A week after the epic conclusion that gripped millions of people across the globe, fans of the multi-award winning drama Game of Thrones will be glad to know that the original HBO production is back on their screens with another highly anticipated showdown on Monday. After nine long epic years and eight mega seasons, GOT delivered a rather historic finale on Sunday (May 21), becoming HBO’s record holder for the most watched television show ever – dethroning The Sopranos at 13.43 million viewers for its fourth 2002 season premiere.
The series saw a staggering 13.6 million viewers tuning in live to witness television’s most anticipated series ending, with an additional six million live streamings and repeats worldwide. However, if you are among throngs of fans torn over season eight finale, resulting in a Change.org petition created – with over 1.5 million signatures at the time of going to press – calling for its remake, you may as well want to watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch. The four hour spectacle will air simultaneously with the US on Monday, May 27 at 03:00 (3am). A repeat has also been scheduled during prime time on the same day at 21:00 (9pm) on M-Net channel 101 on DStv. The must-watch documentary will also be on Showmax at 21:00 (9pm) on the same day.
This original HBO production will explore the creation of the final season, and even try to explain the turn of events that saw the finale become worst episode in the show’s history. Better still, it will only be fair to try to explain – in one of the scenes which largely divided fans – how on earth does ‘Bran the Broken’ (Isaac Hempstead), a man with no charisma at all, or any traceable track record of his rise to power ends up being the ruler of Westeros. Furthermore, the death of Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) – instead of being made to take over the reigns as Westeros’ Mad Queen – at the hands of her lover and nephew, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is another bone of contention among fans, some of which accused the series creaters of being sexist (as explained in www.theconversation.com)
First look behind the scenes of the Iron Throne mystery season eight
Nonetheless the documentary will delve deep to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life – in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay directs the piece, and was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series, chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious season yet.
This up-close and personal report follows the crew and the cast as they have to deal with not only close to impossible punishing deadlines, but extreme weather conditions and the ever-excited audiences forever hungry for spoilers. “Much more than a ‘making of’ documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world — and then have to say goodbye to it,” reads a statement from the show’s publicity team.
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