Hotstar to simulcast Game of Thrones Season 8 in India

Game of Thrones is a popular show worldwide, but as it so happens, not everyone gets to watch it at the same time. Game of Thrones airs on HBO in the US, according to the US timings. The rest of the world, however doesn’t always get to watch it at the same time. Usually, episodes air in a few hours, or the next day, thanks to the time zones and the syndication deals, and such. One of such place is India, but not anymore. Hotstar will simulcast Game of Thrones Season 8 for Indian viewers this year. Read on!

The Star Network has handled the Indian distribution of Game of Thrones for years. However, the last time the Indian fans could watch Game of Thrones at the same time as the US audience was with Season 5. It was aired on the Star World channel back then, although a censored version of it. Hotstar, Star’s streaming service, recently announced the simulcast for Season 8, to be available for premium subscribers. The Hotstar Premium membership costs Rs 199/month ($2.91) or Rs 999/year ($14.60), which is way way cheaper than $14.99/month that’s being charged by HBO Now in USA.

Till death do them part, fire and ice can romance each other for one last time. #April15 pic.twitter.com/tqfLklT60f

— Hotstar Premium (@HotstarPremium) March 31, 2019

The Indian streaming service, which is now owned by Disney through its recent acquisition of Fox, will be streaming Game of Thrones at the same time as the US release. Game of Thrones will premiere Season 8 on Sunday, 14 April, at 9 pm ET on HBO in the US, and on Hotstar at the same time, which translates to a Monday, 15th April, 6:30 am IST stream for the Indian fans.

With earlier seasons, Hotstar used to have at least an hour of delay as compared to the US premiere. However, it looks like the Indian fans can finally catch up with the show in real time. Star World will also air a censored version on the next day, as usual.

This is a great move, considering streaming services have only recently been taking off in India. The no-delay airing will be quite the incentive for fans to avoid piracy, as well. What do you guys think? Talk to us in the comments, down below!

Game of Thrones has had a long line of cast members, many of whom have become legends in the GoT Hall of Fame. One such star is Jason Momoa, who played the role of Khal Drogo. Like many characters on the show, Khal Drogo met his end a long time ago, in Season 1 itself. However, Jason Momoa still loves the show, and actively engages in things related to it. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Momoa discussed which prop he took home from the set and more. Read on!

Jason Momoa actually recounted it as a story, from the time he was filming the scene in Season 1, Episode 8, The Pointy End. The scene has him cut out a guy’s throat and pull his tongue out.

He said:

“My daughter was with me on set. I love taking [my kids] everywhere, but I’m covered in blood, and she’s sitting there knitting with the wardrobe department. She’s so cute. I’m like, “Hi, baby!” [She’s like,] “I love you, Papa!” Then I’d go and be like, “Raaa!” She was, like, 4 years old. “Papa’s just playing” — not fazed by it at all. It was a very memorable moment.”

He then continued to talk about the disgusting yet endearing prop he took from the scene:

“I’m a big fan of taking the things that I worked with. So I have the souvenir of the tongue and the throat. That’s just on my desk. I called up Dan and David. I think it was one of the first scenes that was never in the book, and George called me out on it, I think while we were doing the [Comic-Con] panel.”

He went on to talk about his mindset during the scene:

“I always wanted to see [Drogo] go to battle. I didn’t want to do some elaborate fight scene. I think it’s [just as] intimidating to whisper in someone’s ear and go, “Stop that.” You can just parry; I don’t need to do any fight moves. Then you just take the guy’s sword and slice his throat out. I was like, “We can get a chicken breast, and we’ll just cover my hand in blood, and that’ll do it.” And then within days they had this f—ing throat and tongue attachment, and it looked amazing.”

When you think about it, that prosthetic tongue actually wouldn’t be a bad prop to own. What do you guys think? Talk to us in the comments, down bewlow!

Game of Thrones Season 8 airs on April 14, 2019. But what happens after this epic series ends once and for all? One thing is for sure that Game of Thrones will still be recalled for its amazing storylines, cast and crew, and much. This is the reason why HBO has announced Game of Thrones Studio Tour for one of its prime filming locations – Northern Ireland.

We’ve heard a similar announcement back in September last year, but HBO, this time, has initiated transforming one of its studios in Northern Ireland set for Game of Thrones into a 10,000-square-foot tourist spot. Opening for tourists in Spring 2020, the studio tour will exhibit the sets, costumes, weapons, props, and much more once featured in the epic fantasy series. According to Jeff Peter, the Vice President of Licensing & Retail at HBO,

“It’s going to be an immersive experience where fans will feel like they are inside their favourite sets from the show”

Located at Banbridge’s Linen Mill Studios, southwest of Belfast, the exhibit halls will have actual props and set pieces, rebuilt and restored for the tourists – a work of the crew and artists involved in the series. Inspired by the well-known Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio near London, the Game of Thrones Northern Ireland set will be first of the four prime filming locations to be transformed into a tourist destination.

This studio in Northern Ireland has been previously used to film inside scenes of Winterfell, Castle Black, and other action sequences. Though only Banbridge studio set has been chosen for the project, possibilities are high for the intact King’s Landing set to be used for the next venture. And, Jeff has hinted at the possibilities too, saying:

 “We get pitched all the time, and we’re open to a lot of different opportunities.”

But, what do you all think? Wouldn’t it be glorious to take a walk at the locations that once featured some of your favourite characters and scenes from the series? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Game of Thrones has had some great taste and luck with their merchandising and other promotions. We have been seeing better-than-ever promotions this time around, with Season 8, and recently there were reports about Oreo teaming up with Game of Thrones to bring around some Game of Thrones styled Oreo cookies. Looks like they’re about to hit the stores soon. Read on!

Looks like Oreo is going all out with it, too. They remade the whole Game of Thrones opening sequence that we all adore, fully with Oreos.

Apparently, around 2,750 Oreo cookies were used to make this intro. Oreo apparently teamed up with creative agency 360i and Elastic, the creators of the actual opening sequence of Game of Thrones, to make this beauty, which explains why it’s so good and loyal to the original.

The Game of Thrones edition Oreos will come with sigils of House Lannister, House Targaryen, and House Stark, as well as The Night King, embossed on them in place of the regular design that these cookies usually come with.

The flavor seems to have been kept the same as the basic Oreos, so you needn’t worry. These special, limited edition will the shelves on April 8, about a week before the Season 8 premiere date, April 14. If you love Oreos, you might want to stock up on these as soon as they’re available. Maybe try and win one of the Game of Thrones edition Mountain Dew cans to go along with them.

Talk to us in the comments, down below!

 

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