Sex, death, politics, nudity and violence - why Game of Thrones was so loved, and how TV executives are trying to repeat its success
- Millions tuned in to watch every episode of Game of Thrones, drawn by its combination of nudity, death and politics
- Amazon, HBO and other major channels are investing heavily in prequels and other fantasy series to cash in on its success
Winter came and went, leaving millions disappointed by the ending and a generation of adolescent boys exhausted from overstimulation. Many more wondered whether all the blood and bare bottoms were strictly necessary.
But few would argue that HBO’s Game of Thrones, celebrating its 10th birthday on April 17, was anything less than a televisual phenomenon.
The winning components are clear, not least HBO’s penchant for naked – usually female – bodies. The non-stop sex brought controversy, especially when it was less consensual than in the original books, starting with the brutal consummation of Daenerys’ marriage to Khal Drogo in the first episode in 2011.
“I think they misjudged the audience at the very beginning … There was something quasi-pornographic going on there,” said Carolyne Larrington, a medieval literature professor at the University of Oxford and author of All Men Must Die: Power and Passion in Game of Thrones.