Opinion | How Netflix’s rise and Game of Thrones finale mark the end of TV as we know it
- Netflix ushered in era of binge watching by releasing the entire TV series on the same day
- The weekly episodes of Game of Thrones, and the office conversations around them and other series, could soon be a thing of the past
This is it. After eight seasons of sword fights, zombies, dragon fire, political skulduggery and uncomfortably close family relations, HBO’s Game of Thrones has finally come to the end of its run.
That’s big news for fans – the network says a whopping 18.4 million people watched the penultimate episode of the show – but this moment marks something bigger than just the end of an epic fantasy story; it’s the end of TV as we know it.
For decades, broadcast television has been the connective tissue of offices; whatever personal, political or professional differences we might have, the triumphs and tragedies beamed nightly into our living rooms have provided much-needed common ground.
Not just businesses, either – the show counts among its fans Barack Obama, Beyoncé and Madonna.
That’s partly thanks to the show’s varied genetic make-up; a heady mix of lurid sex and violence, high-minded political intrigue, down-to-earth characterisation and bold fantasy tropes.