Game of Thrones fans, the dark days are upon us: we still have Sundays, we still have HBO subscriptions, but there's no more episodes to get us through the long nights ahead.
Even worse, there's no show on TV quite like Game of Thrones. In terms of the scale, the intrigue and the pure fantasy spectacle, it is the only series that blends politics, magic and heartbreak in quite this way.
But there are plenty of other shows out there that will scratch the Game of Thrones itch until the series returns in Season 7, depending on what you're looking for. Here's a breakdown of your Game of Thrones watch list for the between seasons hiatus. Valar TV-us!
Did you know Preacher premiered already? Hopefully you have because we've been covering it plenty and it's really great, but if you're a one-show-a-Sunday type of TV viewer, now is the time to switch over to AMC's darkly comedic new comic book series. Adapted by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's graphic novel, Preacher is another show that goes places you wouldn't expect, with great characters who have interesting dynamics and a fun, often wicked, genre conceit. Only a few episodes have aired so far, so get in early!
On paper Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones might seem like vastly different shows, with Ron Moore's sci-fi drama following the last vestiges of humanity as they try to find a new planet to call home following a Cylon attack, while HBO's fantasy epic is a sprawling quest for the Iron Throne. But dig deeper, and you'll see that much of the DNA is the same between the two. It's the characters who immediately draw you in from the three-hour mini-series, and remain the heart of the show as it continues through its four seasons.
The sci-fi backdrop is integral to the show but also not what defines it, and there's some really interesting mythology that BSG digs deep into as the seasons go on. If you haven't watched this already, watching an episode a night on Sundays should tide you over until Game of Thrones returns in 2017.
Like Game of Thrones (and the aforementioned Battlestar Galactica), Lost works because of its amazing characters. It's a show that immediately grabbed viewers' attention because of its hook -- a plane crashes on a mysterious island and the survivors all seem to be connected to one another in bizarre, significant ways -- but only worked because people like Jack, Kate and Sawyer were so well-conceived. For all that the big questions about the show dominated the conversation in later seasons, it was the desire to find out more about each characters' history through flashbacks that kept people tuning in week after week. If anything, Lost paved the way in a lot of ways for a show like Game of Thrones to thrive.
History's Vikings is the series that's most visually similar to Game of Thrones on this list. What it lacks in magic in makes up for with a strong basis in history; Ragnar Lothbrok and his family, warriors and enemies provide a fascinating tapestry that mixes reality with belief in repeatedly interesting way. Showrunner Michael Hirst (who previously worked on The Tudors) deftly navigates an old and outdated culture to make it both relatable and alien. Watching some of the Viking rituals is as fascinating and terrifying as Melisandre's rituals using the Lord of Light's power. Also, the battle sequences and politicking end up being just as engaging as much of what Game of Thrones has pulled off.
You want to put that HBO subscription to good use, right? Dig into some of the network's archives and check out a series almost as epic and scale (and expensive) as Game of Thrones: Rome. Telling the story of Rome's transition to becoming the great Empire we remember it as, the series has a stellar cast (including Thrones stars Ciaran Hinds, Tobias Menzies and Indira Varma) and equally impressive production value. It only lasted two seasons (mostly because it was so expensive) so it will be a quick binge, but worth taking advantage of HBO's back catalogue.
Game of Thrones' initial pitch was "The Sopranos but in a fantasy world," and though the series has dipped a lot deeper into the fantasy side in the years since its premiere, the comparison is still apt. If you're looking for a rich character study of an interesting, complex family with a questionable moral code, The Sopranos is right for you. It also was one of the most successful HBO shows before Game of Thrones came around, so it's clear the network clearly had a type, plus The Sopranos has aged well and remains just as engaging.
What will you be watching now that Game of Thrones is off the air? Let us know in the comments below!
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.
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