Confederate: Game of Thrones showrunners’ slavery series cancelled at HBO after lucrative Netflix deal
The series sparked controversy upon its announcement in 2017
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Now Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have signed a lucrative deal with Netflix, it seems the nail has finally been placed in the coffin of their ill-judged slavery series.
In 2017, HBO announced it planned to make Confederate, a show set in an America where slavery is still legal, which was to be be overseen by the duo.
Considering Benioff and Weiss will make projects exclusively for Netflix following a fierce bidding war with Disney and Amazon, their ties have officially been cut with the network that launched them.
This means that Confederate will no longer move ahead with HBO who admitted it was “misguided” in how it announced the show back in 2017.
HBO president Casey Bloys previously described Confederate as being “what they imagine a modern day institution of slavery would look like”, but its announcement sparked controversy; many felt Benioff and Weiss weren’t the pair to write a TV show about slavery remaining legal in the Southern states of America.
However, don’t go thinking Confederate is completely dead; Benioff and Weiss could still decide to produce the project for Netflix.
Speaking about the duo’s appointment, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told said: “We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix. They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling. We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members.”
HBO president Casey Bloys previously described Confederate as being “what they imagine a modern day institution of slavery would look like”.
Benioff and Weiss are currently working on a brand new Star Wars trilogy that’ll introduce a new set of characters following the release of Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, the final shot of which is “mind-meltingly” huge.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments