Chinese Game of Throne fans resigned to final season censorship
- Medieval drama is known for its X-rated content, but audiences in China are unlikely to see much sex or violence
- Scenes of nudity and swearing were cut from earlier instalments of the hit HBO series, which is broadcast by Tencent Video in China
Winter is coming for fans of the hit television series Game of Thrones, with the final season set to hit screens around the world after a near two-year hiatus, but those watching inside China are also bracing for the chill of censorship.
Season 8 will be streamed online on Monday morning by Tencent Video, a unit of Chinese tech giant Tencent, which gained exclusive distribution rights to the show in 2014 from HBO, the show’s American network producer.
HBO’s website has been blocked in mainland China since June, after English comedian and broadcaster cracked jokes about Chinese President Xi Jinping on his satirical television show Last Week Tonight.
Anticipation for the new Game of Thrones season in China is nonetheless soaring, with a discussion topic on Weibo – China’s Twitter-like platform – racking up 96 million views on Sunday afternoon. But fans know all too well that the show is unlikely to escape the censor’s scissors.