It looks like its official: CANAL+ Sweden and Finland (well, they’re one of the Nordic countries—close enough!) have moved from “late spring” to May for its airing of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which means that CANAL+ Norway and CANAL+ Denmark will be following suit as the premier for CANAL+ shows is always the same in these four countries. No exact word on air date, but CANAL+ Sweden informs us that beginning of May is their target and they hope to soon to be able to announce a firmer date. CANAL+ has an official page for the series, which we expect will be updated when the official airdate is decided.
You can read the press release either translated into English or in Swedish as part of a new feature to the site where we will give news particularly relevant to Sweden and Scandinavia in Swedish. Simply look for the links to the Swedish version at the bottom of the article.
Game of Thrones is this years major series from HBO
An epic adventure described as “Sopranos in Middle-earth”
Some weeks after the American world premiere of HBO’s mammoth project, Game of Thrones will be shown on CANAL+. It is a relative of “Lord of the Rings”, but more adult, dark and political. The author George R.R. Martin has been called “the American Tolkien” thanks to the dramatic world he paints in his books. CANAL+ will of course show this visual feast in HD as well!
CANAL+ is always the first channel in Sweden to show all series from HBO, and their productions always garner a lot of attention. The interest for the TV series based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” is said to be record big. Since it became known that HBO would tackle the “American Tolkien’s” books, fans have followed everything related to the production with fervent interest. The cast, which includes Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Nikolai Coster-Waldau, has found approval and this spring Game of Thrones will finally premier. Martin’s grand world will soon have millions of new fans.
Game of Thrones is the first of seven planned books in a long story that takes place in the realm of Westeros. George R.R. Martin has so far written four books about this medieval world of giants, prophecies and enchanted forests, where wights threaten the realm behind a wall of ice. But the supernatural elements are not very prominent. The core of the story is the brutal struggle for the throne which involves royal families, knights and lords with names such as Baratheon, Stark and Lannister. It is not an uplifting story where good will necessarily triumph over evil, or even where you can tell what is good and what is evil. Martin’s talents as a storyteller and his captivating, complex characters have given him many readers beyond those who are generally fans of the genre.
Game of Thrones follows on from grand HBO productions such as “Rome”, “The Pacific” and “Boardwalk Empire”. The creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have faithfully recreated Martin’s complex universe, complete with incestuous relations, blood, sex and sudden death. Or, as they have called it, Sopranos in Middle-Earth. The American premiere will be the 17th of April and the series will be shown on CANAL+ in the beginning of May, including in HD-format. The first season consists of 10 episodes.
Game of Thrones Swedish premier will be in May on CANAL+ Series and CANAL+ Film HD