Game Of Thrones Collection
Spanning 8 thrilling seasons, Game of Thrones has captured the imaginations of fans across the globe. Department 56 has faithfully recreated iconic locations from the land of Westeros, following blueprints used in the making of the series to achieve exquisitely accurate detail.
Inspired by History
Although there are magic and fantastical creatures in this world, it is important to note that this is also a series heavily concerned with politics and power struggles.
George R.R. Martin took a lot of inspiration from historical events and places such as:
The War of the Roses – York becomes Stark, Lancaster becomes Lannister.
Hadrian’s Wall – The Wall in the North.
The Roman Empire – The War of the 5 Kings.
The Black Dinner – The Red Wedding.
Critical Acclaim
The series has been nominated for a total of 276 awards and won 118 for categories such as Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble, Best Special Makeup Effects on TV, Best Sound, Outstanding Visual Effects and Top 10 TV Programs of the year for 8 years running.
Behind the Scenes
George R. R. Martin originally wrote the series with the intention that it would be “unfilmable” due to restrictive TV budgets and declined many offers including films as they would not adhere to the stories he wrote. Executive producers Benioff & Weiss eventually won the contract by correctly guessing who Jon’s mother was. But filming was not easy. Each season took a year of filming and was shot like a 10-hour movie. Season 5 was shot in 5 countries, 151 sets for 240 days, had 166 cast members, over 1000 members of crew and 5000 extras.It is also one of the most expensive TV shows ever to air. Season 1 had an estimated budget of $50-$60 million. By the 6th Season, the budget had expanded to $100 million with over $10 million in costs per episode.
Social Impact
Game of Thrones has also had a notable social impact on the real world. Dubrovnik has become so popular it has had to turn away tourists, citing that GoT is responsible for a 10% annual growth in tourism in the city. Since 2010 GoT has brought almost £150m to the local economy in Northern Ireland. Medieval Studies in US colleges has also seen increasing interest and one even offered Dothraki as a language course.
Going back to the beginning
Due to the huge popularity of Game of Thrones, writers have gone back to the beginning and developed the story even further, with a new Game of Thrones prequel – House of the Dragon – debuting in 2022.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the GoT prequel - House of the Dragon - is set 200 years before Game of Thrones, and tells the story of ‘the beginning of the end for the House of Targaryen’.
GAME OF THRONES and all related characters and elements © & TM Home Box Office, Inc. (s22)
