Over the weekend HBO released the official teaser trailer for Game of Thrones, which doesn’t divulge much except that the action won’t be taking place in a cheerful summer setting. The show is based on George R.R. Martin‘s fantasy book series A Song of Fire and Ice, with every book from Martin set to be turned into a season of television. It was filmed in Northern Ireland with a primarily British and Irish cast, and is currently slated for a spring 2011 debut.
What can we expect? According to the official site, “Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men… all will play the Game of Thrones.” To us this translates into epic battles, passionate affairs, noble speeches, conflicted betrayals, and an hour well spent.
According to one of the show’s writers: “A crappy way of describing it would be The Sopranos in Middle Earth. I was a huge fantasy geek growing up. I was the dungeon master in my D&D game. Actually, most writers I know were the dungeon masters.” HBO hopes the fantasy genre, which tends to do well on the big screen, can also succeed on the small one, despite the poor track record. With previous hits like The Sopranos, Deadwood, and The Wire, it might be the channel to pull it off.