“Completely changed the landscape of television”: Creators of The Expanse and Shōgun discuss Game of Thrones’ impact on TV

The entertainment industry is ever-evolving with lots of new shows and movies. Despite that, Game of Thrones has remained one of the best shows to air on television. Game of Thrones had a very questionable ending which disappointed many fans yet, it has set the standard for all the subsequent shows. For Game of Thrones’ anniversary on 19 May, an article by Polygon featured quotes from famous creators, directors and showrunners discussing how it has impacted the industry so far.  Let’s delve into what these creators said.

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Naren Shankar of The Expanse comments on Game of Thrones’ influence on other shows

Credits: HBO

Naren Shankar, co-showrunner of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, felt the impact of Game of Thrones and resonated with it. He felt that the show did a great job of keeping the audience hooked by allowing them to mourn the loss of important characters which is extremely rare even today. He described how he felt by saying:

“The thing that I definitely remember taking as a very distinct lesson from Game of Thrones was: in the first season, Ned’s execution is episode 9. And in the traditional TV framework, that’s your season finale. And what I really took from that was the importance of letting the audience mourn, and feel for such an incredibly important character. I don’t recall seeing that. It’s like, the ability to process that loss, and let your audience do that, I think was a really big deal.”

Justin Marks of Shōgun comments on Game of Thrones’ impact on modern television

Credits: HBO

Shōgun’s writer and producer, Justin Marks felt the impact of Game of Thrones because of it’s storytelling culture. Not only him but also his peers marvel at the show’s creation. He commented on the show saying:

“It just never felt like it was prepackaged. It’s just this feeling of something that felt like a work of art, you know, despite all of the commercial trappings that obviously you carried with it. And man, that comes along once in a lifetime. The way so much of it has bled into our culture, like great movie moments or things. And I don’t mean our storytelling culture. I mean, just the culture at large — and that’s a legacy that Seinfeld carries, and Friends, and Cheers, and shows completely outside of genre. Those are the things that Game of Thrones latches onto. ”

Many other creators feel similarly about the legacy created by Game of Thrones. Looking past it’s disappointing finale, Thrones has paved the path for the future of television. Even five years after it’s ending, it has continued to mesmerize audiences and creators alike, inspiring them to create more detailed and complex shows.

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