George R. R. Martin, it will soon be time to put down your remote control and pick up your pen (or get behind your computer keyboard), because HBO will soon have need for more of your narrative content. The cable network said on Tuesday that it had officially ordered a fourth season of “Game of Thrones,†its epic fantasy series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and adapted from Mr. Martin’s best-selling “Song of Ice and Fire†novels. This announcement comes two days after the third-season premiere of “Game of Thrones,†which set ratings records for that series, drawing 4.4 million viewers in its debut airing and eceeding the 4.2 million viewers who watched the initial broadcast of its second-season finale last June. HBO said that “Game of Thrones†had an average gross audience (including showings on the network as well as plays on DVRs and digital services like HBO Go) of 11.6 million viewers in Season 2.
“A Dance With Dragons,†the fifth novel in what Mr. Martin plans to be a seven-book cycle, was released in 2011, while the HBO series has begun to tell the story of the third novel, “A Storm of Swords.†In other words, this latest “Game of Thrones†renewal should make life interesting for all involved.
