The ‘Game of Thrones’ Showrunners Just Signed a Deal with Netflix, so Let the Streaming Wars Begin
We think Jon Snow said it best when he warned, "There is only one war that matters. The Great War. And it is here."
OK, he definitely wasn't referencing the battle between streaming services that's starting to take off, but he might as well have been.
In its very expensive fight to bring more subscribers and original content to the platform, Netflix just bought the Game of Thrones showrunners and writers, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, in an exclusive and whopping $200 million multiyear film and TV deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Under the deal, Benioff and Weiss, who helmed the hit HBO show for all eight seasons and worked for the premium cable network for more than a decade, will produce TV shows and movies for Netflix. They also recently traded in their Westeros locale for a galaxy far, far away as they continue work on their multi-year deal with Disney to produce more Star Wars films.
“We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix. They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling. We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, told THR.
Netflix is throwing money around like Daenerys threw fire on King's Landing, and reportedly beat out Amazon and Disney as the other bidders for Benioff and Weiss's exclusive deal. With the recent announcement of its loss of licensing of The Office and Friends, it seems Netflix has gone all in on securing creators of original tentpole content for its subscribers.
So, let the Great War (of trying to ever leave our couch again) begin.
