Hollywood execs are enlisting armies of show makers to try and capture the GoT magic.
For those who survived the last eight years without watching Game of Thrones (GoT), this is just the beginning of your cultural isolation.
In their quest to boost streaming numbers, Hollywood execs are enlisting armies of show makers to try and capture the GoT magic. Here are some figures on how viewers are held hostage: each episode of the six that made up Game of Thrones Season 8 cost $15million, and of the 20 million people that watched the series, one million-plus were unsatisfied and petitioned for the entire season to be re-edited.
A Washington Post article by Steven Zeitchik article summarizes the contenders for the next streaming phenomenon:
• Amazon: Jeff Bezos has reportedly paid over $250 million for the rights to Lord of the Rings, though Zeitchik thinks the real game-changer could be its adaptation of The Power, a fantasy novel by Naomi Alderman in which women develop the power to electrocute people.
• Netflix: The Witcher, based on a fantasy novel and video game about a monster hunter, is coming this fall.
• Showtime’s making Halo, and Apple’s betting on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, though we don’t have many details on either project.
• HBO is going back to the well, developing a Game of Thrones prequel starring Naomi Watts. The prequel may attract plenty of curiosity, but internally the network has high hopes for another show. “Demimonde,” from J.J. Abrams, centers on “a world’s battle against a monstrous, oppressive force,” which also describes several political documentaries currently being shot. Abrams helped create modern event television with “Lost,” so expectations are high. As for HBO, it’s historically shown the ability to adapt to the marketplace. But now that it’s bent the knee to parent AT&T, the network will be under even more pressure to replicate its success.
The level of competition is high. Even if one of these shows succeeds, that doesn’t mean perpetual riches. For all its “Thrones” spike, HBO Now has seen subscriber numbers drop by as much as 40% within three months of the season’s end. Few are capable of ascending to the Iron Throne. And almost none can remain there.
