Game of Thrones‘ showrunners have admitted they initially lied about a key aspect of the series to help get it made.
The hit HBO show ran between 2011 and 2019, and we already know it suffered a number of setbacks before being given the green light.
However, David Benioff and DB Weiss clearly wanted to avoid another one and banked on the chance that the bigwigs at the network hadn’t actually read George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series in full.
Danny Martindale/WireImageGetty Images
Speaking in new behind-the-scenes book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, the pair admitted they told HBO “the show was exactly what we told them it wasn’t” – namely that it introduced huge fire-breathing dragons and epic battles down the line.
“The lie we told was that the show was ‘contained’ and it was about the characters,” Benioff recalled (via The Independent).
“We knew most of the people making the decisions were not going to read 4,000 pages [of Martin’s books] and get to the dragons getting bigger and the [major battles],” Weiss added.
“We were banking on them not finding out until it was too late.”
Dutton Books
Related: Netflix responds to criticism over Game of Thrones bosses’ new TV show
Luckily, the show eventually became successful enough that HBO could pump a lot of money into later seasons – allowing for the dragons and mega battles.
Elsewhere in the new book, Martin revealed the one scene that he disliked the most in the TV adaptation of his books.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
![Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 - The Complete Series [DVD] [2019]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640807_524_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 - The Complete Series [DVD] [2019]")
![Game of Thrones - Season 1-7 [Blu-ray] [2017] [Region Free]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640807_887_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "Game of Thrones - Season 1-7 [Blu-ray] [2017] [Region Free]")
![Game Of Thrones 1-7 DVD [2017]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640808_424_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "Game Of Thrones 1-7 DVD [2017]")
![For The Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones) [Explicit]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640808_790_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "For The Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones) [Explicit]")
![Game of Thrones - Season 7 [Blu-ray] [2017]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640808_499_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "Game of Thrones - Season 7 [Blu-ray] [2017]")
![Game of Thrones - Season 7 [DVD] [2017]](https://bendthekneegot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1601640808_459_game-of-thrones-bosses-admit-lying-to-hbo-to-get-series-made.jpg "Game of Thrones - Season 7 [DVD] [2017]")
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