A Gruesome Theory Behind the Night King’s Spiral of Death

We were treated to a gruesome sight towards the end of Game of Thronesseason 8 premiere. Little Lord Ned of House of Umber was staked to a wall, encircled by severed arms. It was a message from the Night King. This macabre calling card was made all the more brutal when the undead Ned began screaming. Beric put him out of his misery, stabbing him through the chest with his flaming sword.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 19, 2019
Jaime Lannister’s Coming Troubles Highlight Game of Thrones Episode 2 Images

We’ve got a fresh batch of images from the next episode of Game of Thrones. It’s still incredible we’ve got only five more of these things left. The new photos are all set in and around Winterfell, where the majority of the action in the season 8 premiere took place.

The last shot in the premiere was, for our money, the most potent of the entire episode.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 18, 2019

Interview

Production Designer

How Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s Production Designer Creates the Occult

Based on the “Archie” comic book series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa cast another spell with Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The series takes the source material from the comics and infuses them with equal parts horror and humor. Here Sabrina (played by Mad Men‘s Kiernan Shipka) struggles with trying to reconcile her two very distinct natures—she is half mortal,

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 17, 2019
Samwell Tarly vs. Daenerys Targaryen is Game of Thrones Most Intriguing Battle

Game of Thrones is, among many other things, a show about the price of intolerance. Most of the show’s characters and the majority of those who want to rule the Seven Kingdoms are more or less intolerant. They see an unbending will as strength and punishing would-be usurpers and run-of-the-mill rebels as a necessity of good governance. The Stark’s high moral codes, so infamously self-defeating, also required a level of intolerance,

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 16, 2019
Unpacking the Game of Thrones Episode 2 Trailer

So you watched the premiere, “Winterfell,” and are still working through its many twists and turns. We wrote this lengthy recap where we did our level best to sort out all that we learned—and all that was presaged—in the premiere. There were reunions, revelations, and tasty rebuttals (the Stark sisters had the episodes best lines.) Somehow, we only have five episodes left for all of these characters and their various issues, ambitions, and desires to coalesce.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 15, 2019
Game of Thrones Season 8 Premiere Recap

The season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones offered a number of long-awaited reunions. For most of its 54-minutes, “Winterfell” was a satisfying if stately table setter, with a double dragon ride and some zesty clap backs. Then the episode went into overdrive for its final few minutes, ending with a reveal many years in the coming, a grisly scene that felt inspired by David Fincher’s Se7en, and a face-to-face that brought us all the way back to the pilot.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 15, 2019
What you Need to Know About Disney +

The featured image is from the set of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, the upcoming live-action Star Wars series that’s coming to Disney +.  Now we finally know when. The Mouse House revealed the details about their upcoming streaming service, and there’s a lot to parse. We’ve put together this brief fact sheet to help you wrap your head around what Disney + is offering, how much it costs, and when it’s coming.

By The Credits  |  April 12, 2019
Here’s the Interestingly Weird Title for Marvel’s Scarlet Witch & Vision Series

Disney has now fully revealed their new streaming service Disney + yesterday. Disney + will offer a huge trove of titles. Disney’s historic acquisition of 20th Century Fox included a majority stake in Hulu, which will be bundled in the new Disney + service alongside ESPN+. Then, of course, there’s the Mouse House’s massive catalog of old Disney, Pixar, and National Geographic films. And, in case you’d forgotten—Disney also owns Lucasfilm—home of Star Wars—and Marvel Studios.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 12, 2019
Jeremy Renner-led Hawkeye Series in Works for Disney +

From Infinity War no-show to potentially starring in his own Disney + series, figuring out where Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye may or may not pop up is a fun game. Variety reports that the sharpshooting Avenger will likely have his own limited series on the upcoming streaming service Disney +. We know Hawkeye—with his fresh new haircut—has a role to play in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. 

By The Credits  |  April 10, 2019
Enemies, Frenemies, Family, Lovers: A Game of Thrones Explainer

The 8th and final season of Game of Thrones is a mere few days away. Even if you’re knowledgeable about what’s at stake and who the players are, it’s still fairly easy to get confused. Euron Grejoy is doing what again for Cersei? Bran Stark and Jaime Lannister are connected how? Sansa and Tyrion were once married? These survivors have years of history between them, and it’s been—wait for it—590 days since the season 7 finale,

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 10, 2019
Game of Thrones Creators Had Ending in Mind for Five Years

Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been working on Game of Thrones for 11-years. When they began the journey of adapting George R. R. Martin‘s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, they had a lot of narrative road to work with. Then Game of Thrones zoomed past Martin’s books. Once it was clear they’d finish their series before he finished his books, Benioff and Weiss met with Martin to discuss how he was planning on ending his saga.

By The Credits  |  April 9, 2019

Interview

Hair/Makeup

Fosse/Verdon Hair Designer Perfects Art of the Comb-Over for Sam Rockwell

Director-choreographer Bob Fosse had nearly everything an auteur could desire in 1973. That was the year he became the only person in history to win one Oscar (Cabaret), four Emmys (Liza with a Z), and two Tonys (Pippin) inside of a year. He also had a gifted wife in the person of four-time Tony-winning dancer/muse/collaborator Gwen Verdon. But as portrayed by Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell in Fosse/Verdon (premiering Tuesday,

By Hugh Hart  |  April 9, 2019
Game of Thrones Writer Says Watch These 21 Episodes Before Final Season

The countdown for the premiere of the 8th and final season of Game of Thrones is nearly over. This Sunday, April 14, marks the beginning of the end for our favorite dragon mothers, Hounds and water-dancing sprites (we’re talking about Arya here, naturally.) HBO has been flooding the zone with GoT promo material in recent weeks, highlighting the work of the hundreds of individuals it takes to pull off TV’s biggest series.

By The Credits  |  April 8, 2019
Being Daenerys: The Game of Thrones Cast Reflects on Their Roles

Game of Thrones’ 8th and final season premieres this Sunday. HBO’s world-conquering series has just six more episodes left. The long-simmering battle between the living and the dead will finally explode. In the run-up to the premiere, HBO has shined a light on the folks who make the series possible. From the visual effects department who breathe life into Dany’s dragons to the stunt professionals who willingly light themselves on fire to the prosthetics department turning actors into White Walkers,

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 8, 2019
Our Planet‘s Composer Scores Nature’s Astonishing Variety—and Fragility

Composer Steven Price is best known for his Oscar-winning music used in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Recently, Price turned his talents to creating the sweeping, majestic score for Netflix’s new original eight-part documentary series Our Planet. From the creators of Planet Earth, the show features spectacular footage of wildlife and their habitats and focuses on the importance of preserving them for our future.

By Leslie Combemale  |  April 3, 2019
Game of Thrones Season 8 Images Tease the Brutal Winter Ahead

No matter where you are or what the weather is like, this is the month of winter. It has finally arrived. The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones is just two Sundays away.

If you are not fully caught up, we suggest you get back to binging before pouring over these new photos.

The first thing we notice is that it is really freaking cold.

By The Credits  |  April 2, 2019
New Game of Thrones Teaser Envisions the Victorious Dead

The tattered sigil of House Stark flies over what appears a destroyed Winterfell. Considering this new Game of Thrones teaser is entitled “Aftermath,” you would be forgiven for assuming the Night King and his army of the dead have already won.

HBO has been releasing Game of Thrones promos, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and videos that look back at previous seasons at a breakneck pace.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 2, 2019
Two new Game of Thrones Promos Highlight the Cost of War

True to its title, the first new Game of Thrones promo is all about survival. Here we get a remix of sorts of some of the more thrilling moments we saw from the season 8 trailer. You’ve got Jon Snow (Kit Harington) standing before the weirwood tree in the godswood of Winterfell. There are brief shots of Cersei (Lena Headey) and Qyburn (Anton Lesser), looking smug and sinister both. There’s Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) suiting up for the coming war.

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 2, 2019
How Game of Thrones‘ Visual Effects Team Give Dany’s Dragons Life

We are less than two weeks away from Game of Thrones season 8 premiere. In the run-up to the first episode of the series last season, HBO has been giving us a ton of behind-the-scenes looks. We’ve learned how the stunt crew safely sets people on fire. We’ve watched the prosthetics team turn actors into White Walkers. We revisited one of the series most seminal moments with director Alan Taylor,

By Bryan Abrams  |  April 1, 2019
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch Documentary Focuses on Final Season

Yesterday we revisited the scene that put Game of Thrones on the map. Ned Stark (Sean Bean)’s death was the moment that HBO’s eventual globe-trotting, world-conquering series grabbed national attention. Here was a series that killed off its main character, and not even in the season one finale! Now after 8 glorious, gory seasons, Game of Thrones is coming to an end. Yet HBO has revealed that we’ll only need to wait a single week until we can revisit Westeros.

By Bryan Abrams  |  March 28, 2019