Game of Thrones creators to tackle civil war in alternative America

LOS ANGELES — The creators of HBO’s hit
medieval fantasy “Game of Thrones” have their next show lined up
for the premium cable network, but this one has no dragons or undead armies.David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who adapted “Game of Thrones”
from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” books, will
write and direct original series “Confederate,” HBO said on
Wednesday.The show is set in an alternative reality in a nation where
slavery is still legal and southern U.S. states have seceded.
HBO said the series “chronicles the events leading to the Third
American Civil War.”It will explore perspectives including freedom fighters,
slave hunters, politicians, journalists and abolitionists on
both sides of the divide, HBO said in a statement.”Confederate” is a world away from the dragons, undead
armies and magic in the medieval setting of “Game of Thrones,”
where warring factions scheme and battle for control over the
Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.Benioff and Weiss said they had initially conceived
“Confederate” as a feature film but their success with “Game of
Thrones” had “convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better
storytelling canvas than HBO.”No further details were given on the new show, casting or
when it is scheduled to air.The announcement comes as Benioff and Weiss head into the
final season of “Game of Thrones,” scheduled to conclude next
year. The show’s seventh season premiered with record ratings on
Sunday, drawing some 16.1 million U.S. viewers, HBO said.