HBO renews GAME OF THRONES

Praise R'hllor!  Shocking approximately zero people worldwide, HBO has announced that they are renewing their hit fantasy series, GAME OF THRONES for a third season.

While the freshman season of this epic show averaged a very respectable (for cable) 2.5 million viewers, the second season has seen a huge surge in viewership, now averaging 3.9 million.  The Season 2 premiere alone was seen by 7.5 million people.  The first season DVD/BluRay, released on March 6, sold 350,000 sets in its first week, the largest first-week DVD sales of any HBO show.  It seems like everyone was eager to catch up on the events taking place in Westeros in time to join the party for Season 2.

Season 3 of the show will likely cover the first half of Book 3, A STORM OF SWORDS.  The book is so massive (clocking in at over 1,200 pages), the producers have all but guaranteed it will take them two whole seasons to cover the events (also giving author George R.R. Martin more time to finish the last two books of the series).  For us readers, we know that some of the most shocking events of the entire series take place in A STORM OF SWORDS, and will be holding our breath in anticipation.  Despite this announcement being all but a foregone conclusion, it's still a relief to know that this amazing show will live to see another season, as HBO has a somewhat notorious track-record of canceling well-loved but too-expensive shows (CARNIVALE, DEADWOOD).