Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have struck a massive deal with HBO to continue working with the US channel.
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Although the writing duo have no involvement in HBO's four Game of Thrones spin-offs, Benioff and Weiss have struck an agreement with the network to create an alternative history-based series.
Confederate will take place in an alternate future version of the US where the South has successfully seceded from the North, in order to protect its slave trade industry.
The series will introduce us to politicians, slavers and their slaves, rebels, journalists, outlaws and everyday families who are impacted by this tense rivalry between the Confederacy (South) and the Union (North) in the lead-up to another Civil War. It sounds a bit like Westworld crossed with Game of Thrones, doesn't it?
David Benioff and DB Weiss will be partnering on Confederate with two of TV's most sought-after writers, The Good Wife veteran Nichelle D. Tramble and Empire's Malcolm Spellman.
HBO programming president Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter: "As the brilliant Game of Thrones winds down to its final season, we are thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with Dan and David, knowing that any subject they take on will result in a unique and ambitious series.
"Their intelligent, wry and visually stunning approach to storytelling has a way of engaging an audience and taking them on an unforgettable journey. Confederate promises to be no exception, and we are honoUred to be adding the talented team of Nichelle and Malcolm Spellman to the mix."
"We have discussed Confederate for years, originally as a concept for a feature film," David Benioff and DB Weiss added. "But our experience on Thrones has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO.
"There won't be dragons or White Walkers in this series, but we are creating a world, and we couldn't imagine better partners in world-building than Nichelle and Malcolm, who have impressed us for a long time with their wit, their imagination and their Scrabble-playing skills."
HBO is aiming to begin production so Confederate can premiere on the heels of Game of Thrones' eighth and final season, which will air either next year or in 2019.
This deal allows for a major follow-up to Game of Thrones for the writing-producing team, since they have ruled themselves out of the prequels that author George RR Martin is developing with HBO.
"At a certain point, especially if it's a serialised story, it falls apart and loses its heat and its momentum because there's a carrying capacity even a world the size of ours has," Weiss said last year.
"When you reach that carrying capacity and you try to push it further, people start to wonder when this is going to be over and hope that it will be over soon so they can move onto the next thing. That's not what we ever wanted."
Game of Thrones continues this Sunday (July 23) with the extended 'Stormborn' on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK. Watch a teaser below:
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
