A failed pilot reveals HBO's obsession to find a solution to the void of 'Game o

Posted by Vast KW on December 2nd, 2021

The end of Game of Thrones in 2019 left such an immense void on HBO that the platform was completely orphaned of a long-running phenomenon. The Westeros, Dragons, and Chilling Twists series was the company\'s sweetest honey for eight seasons, attracting users as success grew and maintaining them with astonishing fidelity. As expected, they got down to work developing other ideas that would take advantage of their goose that lays the golden eggs. However, the first prequel series starring Naomi Watts was canceled when they saw the pilot finished .

And it is now, when the company has changed its model under the name of HBO Max landing in Spain with absent titles, failures and price changes that have endangered the relationship with its users, that we know the whopping figure they spent for that episode buried, evidencing the obsession and need of the company to find an urgent replacement.

As revealed by the former director of WarnerMedia Bob Greenblatt in the book Tinderbox , the company spent no less than 30 million dollars (26 million euros) on the pilot of that prequel (via Globe Live Media ). A figure that represents half of what was invested in the first season (the first ten episodes cost $ 60 million) and a third of what was invested in the last season of the series ($ 90 million for six episodes), reflecting the high level of risk that HBO was willing to bet on finding the perfect replacement. However, once they saw the result, Greenblatt says that \"it did not live up to the promise of the original series.\"

He adds that despite the investment they made the decision to throw the project away, pointing out the \" enormous pressure\" that existed. It was never known what the plot of that prequel was going to be but it was hinted that it could be related to the origin of the White Walkers and the revelation of other past mysteries. After the failure of the first investment, Greenblatt reveals that they decided then to bet on the spinoff House of the Dragon -which will be released in 2022- opting to invest $ 30 million directly in the budget of an entire season instead of a pilot who could meet the same fate.

However, the fact that we now know that they came to bet so many millions of dollars on a single pilot and then bury it helps us to reflect on HBO\'s obsession with finding a replacement in the midst of voracious competition in the streaming market.

Also Published in North County Tribune