TV Odds: Confederate Sees GoT Creators Take on Alt-History

What if the South had won the Civil War and America was still a slave-owning nation?

Those are some of the questions Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss hope to answer in their new HBO series, Confederate. They’ll ditch the fantasy world of dragons and White Walkers for the murky waters of alternative American history.

According to a statement released by HBO:

CONFEDERATE chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War. The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone — freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.

Production won’t begin until Game of Thrones ends, so there’s still a lot that could change …  so there’s much speculation to be done … so that’s where we come in!

CONFEDERATE ODDS

Odds Confederate is scrapped before Game of Thrones ends: 7/1

The announcement of the new show has been met with pretty negative reactions, from those who think it is stupid to others who find it downright insulting. Maybe, once more is revealed about the show, people will warm to the idea … or the exact opposite will happen.

We’re a long way away from production, so there’s still a lot of time for both HBO and the show creators to back out.

Odds Confederate is HBO’s highest-rated show in its first season: 3/1

The season seven premiere of Game of Thrones shattered records for both the series and HBO. Over the weekend, 16.1 million people watched the show, and that number is still rising. Last season, it raked in an average of 25.7 million viewers per episode.

With HBO’s most popular series ever coming to an end, they’ll be looking for a new series to assume the mantle. Right now, there’s no obvious heir. West World and True Detective are ratings winners, but their numbers pale in comparison.

Confederate could be the next big thing in prestige TV. While initial reactions to the show’s concept don’t bode well, it’s clearly a topic that piques people’s interest, and Weiss and Benioff have a proven track record.

Over/Under on number of seasons: 2.5

If the first season is successful, I can see the show running long into the future. However, the early outlook doesn’t look too promising so I’m not overly optimistic. I don’t think we have another Game of Thrones or Sopranos on our hands.