The Game of Thrones font is based on the lettering featured in the title sequence of the first episode of Season 1 of the HBO series Game of Thrones. So a deal like the one signed with Benioff and Weiss is a solid investment Netflix hopes will help it make up for its recent shortcomings and the looming loss of popular syndicated shows like The Office. The company is now trimming shows left and right, most recently the animated comedy series Tuca & Bertie and off-the-wall sci-fi drama The OA, to cut costs and reign in its spending.
Netflix is also currently facing lower-than-expected subscriber growth, due to price increases to its subscription plans and poor performance of expensive original shows and films over the past couple of quarters.
And because of the duo’s experience working on a show as large and complicated as Game of Thrones, they’ll be capable of producing both TV shows and films for Netflix.īut the deal is an expensive one nonetheless, and it joins other costly deals Netflix has signed with creators like American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy and Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, both of which are said to run hundreds of millions of dollars each.
Netflix is spending a fortune to get exclusive new shows from hit makersĭespite the controversial Game of Thrones finale, Benioff and Weiss have been able to command such a high sum for an exclusive deal thanks to the record number of Emmys the final season of the fantasy program earned. Netflix has built something astounding and unprecedented, and we’re honored they invited us to join them.” Benioff and Weiss will still get executive producer credits on the planned and in-production Game of Thrones spinoff series, but they won’t be involved in any of the day-to-day production. “We remember the same shots from the same ‘80s movies we love the same books we’re excited about the same storytelling possibilities. Over the past few months we’ve spent many hours talking to Cindy Holland and Peter Friedlander, as well as Ted Sarandos and Scott Stuber,” the duo said in their statement. “We’ve had a beautiful run with HBO for more than a decade and we’re grateful to everyone there for always making us feel at home. THR reports that the show has been shelved indefinitely, while the Netflix deal absolves Benioff and Weiss of ever having to touch it again. Yet now, it appears Confederate will not be getting made after all. HBO said in February of this year that Benioff and Weiss’ busy schedules, and not the controversy, was the culprit keeping the show from getting off the ground. The future of Confederate has been uncertain in the two years since. Many displeased fans saw a project helmed by two white men - creators with questionable track records regarding race and slavery on Game of Thrones - that would potentially treat American slavery as a form of titillating entertainment, instead of a structural force still very much embedded into modern politics and society.īenioff and Weiss will still be taking charge of three new Star Wars films for Disney The idea, which Benioff and Weiss pitched to HBO in 2017, received immense backlash from critics and the public. In a joint statement, Benioff and Weiss thanked HBO, but naturally made no mention of the project Confederate, an alternative history show centered on a version of America in which the South won the Civil War and slavery persisted. We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, told THR. They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling. “We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix. As part of the deal, Benioff and Weiss will no longer be producing shows for HBO, where they were showrunners and writers on Game of Thrones for its entirety, and will work on projects exclusively for Netflix, with the exception of the two’s existing commitment to an ongoing multi-film deal with Disney for the Star Wars franchise. Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss have signed a multi-year film and TV deal with Netflix worth about $200 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.