The competition
Ran over at Westeros.org did a great write up of the competing pilots that HBO is considering. From most reports it seems that Game of Thrones is up against about 10-12 other pilots, with HBO expected to seelct about 5-6 for a full series production. On the surface it would appear that that gives Benioff & Weiss’ project about a 50% chance of being picked up. But if we evaluate the other projects, that may change. Here is the list…
The Washingtonienne – A sex comedy set on Capitol Hill.
Treme – Contemporary urban drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, by David Simon (of The Wire).
Boardwalk Empire – A drama set in 1920’s Atlantic City, Scorsese attached as executive producer, one of the Sopranos producers also involved.
Hung – Dark comedy about a well-endowed former basketball coach.
Last of the Ninth – Drama concerning police corruption in 1970’s New York City, a David Milch project.
Suburban Shootout – Barry Sonnenfeld set to direct the pilot, based on a British dark comedy.
Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl – Darren Star project, based I guess on Tracy Quan’s semi-autobiographical novel.
Untitled Kanye West Project – A comedy, loosely based on West’s life as a hip-hop artist. Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Borat) is attached to direct and produce.
Bored to Death – Jason Schwartzman comedy about an alcoholic writer pretending to be a private inspector.
Gentlemen of Leisure – Drama about prostitution in America.
How to Make it in America – Single-camera comedy from Mark Wahlberg’s production company.
Winter Is Coming: After looking at this list, the one thing that stands out to me is that nothing remotely compares with ASOIAF. All these shows sound like they have been done before, ASOIAF is unique in that no network has ever attempted to produce a feature film-quality medieval fantasy series before. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Good in that it gives ASOIAF a chance because it stands out from the rest and would allow HBO to be different and cutting-edge; bad because it means that Game of Thrones is not the “safe” option.
Spoiler Alert!
Please take care to tag spoilers in your comments by wrapping them with <spoiler></spoiler>. Spoilers in comments are hidden by a gray overlay. To reveal, simply hover or tap on the text!