Northern Ireland Screen, a UK government agency financed by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund, helped fund Game of Thrones. [118] Tourism Ireland has a Game of Thrones-themed marketing campaign similar to New Zealand's Tolkien-related advertising. [119] [120] According to First Minister Arlene Foster, the series has given Northern Ireland the most publicity in its history apart from The Troubles. [121] The production of Game of Thrones and other TV series boosted Northern Ireland's creative industries, contributing to an estimated 12.4 percent growth in arts, entertainment and recreation jobs between 2008 and 2013 (compared with 4.3 percent in the rest of the UK during the same period). [122] After filming had finished, HBO converted its filming locations in Northern Ireland into tourist attractions to be opened in 2019. [123] By 2019, 350,000 visitors, or one sixth of all tourists, came to Northern Ireland annually because of Game of Thrones. [124] a b c d Fleming, Michael (January 16, 2007). "HBO turns 'Fire' into fantasy series". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012 . Retrieved March 2, 2010.

Mitchell, Elvis (May 8, 2013). "UpClose: Game of Thrones with David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (Full Length)". KCRW. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013 . Retrieved May 15, 2013. At about 2:50. a b c Smith, Oliver (June 7, 2016). "Iceland's most spectacular Game of Thrones filming locations". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. First-season reviewers said the series had high production values, a fully realized world and compelling characters. [260] According to Variety, "There may be no show more profitable to its network than 'Game of Thrones' is to HBO. Fully produced by the pay cabler and already a global phenomenon after only one season, the fantasy skein was a gamble that has paid off handsomely." [261] The second season was also well received. Entertainment Weekly praised its "vivid, vital, and just plain fun" storytelling [262] and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the series made a "strong case for being one of TV's best series"; its seriousness made it the only drama comparable to Mad Men or Breaking Bad. [263] Smith, Oliver (September 23, 2016). "The incredible locations that will star in Game of Thrones season 7". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017 . Retrieved January 1, 2017.Goldberg, Lesley (April 14, 2011). " 'Game of Thrones' by The Numbers". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016 . Retrieved January 20, 2022. Robinson, Joanna (March 22, 2015). "Game of Thrones Creators Confirm the Show Will Spoil the Books". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016 . Retrieved March 23, 2015. Hibberd, James (March 30, 2012). " 'Game of Thrones' showrunners on season 2, splitting Book 3 and their hope for a 70-hour epic". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. p.3. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016 . Retrieved April 10, 2012. Tharoor, Ishaan (May 3, 2013). "Tongues of Ice and Fire: Creating the Languages in Game of Thrones". Time. Time USA, LLC PLC. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019 . Retrieved May 22, 2020. Martin said that all the concepts under discussion were prequels, although he believes the term "successor show" applies better to these projects, as they are not Game of Thrones spin-offs in the traditional sense. He ruled out Robert's Rebellion (the overthrow of Daenerys's father by Robert Baratheon) as a possible idea and revealed that some may be set outside Westeros. [431] In September 2018, speaking about the four projects (i.e. not about the Goldman's project), HBO president of programming Casey Bloys said that some of them had been abandoned completely, while others remained as possibilities for the future; [432] Martin said that: "at least two of them are solidly based on material in Fire and Blood". [433] In May 2019, Martin stated that two of the projects were still in the script stage, but were "edging closer". [434] In April 2019, Cogman confirmed his prequel would not be moving forward. [435]

Hibberd, James (March 17, 2015). " 'Game of Thrones' showrunners answer burning season 5 questions". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019 . Retrieved May 20, 2020. May Fathallah, Judith (2017). "Fanfiction and the Author". Amsterdam University Press: 102. ISBN 978-90-485-2908-7. JSTOR j.ctt1v2xsp4 . Retrieved November 2, 2020– via JSTOR. Phelan, Jessica (April 29, 2014). "The 7 kingdoms in 'Game of Thrones' are actually these 5 real-world places". Salon. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016 . Retrieved August 23, 2014. The amount of sex and nudity in the series, especially in scenes incidental to the plot, was the focus of much of the criticism aimed at it in its first and second seasons. Stephen Dillane, who portrays Stannis Baratheon, likened the series's frequent explicit scenes to "German porn from the 1970s". [308] The series's use of " sexposition", plot delivery accompanied by sex or nudity, was criticized as distracting. [309] Saturday Night Live parodied this aspect of the adaptation in a sketch that portrayed a 13-year-old boy as a Game of Thrones consultant, whose main concern was showing as many breasts as possible. [310]Fernandez, Sofia M. (September 10, 2011). "Emmys 2011: 'Game of Thrones' Title Sequence Gives Series Its First Emmy". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016 . Retrieved January 20, 2022. Elio (June 22, 2011). "Interview with VFX Producer Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor". Westeros.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016 . Retrieved August 18, 2014.