of Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden, ruler of the Reach and Warden of the South. He is the son of Olenna Tyrell, the 'Queen of Thorns' (Diana Rigg) - who refers to him cheerfully as an 'oaf' - and the father of Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Loras (Finn Jones). During Robert's Rebellion, Mace Tyrell remained loyal to the Mad King and had his armies besiege Storm's End, almost starving Stannis Baratheon and his garrison to death before they were resupplied by Davos Seaworth. Mace appears to be a bumbling fool, but is cannier than he looks. He surrounds himself with able advisers like the outstanding general Randyll Tarly, the diplomatic Mathis Rowan and the admiral Paxter Redwyne and then takes the credit for their accomplishments. He is obsessed with getting a child or grandchild onto the Iron Throne at all costs.


The casting of Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell confirms that the recently-cast Mark Gatiss will be playing another role. Speculation is rife on what this role will be.

Game of Thrones's fourth season began filming at the start of the month and the production is currently in Iceland, which is serving a larger role with scenes in the south also being shot there as well as material from beyond the Wall. The expanded role of Iceland may have come at the expense of Morocco, as the show appears to have dropped that location. Instead, Daenerys Targaryen's storyline will instead be filmed in Croatia, with the city of Split believed to be standing in for Meereen.

Split, Croatia

The show also recently confirmed its writing and directing line-up for the season. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will again script seven episodes, the bulk of the season. George R.R. Martin has already written his script for the second episode, and story editor Bryan Cogman is stepping up to write two episodes this season. It does not appear that producer Vanessa Taylor, who wrote episodes for the second and third seasons, will be returning this year as a writer.

For the directors, Benioff and Weiss will be co-directing the first episode. Alex Graves, who directed the extremely well-received And Now His Watch Is Ended last year (as well as another episode), is stepping up with four episodes (2-3, 8 and 10). Michelle MacLaren is returning to direct episodes 4 and 5, and Alik Sakharov will be helming episodes 6 and 7. Neil Marshall, responsible for Season 2's stand-out episode Blackwater, will be directing Episode 9, which is again expected to be a big action and effects set-piece episode. David Nutter, who helmed last year's highly-regarded Rains of Castamere episode, is taking a break for Season 4 but hopes to return for Season 5.

Producer-writer-showrunner Benioff recently said that they are fully expecting Season 4 to be the best yet, but he is having 'nightmares' about Season 5. Season 5 will likely be a combination of material from the simultaneously-occurring novels A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, which will be a complicated undertaking.

Ex-ROME actress joins GAME OF THRONES

HBO has confirmed another casting for the fourth season of Game of Thrones, which is currently shooting in Iceland.

Indira Varma is a familiar face from British television and film. Her first prominent role was as the female lead in the 1997 movie, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (in which she starred alongside Naveen Andrews from The English Patient and later Lost), but she achieved widespread notice playing the tragic character of Niobe in the first season of HBO's Rome. She also appeared in the movie Bried and Prejudie, a Bollywood-style remake of Pride and Prejudice. She has been a regular on British TV over the past decade or so, appearing in Little Britain, Torchwood, Hustle, Luther (alongside Idris Elba) and World Without End. She has also appeared in US shows such as Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Bones and Human Target. As a prominent and popular actress, Varma was the fan-favourite choice for this role.

In Game of Thrones she will be playing the role of Ellaria Sand, the paramour of Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne. Ellaria is the bastard daughter of Lord Harmen Uller of Dorne and caught Oberyn's eye due to her exotic looks. They have been together for at least fourteen years. She is the mother of Oberyn's four youngest daughters (or 'Sand Snakes'): Elia, Obella, Dorea and Loreza. Ellaria and Oberyn have not married due to Ellaria's low birth. Ellaria is surprisingly relaxed about the prospect of her lover being forced to marry someone else for the good of the realm.

HBO also recently confirmed that actor/comedian/writer Mark Gatiss (best-known for his long association with Doctor Who, as well as working with the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe on TV, radio and film) has been cast, but not in what role. The only remaining major roles to be filled for this season, according to HBO, are Styr, the wildling Magnar of Thenn, and Lord Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and the father of Margaery and Loras (and the son of Olenna).

Neil Marshall returns to direct GAME OF THRONES

Neil Marshall will be returning to direct the final episode of Game of Thrones's fourth season, according to Empire Online.

Marshall directed the penultimate episode of Season 2, Blackwater, which was very well-received (and is probably the most critically-acclaimed episode of the show to date). Marshall is known for his feature film work, having directed films including The Descent, Dog Soldiers and Centurion.

Warning: spoilers under the cut for those who have not read the books.




The Empire article confirms that the final episode of Season 4 will focus on the massive Battle of the Wall, when forty thousand wildling warriors under the command of Mance Rayder and Tormund Giantsbane launch a full-scale assault on the Wall at Castle Black. Jon Snow and the few hundred surviving Night's Watch troops from Mormont's ranging lead a desperate defence against the assault.

Previously, writer-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had indicated that the Battle of the Wall, the second major battle sequence in the TV series (since the first in the books, the Battle of the Green Fork, was cut from the first season) would be at least on a similar scale to the Blackwater, if not larger and more expensive. More intriguingly, given that the Battle of the Wall happens some time before the conclusion of Jon Snow's storyline in A Storm of Swords, this indicates that his storyline is either being significantly changed, or material from the third book will continue to be used as late as the fifth season, which seems a curious choice.

It also bucks the trend established in the first three seasons of having the major season-climaxing moment happening in the ninth episode, with tenth being quieter and more reflective. Whilst fans can likely guess that major events will happen in episode nine (particularly in the King's Landing storyline) as well, this is the first time that a Game of Thrones season will got out on such a massive bang.

Update: It appears that the Empire report, although broadly accurate, got a few things wrong. Some are speculating this to mean that Marshall is indeed directing (this has not been disputed) but it may not be the finale.

GAME OF THRONES finds its Red Viper

HBO has confirmed the casting of the most eagerly-awaited new character in the fourth season of Game of Thrones.

Pedro Pascal is a Chilean actor who has been working in American television and film for some time. He appeared in the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season and has since had guest spots on Without a Trace, Law and Order, Nurse Jackie and The Good Wife. He has also appeared in the movies Burning Bridges, The Adjustment Bureau and The Fall of Sam Axe, the TV movie spin-off prequel of Burn Notice.

Pascal will be playing the role of Prince Oberyn Martell, popularly known as the Red Viper. Oberyn is the younger brother of Prince Doran Martell, the ruler of Dorne, the southern-most part of the Seven Kingdoms. Dorne was the last of the Seven Kingdoms to fall under the rule of King's Landing, only a century before the outbreak of the War of the Five Kings, and did so through peaceful alliance rather than conquest. Because of this, the Dornish enjoy greater autonomy than any other part of the nation, including being able to style themselves as princes and princesses rather than lords and ladies.

Oberyn is a skilled warrior and famed for his slow-burning temper. He was close to his and Doran's younger sister, Elia, who was married to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. At the end of Robert's Rebellion, during the Sack of King's Landing, Elia and her two children were brutally murdered by Lannister troops, with the blame popularly falling on the shoulders of Gregor Clegane, the Mountain. After the rebellion, Dorne pursued a policy of isolation until Prince Doran accepted Tyrion Lannister's suggestion that Doran's son Trystane should marry Myrcelle Baratheon (Myrcella departed for Dorne in Season 2).

HBO has also confirmed that it is casting Ellaria Sand, Oberyn's paramour, and also the role of Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden, father to Margaery and Loras Tyrell and the son of Olenna Tyrell. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the characters of Janos Slynt, Alliser Thorne, Lysa Arryn and Rorge will be returning to the show in Season 4 after considerable absences.

Season 4 of Game of Thrones starts shooting in about two weeks and is expected to start airing in March or April 2014.

Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episodes 6-10

The second half of the third season of Game of Thrones is more inconsistent than the first. After the strongest five-episode run in the history of the series (seven, if you count the last two episodes of Season 2), the show suddenly screeches into fillersville and some of the worst excesses of Season 2 come back to haunt the viewer: characters wheel-spinning for episodes on end and lots of characters tramping around Northern Irish woods and vaguely hoping it looks like they are thousands of miles apart from one another.

The Climb is the weakest episode of the season, though it still has some very strong moments such as the barbed confrontation between Olenna Tyrell and Tywin Lannister. Diana Rigg and Charles Dance bring their all to this scene of courtesy and threats and it pays off very well. The actual Wall-climbing sequences are visually hugely impressive, amongst the best things the show has ever done, but the saccharine final image and the uncharacteristically awful CGI in the final shot let down the hard work elsewhere. Aiden Gillen, whose performance as Littlefinger has been underwhelming throughout the whole series so far, gets a rare opportunity to shine in the role during his closing monologue, which is one of the more disturbing scenes the series has done. However, in the middle we have a whole load of random scenes thrown together to see what sticks, and it doesn't really work.

George R.R. Martin has written the two best episodes of the whole show so far, so it's a bit disappointing that The Bear and the Maiden Fair does not rank on the same level. It's solid, and certainly a welcome improvement on The Climb, but it lacks the oomph of his other episodes. The stand-out scene of the episode, Jaime Lannister's Big Damn Hero moment, was even moved over from another episode. Dany's confrontation with the Yunkish envoy is also very good (with some exceptional dragon CGI). Theon's appearance may be one torture scene too many for people (but fortunately the last one of the season), although it does confirm what the novels only later vaguely infer. Gendry standing in for Edric Storm is also a good example of a change from the books that is economical and makes sense, though the route Melisandre takes him to get back to Dragonstone - going hundreds of miles out of their way to King's Landing - does not.

Second Sons is also pretty decent, with the titular mercenaries being well-introduced. Ed Skrein nails Daario's arrogance and it's good they dropped his flamboyant appearance from the books (one of the more unconvincing elements in the books is Daenerys falling for a blue-haired ponce), although I'm not sure going for the long-haired pretty boy look was a viable replacement. Tyrion's wedding is a suitably grim affair, the Dragonstone scenes are very well-done (Liam Cunningham is killing it this year as Davos) and the long-awaited 'Sam the Slayer' scene is handled well.

The Rains of Castamere is the most talked-about episode of TV drama this year, and it's easy to see why. The build-up to the infamous Red Wedding is handled well, with some great tonal variations (especially due to David Bradley's superb performance as the loathsome Walder Frey) and a late-building sense of dread. The concluding ten minutes is one of the best sequences in the history of the show, with Michelle Fairley, Richard Madden and Michael McElhatton all delivering stand-out performances. Both Jon and (thankfully) Bran's stories also suddenly kick into high gear. We also get a great action sequence as three of Dany's retainers storm the gates of Yunkai to great effect. Whilst it's not quite as well-paced and measured as And Now His Watch is Ended, it's not far off and of course the final scene is even more powerful and impressive.

Mhysa, the season finale, has to settle for merely being a well-written epilogue. There's an interesting feeling of melancholy as certain characters cross paths for what might be the only time in the whole series (Sam and Bran, most notably) and others take hugely significant decisions (the Dragonstone scenes avoid repetition from earlier storylines and get Stannis's story onto a different track). Other storylines are let down by the promise of more filler and wheel-spinning: Arya looks set to spend most of Season 4 yet again traipsing around the Riverlands. Pairing her with the Hound for longer than in the book is a really good idea, but I'm not sure I can take a whole season of it. The revelation of Ramsay Snow's true name and nature, and Theon's final capitulation to his will is a terrific scene (though it doesn't quite justify the static nature of their story through the whole season), as is the brief ironborn sequence on Pyke. Unfortunately, another key scene - where Tywin lies the smackdown on Joffrey - is underwhelming, with none of the normally-reliable actors hitting the highs of the corresponding book scene. Some terrific and iconic dialogue, such as where Tyrion and Tywin share for a moment the horror that they may have put a new Mad King on the throne and Tywin ominously hints he won't let that come to pass, is also lost, which is a shame.

The most awkward moment of the episode is in Daenerys's storyline. After a strong and decisive start to her storyline this season, it just tails off at the end, not helped by that awkward crowd-surfing scene with its unintended-but-still-uncomfortable overtones of the great white saviour. This can be subverted by what's coming up in Daenerys's storyline, but for now it feels like a really weak way to end the season compared to the very obvious alternative option.


306: The Climb (***)
307: The Bear and the Maiden Fair (***½)
308: Second Sons (****)
309: The Rains of Castamere (*****)
310: Mhysa (****½)

Forthcoming: Season 4 of Game of Thrones will start airing in March or April of 2014. Season 3 should be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in February or March 2014.

GAME OF THRONES Season 4 discussion

Myself, Elio from Westeros.org and Charlie Jane Anders have thrown some ideas around about how Game of Thrones' fourth season will unfold over on io9. Obviously, massive spoilers from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons are included.

I may expand on some of the ideas further here, but the general thrust of the argument is that I think the show needs to start hitting some AFFC/ADWD storylines by the end of Season 4 if they are going to fit all seven books into just seven or eight seasons, whilst Elio takes the view they can be a bit more relaxed and use most of the season to address the remaining Storm of Swords material. I guess we'll find out in March 2014.

Deadwood: Season 2

1877. The camp of Deadwood in the Black Hills is gaining respectability as the gold rush continues. It has a mayor and a sheriff, and the neighbouring territory of Dakota is expressing interest in annexing the nascent town.

The second season of Deadwood is a partially successful extension of the themes of the first season. Order has arisen out of chaos, a new government and law for the town has been formed and people are starting to organise themselves. Deadwood is still a dangerous place - life remains cheap for many - but civilisation is coming. Against this backdrop Al Swearengen is still running shady deals but he has now become involved in political intrigue as he tries to get the best deal possible for the town. Sheriff Seth Bullock's interest in law and order is put aside as he tries to get to know the family he has inherited from his brother, whilst Joanie Stubbs's attempts to go solo and open her own whorehouse end in tragedy. There's a wider variety of storylines and characters in the second season, but they don't cohere as perfectly as they did in the first.

The core problem is the essentiality of Ian McShane's presence as Al Swearengen to the success of the show. A curious decision was made to spend about three episodes on Swearengen being indisposed on account of kidney stones, meaning that for a quarter of the season its main protag/antagonist is all but absent, only appearing to pee some blood on the floor. Interesting for its attention to period detail (medicine in the 1870s was terrifyingly primitive), but hardly dramatically compelling. In McShane's absence, some of the thinness of the other character arcs becomes more apparent. Alma Garrett spends a dozen episodes sitting in her rooms not doing very much. Seth Bullock spends most of the season agonising over what to do about his relationship with his inherited wife and stepson (to the point of completely missing a prostitute-murdering killer being loose in the town). It's notable that the second season of Deadwood springs back to life when Swearengen returns to the front line, influencing an important part of history (Deadwood's acceptance into the USA and what territory it will join) from behind his office desk, negotiating deals with hugely important businessmen George Hearst and sorting out an internecine conflict within the Chinese community. Most of HBO's other classic shows succeed with broad ensemble casts, with no central role to hang the storyline on (The Wire, for example, had an entire year in which Dominic West's McNulty barely appeared and it was arguably the best season), but Deadwood falters in Swearengen's absence.

That said, even a slightly disappointing season of Deadwood remains great television. As with the first season, the writing, characterisation and attention to detail are all superb. The dialogue is often a joy to listen to, and the show's morbid sense of humour results in laugh-out-loud moments. Alma's indecision over her future prospects is presented sympathetically, but with a true-to-the-period emphasis on realism over sentimentality. Bullock goes through a similar process. Both storylines are drawn out much too long, but are nevertheless explored well. More successful is the way the show presents Cy Tolliver as a man with the veneer of civilisation and decency, but with a seething, frustrated anger not far below the surface.

The second season of Deadwood (****) remains compelling viewing, but definitely falters compared to the first year. The pacing feels sluggish at times and the back-room dealings over the camp's future feels like set-up more than the main course. The writing and performances remain exemplary and the thematic developments are fascinating, which help make up for the shortcomings. The series is available now in the UK (DVD only, so far) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).

GAME OF THRONES producer expecting seven seasons

Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger has said that he expects the show to last for seven seasons, assuming audience figures remain strong.

Doelger was interviewed backstage at the BAFTA Awards and said the following:

"[The number of series] is being discussed as we speak. The third season was the first half of book three, season four will be the second part of book three. George RR Martin has written books four and five; six and seven are pending.

"I would hope that, if we all survive, and if the audience stays with us we’ll probably get through to seven seasons."

The potential length of the series has been much-speculated about by fans, with the need to adapt the Song of Ice and Fire novels (relatively) faithfully clashing with the realities of TV production and how long a TV audience will wait for answers and resolutions. Previously showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had spoken of 90 episodes (nine seasons), whilst Doelger's comments seem to suggest that less is more likely. Indeed, with Book 3 spanning two seasons and seven books projected, it's telling that anything less than eight seasons (assuming the remaining books can all be fitted into one season each, which is not a given) is even being considered.

At the same time, even highly successful shows like Lost have ended after just six seasons, and shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Buffy the Vampire Slayer only managed to limp to seven years with a sub-par season (or two) thrown into the mix. True Blood arguably ran out of steam after three (four if we're generous) seasons and has been running on fumes ever since. So the chances of Game of Thrones - a massively expensive and time-consuming show to make which doesn't allow its producers much (or any) time off between seasons - making it to eight or nine years without burning out seem slim, so aiming lower and writing accordingly might be the better option.

To me, this suggests that the producers are envisaging a more radical move away from the books after Season 4 (if not this season), with perhaps more focus on bringing the existing characters and storylines to a resolution rather than bringing in lots of new characters and situations. Indeed, Benioff and Weiss previously said that Season 3 will be the peak of the cast in terms of size and future seasons would feature smaller casts. That suggests that we might not be getting the hordes of new characters the later books bring in, and casts doubt on whether we'll be going to locations like Sunspear where a dozen or more new characters would need to be introduced in one hit. This may improve pacing and clarity, but could backfire if some of the other storylines (particularly in Dorne) prove critical to the overall resolution of the story and the producers have to change their minds later on.

That the show would become much less faithful of an adaptation when it hit the problematic (from a structural point of view) fourth and fifth books has largely been expected by fans, but to get to the very end of the entire storyline in just forty more episodes after this season will require more compression and rewriting of the novels' storyline than what we have seen so far. If HBO and the producers can pull it off remains to be seen.

GAME OF THRONES wins a BAFTA

Game of Thrones has won a BAFTA Award. The show won the Radio Times Audience Award, the only one of the awards to be voted for by the general public. The result was a surprise, with most watchers expecting the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony to walk off with the award, but clearly GoT's motivated fanbase was able to mobilise. However, GoT did miss out on the other award it was nominated for, Best International Programme, which instead went to its HBO sister show Girls (itself surprisingly trouncing the widely-expected winner, Homeland).

Tywin Lannister finds this victory approaching his bare minimum standards of adequacy.

GoT's trophy cabinet is rather full, with the show having already notched up multiple Golden Globes, Emmies and Hugo Awards, amongst others. Congratulations to the team for their success.

Game of Thrones: Season 3, Episodes 1-5

The first half of the third season of Game of Thrones - adapting the first chunk of the novel A Storm of Swords - is a major improvement on the second season. Last year, the need to compress the massive Clash of Kings into just ten episodes, bringing in many new characters, locations and storylines whilst servicing the existing characters (and in some cases, such as with Daenerys, Robb and Jon, bringing in lots of new material to make up for their lack of material in the book), resulted in a season that was disjointed, muddied and with pacing that was all over the place. Whilst individual scenes were well-written and well-acted, the show as a whole suffered (apart from the final two episodes, particularly Blackwater, which were excellent).

Season 3 money shot alert!

With Season 3, the producers have ten episodes to adapt a lot less material from a book (A Storm of Swords has been split over the third and fourth seasons), meaning that we get more of a strong focus on storylines and on characters. Thematic elements, which fell by the wayside in the crammed second season, have been allowed to re-emerge. Changes to the story feel a bit more natural and organic this year, and overall the series has regained some of the strengths of the first season. It's also benefited from the confidence installed by the popular success of the second season, particularly the much more ambitious and frequent use of CGI to flesh out the world. The success of the third season (so far) is all the more notable because they've had to bring in a lot of new characters, such as Olenna Tyrell, Thoros of Myr and the Reeds, and integrate them into the already-packed storyline.

It hasn't been completely plain sailing, of course. In particular, the third season cops some flak from the mistakes of the second. By reducing the complexity of the military movements of Robb, Tywin and Edmure's armies in the second season, the producers removed much of the motivations for Edmure Tully's actions in the third (not to mention the producers are now paying for not introducing the Blackfish and Edmure in the first season; the people I watch the show with who are not book-readers were pretty much lost by this development). Thus the show needs to back up and unconvincingly retcon the military actions of House Tully from last season. In addition, the writers have rather badly messed up the clarity of the storylines relating to House Frey and House Karstark, resulting in the entire Robb/Catelyn side of the story descending into a mess (and Michelle Fairley is a superb actress, but her constant state of grief for numerous episodes in a row is a little wearying).

Elsewhere, the storyline perks up considerably. In Astapor Daenerys takes charge of her own destiny and Emilia Clarke's acting takes a major step up from her wheel-spinning arc in the second season. The re-addition of Ian McElhinney to the cast as Ser Barristan Selmy is also a major plus, creating an interesting dynamic with Iain Glen's Ser Jorah Mormont that both actors spark off with aplomb. Even the dragons have more to do, and Nathalie Emmanuel's Missandei appears to be a solid replacement for the ill-advised dispatch of Irri at the end of the second season. The translation scenes (where the slave-masters of Astapor insult Daenerys without being aware she can speak their language) bring an element of black humour to the story which is appreciated at this stage.

The Brotherhood Without Banners part of the story has also lived up to its billing, particularly with the superb casting of Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr (one of those left-field choices that has worked out brilliantly) and Richard Dormer's able performance as Ser Beric Dondarrion. The sequences in King's Landing are as watchable as ever, and are even taken up a notch by the arrival of Dame Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns. Rigg's performance is awesome, combining intelligence with a dangerous cunning, and she lifts every scene she is in. The Dragonstone scenes are also good, with Stephen Dillane making even the defeated Stannis seem sympathetic, especially once we get to see his disturbing home life (fleshed out by an excellent turn from Tara Fitzgerald as the demented Selyse and a charming performance from Kerry Ingram as their disfigured daughter, Shireen).

The scenes beyond the Wall are a little lacking, however. Ciaran Hinds makes for a great Mance Rayder, but the character is lacking some of the nuance from the novels. Mackenzie Crook has so far been under-utilised as Orell and Kristofer Hivju is one of those casting ideas which looks awesome in theory but hasn't quite worked out in practice yet (though it's still early days for him). Speaking of which, the master of 'good on paper but lacking in practice' remains Aidan Gillen's stilted and uncomfortable performance as Littlefinger. Given Gillen's evident acting talents from other projects, the blame for this can perhaps be placed on the writing (TV Littlefinger is a considerably less complex and far more obviously villainous character than in the novels). However, Gillen's decision to adopt a Christian Bale, Batman-style grow for his voice is presumably his own and adds an unwelcome element in incomprehensible surreality to what is already the show's Achilles' heel.

Despite these issues, the show as a whole has definitely rediscovered some form this season, benefiting from a tighter focus on characters and storylines and less sprawl (or, rather, less sprawl-per-episode). This season has already given us one of the very best episodes of the series so far with And Now His Watch is Ended, in which the pacing is excellent, the action beats are measured and the performances are stunning. The following episode is almost as good, and with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's angry confession of why he really killed the Mad King, the show may have found its best-acted single scene to date.

301: Valar Dohaeris (****)
302: Dark Wings, Dark Words (****½)
303: Walk of Punishment (****½)
304: And Now His Watch is Ended (*****)
305: Kissed by Fire (****½)

Forthcoming: The Climb (5/5/13), The Bear and the Maiden Fair (12/5/13), Second Sons (19/5/13), The Rains of Castamere (2/6/13), Mhysa (9/6/13)

Note: there will be an extra one-week break between episodes eight and nine to accommodate the Memorial Weekend holiday in the United States (last year the show took a major ratings hit from it, so HBO is skipping it this year).

GAME OF THRONES nominated for two BAFTAs

Game of Thrones has been nominated for two BAFTA television awards.

The show has been nominated in the category of Best International Series, where it faces stiff competition from The Bridge, Homeland and Girls. It has also been nominated for the Radio Times Audience Award, where it will face Call the Midwife, The Great British Bake-Off, Strictly Come Dancing, Homeland (again) and - the almost certain victor - the Olympic Games 2012 Opening Ceremony.

The Audience Award is open for voting by the general public. You can vote here, but the vote is only open to UK residents.

The awards will be handed out on 12 May. It remains to be seen if the show can bring home some BAFTAs to add to its eight Emmy Awards (six Creative Arts, two 'normal'), one Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, one Peabody, one Hugo and two Television Critics Association Awards.

Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that the fan-favourite character of Strong Belwas from the novels has been cut from the TV series. Changes made for the third season, most notably at the end of the first episode, rendered the reasons for him being in the show moot. Sad news, but cast compression on a project this size is unavoidable (and I very much doubt it's the last time it'll happen).

GAME OF THRONES renewed for a fourth season

Surprising no-one, HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for a fourth season. The news came after it was revealed that the Season 3 debut had scored 4.4 million viewers, an all-time series high. The high ratings were not expected, as the show was airing directly opposite the Season 3 finale of The Walking Dead (which also garnered an all-time series high of 12 million viewers; The Walking Dead airs on AMC, which is more widely available in the USA than HBO).

Dany gets to hang around Slaver's Bay for a while longer.

Further information was not officially announced. However, based on comments by showrunners and other personnel, we know that Season 4 will again comprise 10 episodes and will largely be based on the latter parts of A Storm of Swords. It is unclear how much material will also be drawn from A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons (the fourth and fifth novels take place concurrently, both overlapping with the end of the third novel). The climax of Season 3 appears to be an event that actually happens two-thirds of the way through Swords, and there are sections of the fourth novel which chronologically take place during the latter part of the third. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are certain to return, having signed a two-year contract before beginning work on the third season, and it is anticipated that George R.R. Martin will again be scripting one episode.

One tidbit that is known about the fourth season is that it will feature a battle that will dwarf the Battle of the Blackwater at the end of the second, and the producers are anticipating interesting discussions with HBO on how they film it. My personal view is that they should definitely call back Neil Marshall, who gave them a lot of bang for their buck with Blackwater.

Whilst we don't know what characters from the books will be brought into the show, fans are confidently expecting the casting of (at the very least) Prince Oberyn Martell and Lord Mace Tyrell. New locations to appear in Season 4 will likely include the city of Meereen.

Other recent info that has come out about the show indicates it is now HBO's most profitable series, also selling more DVDs and Blu-Rays than any of their other series. Sales of Thrones merchandise also make up more than 75% of all merchandising sales for HBO. With figures such as this (and the fact that Thrones allegedly makes more than 50% of its budget back immediately through foreign rights sales alone), HBO's decision is unsurprising. Indeed, some industry-watchers were even predicting a two-season renewal notice, allowing the producers to more efficiently segue from one season into the next, but HBO elected not to do this, at least not this year.

Thrones was also a ratings success for Sky Atlantic in the UK, hitting 600,000 viewers, a substantial increase over Season 2 (400,000) but not up to the highs of the first season (700,000).

GoT producers will not wait for GRRM to finish the books

The question of what HBO will do once - or if - Game of Thrones catches up with the published novels is slowly becoming more pressing as the series continues to relentlessly bear down on the books ("like a freight train," according to George R.R. Martin). Indeed, I asked this very question a few weeks ago and it's becoming a common one for both Martin and the show's executive producers and showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, to be asked at Q&As and interviews.

D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin and David Benioff, with castmembers Rose Leslie and Emilia Clarke.

We now have one firm answer. Benioff and Weiss have confirmed that, although their #1 preference is for the books to come out first, they will not put the show on hiatus for a year or two as some fans have suggested. They do not want to lose momentum or have to recast the younger actors.

They're as worried about when the remaining books come out as you are: Actually, "I guess we spend more time worrying than the fans," Benioff said. The two of them visited Martin at his home in Santa Fe back in February to pump him for information about where all the stories are going, so they can properly set them up in the world of the show, and "It was incredibly useful," according to Benioff.

"There's no question that this will be better for us if the books come out before the various seasons come out," Benioff added. "That said, we're not going to take a two-year hiatus (to wait for a book). The little kids are growing older, the show's got momentum now, and the show must go on. We're just hopeful that it will all time out."

Finally! The claims that the multi-million dollar show could go on hiatus for years on end whilst they patiently wait for the final two books were always extremely unrealistic, and it's good to have that officially spelled out at last. Note that this does not mean that they will catch up with Martin - they still have several years' grace and Martin is some way into the next book - but they are prepared for the possibility.

In addition, Benioff and Weiss have reiterated that, whilst they know the audience wants 12 episodes a year or more, they cannot physically make any more. I've always been doubtful about that claim. Whilst GoT's production schedule is hectic, it's nowhere near as hectic as others. Doctor Who shoots 14 episodes a year by filming over nine months (as compared to GoT shooting 10 over six), so GoT can definitely step it up. They'd need to delegate more scripts to other writers and HBO would need to invest more money, but given the show's overwhelming popularity this should not be insurmountable.

In another interview (the link eludes me for the moment) Benioff and Weiss also said that the show was approaching its halfway point, seemingly confirming speculation that the show is going to last for 7 or 8 seasons.

GAME OF THRONES Season 3 Primer

As with last year, here's a brief catch-up guide to the state of play at the start of Season 3 of Game of Thrones. As usual, spoilers for those who haven't watched the first two seasons or read the first two books.

The State of Play
The War of the Five Kings grips the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in full fury.

Robb Stark's armies have invaded the Westerlands, the home of House Lannister, and captured several Lannister castles. However, even Stark's armies are insufficient to threaten the formidable defences of Casterly Rock itself. Whilst Robb's invasion has caused dissent and anger amongst Tywin Lannister's bannermen, it has also freed Tywin's army from being directly threatened in the field. This has allowed Tywin to take his army to King's Landing.

Meanwhile, Stannis and Renly Baratheon have clashed for the Iron Throne. However, a major battle was averted when Renly was assassinated under murky circumstances. Stannis inherited his brother's army from the Stormlands, bust most of the Reach lords followed the lead of Ser Loras Tyrell and his sister Margaery in refusing to join Stannis's forces. Stannis attacked King's Landing, whilst Petyr 'Baelish' Littlefinger negotiated with the Tyrells and convinced them into an alliance with the Lannisters, with Margaery set to marry Prince Joffrey. The Tyrell army joined with Tywin's forces and then smashed Stannis's forces in the epic Battle of the Blackwater. Stannis and a remnant of his host escaped by sea. Acting Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister was severely wounded during the battle and his father Tywin took up the mantle of Hand soon afterwards.

These actions have left the Lannister-Tyrell alliance in command of the largest army in the Seven Kingdoms, exceeding 100,000 men in strength. The Starks and their allies, the Tullys, command less than half of that. With House Arryn remaining neutral, the situation does not look good for the Starks.

Even worse, House Greyjoy has joined the war. Though not formally allied with the Lannisters, they have attacked House Stark's homeland, the North. Ships under the command of Yara Greyjoy have seized the coastal castle Deepwood Motte and surrounding lands, whilst a raiding force commanded by Theon Greyjoy struck far inland and took the castle of Torrhen's Square. When Stark forces rode to its relief, Theon slipped behind their lines and seized Winterfell itself. After an occupation lasting months, the castle was besieged by a Stark relief force commanded by Ramsay Snow, the bastard son of Lord Roose Bolton. Theon's own men seized Theon and sold him to Ramsay Snow in return for their freedom. However, Winterfell was later set ablaze by persons and for purposes unknown. Contrary to popular belief, Bran and Rickon Stark escaped the castle with several loyal retainers.

Far to the east, Daenerys Targaryen found a safe haven in the city of Qarth, where she could rest and let her dragons grow. However, she fell prey to a conspiracy involving the merchant lord Xaro Xhoan Daxos and the Undying, the famed warlocks of Qarth. Daxos seized control of the city and the Undying captured Daenerys's dragons and slew several of her most loyal followers. Daenerys retook her dragons and slew the leader of the Undying. She also locked Daxos in a vault to starve to death. Stealing Daxos's valuables, she was able to secure a ship bound westwards. Whilst her 'army' remains extremely small, her dragons are growing and becoming more formidable.

In the furthest north, the Night's Watch has marched into the heart of wildling territory, securing a camp atop the Fist of the First Men. Whilst Jon Snow has been captured by the forces of the wildling King-beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, the Night's Watch force has come under attack by the supposedly mythical White Walkers.

Players in the Game

Houses Stark & Tully
Stronghold: Riverrun
Leader: Robb Stark, the King in the North

House Stark finds itself in a difficult position. Whilst Robb Stark has won every battle he's fought, the overall situation has deteriorated. Winterfell has been sacked and two of his bannermen's castles are under ironborn occupation. His invasion of the Westerlands has been a military success, but has failed to draw the Lannisters into a decisive engagement. Unwisely, Robb has also broken his treaty of alliance with House Frey by marrying another woman, Talisa Maegyr. Several of his bannermen, most notably Lord Rickard Karstark, are also angry over Robb's mother Catelyn releasing the Kingslayer, Ser Jaime Lannister, from custody. Now severely outnumbered, with his allies dwindling and bannermen no longer as happy as they were, Robb has a difficult course to follow if he wants to achieve victory.

House Greyjoy
Stronghold: Pyke
Leader: Balon Greyjoy, the King of the Isles

Balon Greyjoy has taken vengeance for his failed rebellion of a decade ago, seizing two castles in the North and making war on the Stark homelands. Though Theon's occupation of Winterfell has been defeated, it has humiliated Robb Stark and made his position in the Riverlands and Westerlands more difficult to sustain. However, given the Greyjoy's relatively limited manpower and inability to fight far from the sea (as Theon has shown), it is unclear what their long-term goal is, unless Balon can reach an accommodation with the Lannisters.

Houses Lannister, Tyrell & Baratheon (under Joffrey)
Strongholds: King's Landing (Joffrey), Storm's End (Joffrey), Casterly Rock (Lannister) and Highgarden (Tyrell)
Leader: Joffrey Baratheon, the King on the Iron Throne

Following Renly Baratheon's death, House Tyrell has secured an alliance with the Lannisters in support of Joffrey Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne. Joffrey has set aside his engagement to Sansa Stark and will instead marry Margaery Tyrell. This gives Joffrey a vast army commanded by his grandfather, Tywin Lannister, one of the most formidable generals in Westeros, with which he can quickly and decisively end the war. With overwhelming superiority of numbers, Joffrey's victory appears imminent, but his own unpredictable behaviour remains the alliance's greatest weakness.

House Baratheon (under Stannis)
Stronghold: Dragonstone
Leader: Stannis Baratheon, the King in the Narrow Sea

Stannis Baratheon has failed to take King's Landing and only barely escaped the battle with his life. Most of his army surrendered and joined the Lannister-Tyrell alliance, whilst most of the rest (and almost all of his fleet) was obliterated by the wildfire explosion in Blackwater Bay. Only a few mercenaries, loyal retainers and the freesail fleet under Salladhor Saan remain under Stannis's command, far too few to challenge the might of the Lannister-Tyrell alliance. However, Stannis's greatest and most formidable weapon remains the red sorceress, Melisandre of Asshai, who may yet be able to turn the tide of the conflict.

House Arryn
Stronghold: The Eyrie
Leader: Robin Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie

House Arryn has so far refused to take part in the war, the Lady Regent Lysa Arryn fearing the risk of defeat. Unless either Robb Stark or the Lannisters can convince her to join them, Lysa and the formidable knights of the Vale will continue to sit out the war.

House Martell
Stronghold: Sunspear
Leader: Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne

Dorne has continued to pursue its path of isolation during the war. However, Tyrion Lannister, as Acting Hand of the King, has successfully negotiated a marriage pact between Princess Myrcella Baratheon, Joffrey's sister, and Prince Trystane Martell, the youngest son of Prince Doran Martell, the ruler of Dorne. Pending Myrcella's arrival and marriage, the Martells are therefore poised to join the Lannister-Tyrell alliance and strengthen it even further. Given the Martells' long-standing alliance with the Targaryens, the slaughter of members of their house by Lannister forces during Robert's Rebellion and their ancient enmity towards the Tyrells, this is a significant diplomatic coup.

House Targaryen
Stronghold: none
Leader: Daenerys Targaryen, the Queen Across the Water

Daenerys Targaryen has evaded a trap set for her in Qarth and now plans to take ship for the west. However, although her dragons are growing larger and more formidable, they are still not ready for war. Daenerys needs to find an army that will be loyal to her. The path westwards to the Free Cities leads through Slaver's Bay, where such armies may be found...for a price.

Season 3 of Game of Thrones starts airing this Sunday on HBO in the United States, and the following day on Sky Atlantic in the UK.