It feels strange to think that George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones first aired 15 years ago today.
The fantasy HBO series is regularly heralded as one of the best series of all time, alongside the likes of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.
But when its pilot episode dropped, nobody could have predicted its cultural domination and how it would go on to redefine what a TV show could be.
Spawning two direct spin-offs in House of the Dragon and, most recently, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Game of Thrones franchise is still alive and kicking.
But had the series not been given the patience that it so needed, the show’s future could have been very different indeed.
From an unaired original pilot to extensive rewrites and recasting, here is a deeper look inside HBO’s near-expensive disaster.
A slow start that had to be saved
For more than a decade now, Game of Thrones has been spotlighted as the shining example of what can happen when you give a TV show patience.
Granted, not all series that start out slow do eventually pick up the slack.
Equally, there are numerous shows that begin with a fascinating dilemma or problem, that slowly fizzles out with a dull thud by the end of series one.
But I remember not being instantly hooked by Game of Thrones’ first episode.
The five highest rated Game of Thrones episodes ever
- Battle of the Bastards (S6, E9) – 9.9
- The Winds of Winter (S6, E10) – 9.9
- The Rains of Castamere (S3, E9) – 9.9
- Hardhome (S5, E8) – 9.8
- The Spoils of War (S7, E4) – 9.7
I did have the distinct advantage of having watched the show late, when the first five seasons had already came out, so I knew that things would soon pick up.
But had there not been a confidence in where this show could go, we could have been robbed of some of the most iconic moments in TV.
‘You’ve got everything wrong on a very basic level’
When David Benioff and D. B. Weiss first wrote the pilot, they were actually told by their friend Craig Mazin, the man behind The Last of Us and Chernobyl, that it was a ‘piece of s***’, according to a Scriptnotes podcast.
Beinoff told the podcast that after showing the pilot to his Hollywood friends, ‘it was one of the most painful experiences of my life’.
He also later admitted to Variety that he and Weiss ‘got everything wrong on a very basic level with the writing of it’.
Seasoned TV director Tim Van Patten was then drafted in to help re-shoot the pilot, with Benioff and Weiss estimating that 90% of the pilot was reshot in 2010.
Emilia Clarke also replaced Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys Targaryen while Michelle Fairley stepped in for Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn Stark.
In total, Benioff and Weiss estimated that 90% of the pilot was reshot in 2010.
That shocking climax
When Beinoff and Weiss eventually finished their opening episode, they said they had pulled off ‘the biggest rescue in Hollywood history’.
Despite many people not actually realising that Cersei and Jaime Lannister were siblings, the pilot’s dramatic conclusion was what kept me, and many other fans, coming back from me.
The show’s climax sees Jaime push Bran Stark off the top of a tower after he caught them having sex.
It served as the perfect example for what this show could be. You could never get comfortable or assume that this would be a quiet period in the story.
And it remains today one of the most unpredictable and plot-twisting series there is.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Sky Atlantic, NOW and HBO Max.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.