Missing Game of Thrones?
5 Shows That Will Help You Survive
The seventh season finale of Game of Thrones aired in August 2017. The eighth and final season doesn’t debut until sometime in 2019. For the passionate and devoted fans of the the fantasy world created by George R.R. Martin, the wait is endless and nigh-unbearable, but the two-year gap is nothing compared to the saga’s status on the literary front; fans of George R.R. Martin’s novels have been waiting on the penultimate book in the saga, The Winds of Winter, for seven years, and no release date is in sight.
While we’re all eagerly awaiting the final batch of Game of Thrones episodes, we have to find a way to distract ourselves… No, not with going outside and breathing fresh air, but by watching other television shows which seek to capture some of that GoT magic. Here’s five programs to help you survive until Jon Snow returns:
Troy: Fall of a City
This may be a reductive description, but Game of Thrones is kind of like a modern version of classic epics like El Cid and Ben-Hur. Unlike Game of Thrones, those films were at least somewhat rooted in real history, which brings us to the upcoming Troy: Fall of a City.
The Trojan War has been brought to the screen before, most notably in 2004’s Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Eric Bana. This version aims to be an eight-episode epic that really digs into the forbidden romance at the heart of the conflict, as well as gigantic battles and violent heroes. A co-production between Netflix and the BBC, the series can be streamed on Netflix right now.
Nightflyers
Over a decade before he created the world of Westeros, George R.R. Martin wrote the novella, Nightflyers, a science fiction horror story about malevolent technology and the search for alien life. The story was adapted into a little-seen film in 1987, and now it’s being developed as a TV series, co-produced by SyFy and – who else? – Netflix.
While Martin will not be directly involved with the day-to-day development on Nightflyers, he did give his blessing to the series and expressed his joy at the casting of Jodie Turner-Smith (The Neon Demon, The Last Ship) as Melantha Jhirl. The show is set to debut this Fall on SyFy.
The Last Kingdom
The first season of The Last Kingdom was produced by the BBC for European audiences, though the upcoming third season is being produced exclusively for Netflix.
Based on The Saxon Stories series of novels by Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom is a historical epic about the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who crosses over with real figures like Alfred the Great and King Edmund. Fans of Game of Thrones will be comfortable with the swords, shiny armor, and massive body count of The Last Kingdom. The first two seasons can currently be seen on Netflix, with the third expected to launch later this year.
Into the Badlands
The AMC network is best known for their Walking Dead series and its spin-off, but they recently scored a huge hit with Into the Badlands, which came out of nowhere to earn a global following.
Loosely based on Journey to the West, Into the Badlands is set in a post-apocalyptic world without guns, in which people use advanced martial arts and melee weapons to beat each other up. In addition to visceral hand-to-hand combat, though, Into the Badlands also features some of the best female characters on TV today, to say nothing of the handsome and compelling Daniel Wu (Tomb Raider) as the series’ lead. It may look like a nondescript action series at first glance, but there is much more to it than that. Find out for yourself, and catch up quickly, since season three is set to debut on April 22.
Asura
Asura is not a TV series, but a Chinese movie based on Buddhist mythology, and the communist country’s latest Hollywood-style blockbuster designed to appeal to Chinese viewers.
With a budget of $100 million, Asura is designed as the first part of a massive trilogy. The film is set in the titular realm of Asura, “the dimension of desire,” which is besieged by an outside kingdom. The film promises jaw-dropping visuals to rival any Hollywood production, and the trailer is full of stunning imagery and exciting action. If the story and characters can match the spectacle on display, Asura might even manage to break out internationally and become a cult hit in the West. We’ll just have to wait and see when Asura hits theaters later this year.
