Inside the Mind of a Casual Fan: Bill Simmons talks Thrones

We often talk about the casual fans of the show, but we rarely get to hear from them directly. And when I say casual fan, I’m not talking about someone who just hasn’t read the books. We know about the various non-book reader critics and we hear from them each week and it sure seems like they have no problem following the show. Yet these folks are often having to do research outside of the show to make sure they know all of the names and places and connections. So when I say casual fan, I’m talking about the people who watch the show every week, enjoy it, but yet have no other engagement with the show or fanbase. They don’t go online to talk about it, they don’t rewatch each episode multiple times, they don’t browse the wikis or message boards. They watch the show and that is it. These folks make up the majority of the 13.4 million viewers who watch each week here in the US and the millions more who watch around the globe.

For a good example of a truly casual fan, have a listen to this podcast with ESPN’s and Grantland’s Bill Simmons as he discusses the show with his buddy Joe House and then Grantland’s critic Andy Greenwald (the GoT discussion starts at around 44 minutes). It should be noted that Bill Simmons watches a lot of TV, including some very complex and deep dramas like The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. We’re not talking about someone who only watches sports. Also keep in mind that Simmons has watched every single episode of the series so far. And yet, notice how many names of characters and places he forgets, how he struggles to remember all of the story lines and can’t always figure out what is happening or why.

This is who David Benioff & D.B. Weiss have to be mindful of when adapting the book into a TV show. They are having to adapt this incredibly complex story while making it both accessible to the casual fan as well as enjoyable for the hardcore fans. And they are doing an incredible job. So when you ask yourself why they cut a character like Strong Belwas or why the Brave Companions don’t exist in show canon or why Gendry has taken the place of Edric Storm, just think of all of the Bill Simmonses of the world.

• Published on 05/08/2013 at 2:31 PM CDT
• Last updated on 05/08/2013 at 2:41 PM CDT