Since Game of Thrones for television was first announced, questions about whether the books would be able to keep up with the rate at which HBO produced episodes were asked. Despite Martin having a 4 book head start, it seems that the producers of the show, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, feel that seven series in seven years is the limit for them and – at one a year – that means Martin has just three years left to write and publish books six and seven. Not only does this in itself seem highly unlikely, but at a Fantasy Convention in 2013 Martin told an audience that if the series required 8 books, which he felt it may, he wouldn’t fight especially hard to fit the story into his originally planned 7.
“I would say it’s the goal we’ve had from the beginning,” Benioff says. “It was our unstated goal, because to start on a show and say your goal is seven seasons is the height of lunacy. Once we got to the point where we felt like we’re going to be able to tell this tale to its conclusion, that became [an even clearer] goal. Seven gods, seven kingdoms, seven seasons. It feels right to us.”
In addition to the HBO crew feeling that seven is the right number for them, HBO’s programming president, Michael Lombardo, sounds pretty firm on that plan too: “I’m expecting to be sitting down with Dan and David to talk season 5 and we’ll talk about how things are looking … We’re all very mindful that they’re having conversations all the time with [author George R.R. Martin]. I think they do feel bullish enough that there’s enough story to deliver through season 7. I hate to sound greedy, but our longest shows have gone 7 or 8 seasons, so seven is a nice long run for us.”
Certainly, the comment that there is ‘enough story’ for seven seasons sounds strange. We know Martin has told the directors the eventual ending (at least we know there is one; unlike Lost!) and, to me, the comment suggests that Martin has revealed the extent of his plans for the seven books and that HBO feels that it can run with what he has told them. If this is, indeed, the case then it would lead you to believe that by season seven the show will be able to overtake the books; the problem, of course, will come with getting from A to B in terms of the intricacies that I imagine Martin hasn’t locked down himself yet. I say season 7, because from what we’ve heard Martin had written just 25% of book 6 as of April 2013… so, by the time the next season comes around we’d imagine he’d have enough that he can sharewhat he has written and fill in the blanks with the directors of the show for that book.
The mischievous part of me thinks that it will be interesting to see what happens if book 6 is still not released come 2016 when the series, we’d assume, will be set on a book not on the shelves. Would the show pick up even more viewers? Those who read the books, but don’t usually watch the show? How many liberties will the show take in terms of choosing its own direction? Surely these must be the same kinds of questions Martin is asking himself and part of me wonders whether the quotes from HBO and the directors are a bid to put pressure on Martin to get writing. A quote by Benioff that “There is a ticking clock here,” is especially revealing and Lombardo’s admitting that he shares the worry of many viewers: “I finally understand fans’ fear — which I didn’t a couple years ago: What if the storytelling catches up to the books?” was answered only with “Let’s all hope and pray that’s not going to be a problem” seem to suggest they’re hinting towards Martin throwing them a bone.
When asked about the TV show overtaking his books, Martin’s answer was: “I don’t think I’d be happy with that”. Martin did float an alternative: the idea of a prequel season to give him more time; something similar happened with Starz’s Spartacus. Martin even met with executives to discuss his Hedge Knight books being the source, but HBO disn’t seem at all interested and, to be fair, we can see their point: “We can’t wait too long because of the kids,” Benioff says. “Issac’s [Hempsted Wright] voice is changing. Everyone is getting bigger. We have this wonderful cast, but we don’t have an infinite amount of time … We don’t want to become a show that outstays its welcome and tries to turn each book into three seasons. Part of what we love about these books and the show is this sense of momentum and building toward something. If we tried to turn this into a 10-season show we’d strangle the golden goose.”
So, it seems that we are in an interesting point of the Martin and HBO relationship. Until now it had been an amicable one with everyone ignoring the elephant in the room, but it was inevitable that they’d have to face it eventually…
