Game of Thrones creators ditch HBO for Netflix in big-money deal

Source: The Guardian

August 8, 2019 at 11:34

David Benioff and DB Weiss. Photograph: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

David Benioff and DB Weiss will exclusively develop shows and films for the streaming giant in a deal worth a reported £164m

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss have become the latest high-profile names to join Netflix, signing an estimated $200m (£164m) deal with the streaming giant.

The deal will see the duo depart Game of Thrones broadcaster HBO, their home for nearly a decade, to exclusively create and develop series and films for the platform.

Benioff and Weiss have long been considered among the most in-demand showrunners working in Hollywood. Already the duo have signed up to helm a trilogy of new Star Wars films for Disney, while their departure from HBO reportedly prompted a bidding war for their services between a number of broadcasters, including Amazon and Apple.

The pair’s decision to opt for Netflix serves as further evidence of the company’s clout, and continues a policy of going after some of the TV industry’s biggest creative figures. Last year it announced a record-breaking $300m (£216m) deal with Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy, whose first show for the platform, The Politician, will premiere next month. A nine-figure deal was also struck in 2017 with Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.

Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones. Photograph: HBO/Helen Sloan/Courtesy of HBO

“We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said in a statement. “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.”

The deal with Benioff and Weiss comes at a time when Netflix are reckoning with an increasingly cluttered TV streaming landscape. Later this year both Disney and Apple will launch their own streaming services, with HBO owner WarnerMedia’s service, HBO Max, arriving in 2020.

The trio join existing rival Amazon Prime, which has redoubled its efforts to lure viewers away from Netflix with the promise of a mega-budget Lord of the Rings series, due in 2021, and an exclusive deal with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, creators of another HBO hit Westworld.

With Disney’s streaming service boasting Star Wars and Marvel series, and Apple offering an anthology drama from Steven Spielberg, Netflix are keen to have another viewer-courting franchise to sit alongside their existing fantasy drama hit Stranger Things. It will be hoped that Benioff and Weiss can repeat the success of Game of Thrones, whose final season attracted record ratings for HBO when it aired earlier this year.