HBO Defends GoT Showrunners' Controversial New Series

"My hope is people are going to judge the actual material."

By Alex Osborn

HBO president of programming Confederate, the next HBO series from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, has been meet with some controversy, and the network as come forward to defend the new show.

"Hindsight is 20/20," Bloys said today at the Television Critics Association press tour regarding the way in which Confederate was announced. "Our mistake is the idea that we would be able to announce an idea that is so sensitive and requires such care and such thought from the producers in a press release was misguided."

Bloys went on to note that because he spoke with the producers he had the necessary context, and can understand why those who only read the press release would not. "People don't have the benefit of the context with the producers that we have," he said.

Confederate, Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff

That said, HBO expected the show's announcement to be met with controversy. "We assumed the response. We assumed it would be controversial," Bloys said. "I think we could have done a better job with the press rollout. We knew the idea would be controversial. We thought it would be a little more standard, 'Here's the press release, what are the questions.'"

Confederate is set in an alternate timeline that tells of the events leading up to the Third American Civil War, where, after successfully seceding from the Union, the southern states create a nation where slavery is not only legal but has "evolved into a modern institution."

Nichelle Tramble Spellman (The Good Wife, Justified) and Malcolm Spellman (Empire) partnering with Benioff and Weiss as writers and executive producers on the series, and Bloys believes their talent will shine through. "The bet for us is on our talent, Nichelle, Malcolm, Dan and David, and they're going to be the difference. ... We're going to stand behind them. My hope is people are going to judge the actual material," he said, adding that "they and we will rise or fall based on that material."

Bloys further defended the creative team, saying, "These four writers are at the top of their game, they can do anything they want and this is what they feel passionately about, so I'm going to bet on that."

He went on to acknowledge that "there is a high degree of difficulty in getting this right," but "if you can get it right, there is a real opportunity to advance the racial discussion in America."

Bloys highlighted the correlation that can be drawn between the show's premise and current day United States. "If you can draw a line between what we're seeing in the country today ... and draw a direct line between that and our past, our shared history, that's an important line to draw and a conversation worth having," he said. "The producers have said they're not looking to do Gone With the Wind 2017," he added. "It's not whips and plantations, but it is what they imagine a modern day depiction of slavery would look like."

Finally, Bloys stressed the importance of context and understanding the direction the producers want to take with the series, noting "they have a shared sensitivity to the material they are taking on."

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

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