A deep dive into Game of Thrones fandom, and EW launches GoT podcast

The Wall Street Journal has written an absorbing series of articles on Game of Thrones and its fans. The flagship article, “How ‘Game of Thrones’ Became the Most Viral Show on Television,” by Michael Calia and Mike Ayers, takes a look at HBO’s strategy for creating buzz online, a strategy that includes working with fansites, including Winter is Coming, partnering with fans on Twitter, and dedicating resources to make sure people online are chatting about what happens in Westeros.

It’s a strategy that’s worked, even if it does result in maddening tweets like this one:

APRIL. #GoTSeason6 #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/DSK2xZi9i9

— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) November 23, 2015

This tweet, from the official Game of Thrones Twitter account, set the internet on fire back when it was released, which, of course, was exactly the point. So kudos, HBO.

There’s also an article behind popular Game of Thrones-themed Twitter accounts like @GoT_Tyrion, @Daenerys, and @LordSnow. There’s also an article that profiles fansites, including Winter is Coming. All of them are well worth a read.

Speaking of fandom, Entertainment Weekly is going to launch it’s own Game of Thrones podcast. It’s being hosted by EW’s James Hibbard, who’s covered the show since it began, and Entertainment Geekly columnist Darren Franich. As someone who regularly visits the Game of Thrones set, Hibbard is a valuable resource, and he promises to reveal things about the episodes as they air.

The first episode of the podcast is up on the website now. Here’re some things we learn from it:

• Hibbard attended the Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere event in Hollywood, and as you might guess, the show looks fantastic on the big screen. “You feel like you’re not seeing it the right way the rest of the time.”
• Unlike in many past seasons, the Season 6 premiere doesn’t spend much time on setup and picks up where “Mother’s Mercy” left off: on the other side of a bunch of cliffhangers.
• Minor spoiler alert: the premiere opens with “the eerie howls of Ghost” and Davos finding Jon Snow’s body.
• Hibbard notes that “there’s been an increase in production values this season, and it really shows.” How much better could it look?
• We’ve been guessing his for a while, but the producers are “really about telling their own tale at this point.” The books and show might align on certain points in the future, but the show is basically forging its own destiny now.
• The producers have been teasing a giant battle at the end of Season 6 for a while now, and Hibbard gives a bit of insight into what it might entail. Unlike past battles in the series, we’ll be focusing on the “tactical” decisions that both sides make during the battle. It sounds like it’ll be a bit more textured than past action scenes. Color me excited.
• I’ve been pronouncing “Max von Sydow” wrong for a while.
• Yara Greyjoy will be back in a big way in Season 6. She has a big role and she “completely rocks it.”
• Hibbard on how we should watch Season 6: “Everybody seems to agree that things are moving toward [a] conclusion.” There are few to no tangents—expect things to start leading toward an endpoint. As Franich laments, there will probably be no bottle episode focused on Quentyn Martell and Young Griff.

Winter is Coming’s own Game of Thrones podcast, Take the Black, will be getting back into gear this season.

Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/04/16/a-deep-dive-into-game-of-thrones-fandom-and-ew-launches-got-podcast/