Beverly Hills, Calif. — HBO programming president Casey Bloys was on the hot seat Wednesday at the network's TCA summer press tour session as TV critics peppered the executive with questions about the network’s controversial new series Confederate.

Complete coverage of the 2017 TCA Summer Press Tour.

The series, which will be produced by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and will depict what the nation would look like if the South had won the Civil War, drew initial backlash when ammounced, from critics concerned about how the issue of race, and slavery in particular, would be portrayed.

Related: HBO Greenlights ‘Confederate’ From ‘Game of Thrones’ Producers

Bloys said the network’s decision to announce the show via a press release without any context from the producers was “misguided” and should have been handled differently.

“If I had to do it over again I would have let the producers sit and talk about it,” Bloys said. “The key to all of this is the context and hearing from the creators. All we can do is ask people to judge the final product rather than what it could be or might be.”

MCN Flashback > TCA16: HBO's Casey Bloys Takes Heat During TCA Session

Bloys also said the long anticipated revival of Western-themed series Deadwood is coming closer to fruition, adding that he’s excited about the new script for the David Milch series, which ran on HBO from 2004-2008. “If we can do it for a budget that makes sense and we can get the cast together then we’re inclined to do it," Bloys said. 

He also said the network is close to greenlighting a third season of its anthology series True Detective, which will feature Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali. “I’m very impressed and excited about what I’ve read,” Bloys said of the script for True Detective.

Bloys also addressed the Game Of Thrones spinoffs, saying that none of the characters in the current Game Of Thrones series will appear in any of the series followups.   

HBO has tapped Game of Thrones creators/showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to develop an new original series Confederate, network officials said Wednesday.

Confederate takes place in an alternate timeline in which the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, creating a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution.

Benioff and Weiss will write Confederate and serve as showrunners on the series.. Also serving as executive producers and writers on the series will be Nichelle Tramble Spellman (Justified, The Good Wife), Malcolm Spellman (Empire), Carolyn Strauss and Bernadette Caulfield (Game of Thrones.)

“As the brilliant Game of Thrones winds down to its final season, we are thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with Dan and David, knowing that any subject they take on will result in a unique and ambitious series,” said Casey Bloys, president, HBO Programming in a statement. “Their intelligent, wry and visually stunning approach to storytelling has a way of engaging an audience and taking them on an unforgettable journey. Confederate promises to be no exception.”