HBO has greenlighted the highly anticipated fantasy series Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's novels, with the first season debut scheduled for next spring. The Hollywood Reporter noted that nine episodes plus the pilot have been ordered and production will start in Belfast this June.
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Starz network has acquired U.S. television rights to The Pillars of the Earth, an eight-hour miniseries based on Ken Follett's 1989 bestselling novel. Variety reported that Starz "plans to give Pillars a huge promo push for a July debut." The cast includes Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Hayley Atwell, Alison Pill and Sarah Parish.
"When I realized that we needed something big for the summer, I was aware that this project had been in production and it was just the kind of (programming) model I'd been interested in," said Chris Albrecht, Starz president and CEO. "The execution is first-rate. Once I saw a rough assembly of it, I knew it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up."