Game of Thrones (season 1)
The first season of the fantasy drama television series "Game of Thrones" premiered on HBO on April 17, 2011 in the U.S., and concluded on June 19, 2011. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 55 minutes. The series is based on "A Game of Thrones", the first novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO had ordered a television pilot in November 2008; filming began the following year. However, it was deemed unsatisfactory and later reshot with some roles being recast. In March 2010, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in July 2010, primarily in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with additional filming in Malta.
Golden Age of Television (2000s–present)
Shows such as "The Sopranos" (which first aired in 1999), "Six Feet Under" (2001), "The Wire" (2002), "Battlestar Galactica" (2004), "Lost" (2004), "Mad Men" (2007), "Breaking Bad", (2008), and "Game of Thrones" (2011), are generally considered the basis of the so-called Golden Age of Television, i.e. the new creator-driven tragic dramas of the 2000s and 2010s. The Writer's Guild of America vote for 101 Best Written TV Shows includes a complete foundation of the current Golden Age of Television.