Netflix Lands ‘Game of Thrones’ Creators Benioff, Weiss in Production Deal
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of HBO smash Game of Thrones, have inked a production deal with Netflix.
Deadline reported that it looks like a five-year deal worth as much as $300 million. The Hollywood Reporter called it a multi-year pact worth $200 million.
Benioff and Weiss follow other major producers, including Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes and Kenya Barris, to Netflix.
HBO aired the Game of Thrones series finale May 19. Fully 19.3 million viewers watched on linear TV, HBO Go and HBO Now.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos told Deadline, “We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix. 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.”
HBO was nominated for 137 Emmys, with Game of Thrones in the running for 32. Netflix was next at 117.
Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement, "We’ve had a beautiful run with HBO for more than a decade and we’re grateful to everyone there for always making us feel at home.” They added, “Netflix has built something astounding and unprecedented, and we're honored they invited us to join them."
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Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.