I always just assumed that once David Benioff and D.B. Weiss finished making Game Of Thrones, they would grab their jolly buddy George R. R. Martin and ride off toward Essos, never to be heard from again ’round these parts–that is what I would do, anyway, after I created and completed the most successful TV show ever (would prob leave GRRM behind though, not confident we’d be homies). But Benioff and Weiss aren’t so much as taking a victory lap; HBO announced that the duo will be tackling a new show called Confederate after the final season of Game Of Thrones wraps. The Thrones showrunners will write and showrun the new series as well.
A departure from the vibrant, maximalist fantasy world of Thrones, Confederate will tackle revisionist American history, focusing on the Third American Civil War after the South successfully seceded from the union in the 19th century. Originally conceived as a feature film years ago, the writing duo decided TV was (obviously) the best way to handle their likely complex story. According to a press release: “The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.”
Though the aesthetic of the show sounds vastly different than Game Of Thrones–more like The Man In The High Castle meets Justified—Confederate will likely weave together an enormous tapestry of characters, regions, and politics, which is what these two do best after all.
Well, are you guys looking forward to Confederate? I am already sold on it, but can someone please get John Hawkes a regular role on this show?
Image: HBO
